The last Love Island USA couple going home before the finale might come as a surprise to some — or most — viewers.
During the Sunday, July 6, episode of the dating show — which airs daily with the exception of Wednesdays — Ace Greene, Amaya Espinal, Bryan Arenales, Chelley Bissainthe, Cierra, Clarke Carraway, Chris Seeley, Elan Bibas, Huda Mustafa, Iris Kendall, Pepe Garcia, Nic Vansteenberghe, Olandria Carthen and Taylor Williams were all in for a surprise.
Halfway into the episode, narrator Iain Stirling confirmed that Cierra “left the villa due to a personal situation” and noted that Nic was “officially single.” Luckily the villa had their resident matchmaker Ace to start rooting for Nic and Olandria to re-explore their connection.
That is exactly what happened as the remaining guys were either settled in their couples or vying for Amaya Papaya’s heart. She had a tough decision to make after Ariana Madix arrived for a recoupling with three suitors to choose from: Zak, Elan and Bryan.
Week 5 ultimately threw things for a loop since Cierra and Nic were one of the strongest couples. But the exit came amid a resurfaced racist post, with Cierra serving as the third Islander to face backlash since filming kicked off. (The Islanders are halfway through their sixth week in Fiji but for the sake of its timeline, Us Weekly will be tracking the events based on when they air on Peacock.)
As the group settles into their connections one week before the finale, Us is keeping you up to date with live highlights so keep scrolling:
Friday, July 11
The episode leading up to the finale was an emotional one as Islanders got to see their families — and asked their honest thoughts on each of their partners. Chris was the only one who wasn’t sure he wanted his loved ones to meet his significant other so “soon” but they ended up giving him and Huda their stamp of approval.
The same went for Iris and Pepe, Amaya and Bryan and Ace and Chelley. Nic and Olandria’s family, meanwhile, said a lot of what the audience was thinking about how it took them long enough to explore their connection.
But ultimately there was one more couple that had to go — and that was Ace and Chelley. They left the villa right after closing their connection, which left Iris and Pepe, Amaya and Bryan and Huda and Chris and Nic and Olandria as the final four.
Thursday, July 10
Coming off Taylor and Clarke’s exit, the Islanders tried to work on their couple connections leading up to the season finale. Huda and Chris needed the most work after they couldn’t get on the same page about PDA. Chris was upset that Huda wanted to have sex — under the covers — but kissing in public was too much for her. Huda, meanwhile, was trying to explain her side of things and their point of views weren’t connecting.
Luckily Bryan and Amaya stepped in fresh off their Hideaway journey to play matchmaker. It is unclear how long their efforts will last but Chris seemed like he pulled it together for the last two episodes of the season.
The rest of the villa wasn’t as much on the struggle bus. Iris and Pepe were bonding and Ace and Chelley were the most settled out of everyone. This set them up to be the second couple sent to the Hideaway ahead of the finale.
Then there was America’s favorite couple: Nic and Olandria. After manifesting them out of a few scattered moments, viewers watched their hard work pay off as Nic and Olandria continued to grow closer and follow their chemistry wherever it might lead them. On Thursday’s episode that led to more kissing outside of challenges and some steamy photobooth poses.
In the sneak peek for Friday’s episode, the Islanders get a visit from their family members before one more couple gets eliminated before the last episode.
Tuesday, July 8
Fresh off their visit to The Hideaway, Bryan and Amaya were absolutely giddy as they told the rest of the Islanders about their night together. But they weren’t the only ones who had sex, with Pepe and Iris secretly going on their own “journey.”
There was no challenge this time around because, instead, the guys were sent out to play basketball. They all discussed their connections and Taylor even asked them for help with closing things off with Clarke. But there was one couple struggling after Chris revealed his concerns about Huda not wanting to kiss him in public.
Chris tried to bring this up to Huda — only to tell her to stop interrupting him every time she tried to explain her side of the story. That felt like a huge red flag and it didn’t stop there. Despite Huda’s best efforts to explain herself, the duo looked miserable by the time the recoupling rolled around at the end of the episode.
Before we get to that though, we need to fast forward to earlier in the night when Taylor asked Clarke for them to take the next step in their relationship. She said yes and that is when everyone’s phones alerted them that one couple would be going home.
The recoupling was based on America’s votes with the decision coming down to either Nic and Olandria or Taylor and Clarke. But since anyone who watches Love Island USA already knows how beloved Nic and Olandria are, it was hardly a shock when Taylor and Clarke were the ones who were told to leave.
With three episodes left in the season, there will be one more opportunity for America to vote before the final four make it to the finale.
Monday, July 7
Coming off a successful recoupling, everyone was in for a surprise with the fake baby challenge. The goal was to take care of the baby without a minimal amount of crying but not every couple made a solid team.
Taylor and Clarke were the winners with Iris and Pepe, Nic and Olandria and Huda and Chris a close second. Ace and Chelley and Bryan and Amaya, however, were not successful despite their best efforts. This challenge also showed some cracks in Huda and Chris’ relationship after she called him out for how he was speaking to her and how he didn’t take her feelings into account.
Huda and Chris were able to communicate about their issues — and he later revealed to Bryan that they secretly hooked up the night before. As for Bryan, he was growing even more fond of Amaya, which couldn’t have come at a more perfect time now that The Hideaway is open. Amaya and Bryan were nominated as the couple to go enjoy their night away.
Meanwhile back in the villa, both Nic and Olandria realized they were very attracted to each other. Their conversations made them even more convinced that they should explore their connection before their time in Fiji is over.
The sneak peek for Tuesday’s episode hinted that another couple — Pepe and Iris — were about to have sex just as America’s votes are about to send one pair home.
Sunday, July 6
Week 5 started off with a shock when Cierra was no longer in the villa. That caused Nic to question where his future in the villa was going. Nic decided to shoot his shot with Olandria again as they bonded over their familiar connection.
Elsewhere in the episode, Taylor created a date for Clarke to show her how serious he was. There was also Amaya’s search for The One, which just got more interesting after that makeout with Bryan. She was also pulled for chats with Zak and Elan as the guys in the villa finally realized she is America’s Sweetheart.
Just as Nic and Olandria had another sweet chat — which included Nic somehow mentioning the Nicolandria ship name that has gone viral on social media — Ariana arrived for this week’s recoupling.
Sunday’s episode ended with Ace and Chelley together again while Clarke chose Taylor. After forming an unexpected bond following both of their matches getting dumped, Iris and Pepe chose to give each other an official chance. Chris, meanwhile, was Huda’s choice while Olandria made all of Us happy by picking Nic.
Amaya was the last to go and she chose Bryan, which meant Elan and Zak were headed home.
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