Featured Image Credit: Getty Images
Topics: Entertainment, Love Island, Reality TV
Marissa Dow
Turning on a reunion where Ariana Madix is sitting in the host seat instead of the hot seat was definitely a new experience, but one I can’t wait for more of, TYVM. From the moment the producers decided to let the second-tier Islanders wait for the elite crew of finalists to make their way to the stage, the Love Island USA season 6 reunion was destined to be a special evening. The drama was entertaining AF, from the big happy moments to the painfully cringe ones. The happy being Kordell getting his hard-earned Cheez-It deal after all of his dreaming, which was only slightly less adorable than hearing how he made Serena his girlfriend. A round of applause for my man never giving up on his love for carbs (and Serena). The awkies highlights were v plentiful but we can maybe start with the amount of smirks, derisive laughter, and gang-up over-talking that half the cast couldn’t seem to hold in while their co-stars were given the mic to share their side of the story. The level of media training? Far too low. Let’s go through the best moments from the Love Island USA season 6 reunion.
Looks like Aaron finally arrived at Accountability Avenue, where the truth, nothing but the truth, so help him God, was the toll to pass. He finally admitted in addition to kissing and snogging Daniela in Casa, they got physical when he “put his hands down Daniela’s pants.” Kaylor was not thrilled to discover this (in front of everyone), since she’s had multiple conversations with Aaron as recently as days ago in New York where he tried to win her back without disclosing that information. She finally put on her “queen girl pussy boss” hat on and put her foot down, ending their relationship, hopefully once and for all.
Just minutes into the reunion, Nicole ends all the small talk and jokes to get down to brass tax: her major issues with Kendall. In the chaotic aftermath of the leaked explicit sex tape of Kendall, he admits that he told Nicole (and the world) it came from a trusted ex, because he was embarrassed to admit he had sent it to a virtual stranger on a dating app just days before going into The Villa. Naturally, Nicole feels betrayed as she is “the closest person to him” and yet still somehow not worthy of Kendall doing the hard thing and telling her the truth about the situation. He hid the reality from her in private, and then once she was filled in, continued to lie on his bottle popping and podcast press tour in public. While she stayed silent about the situation in order to process, fans perceived Nicole’s silence as non-support, which got her a lot of hate online (not to mention a lot of very opinions from castmates telling her how forgiving she should be when they reacted worse for less for weeks in Fiji). Because Kendall “only check[ed] on [Nicole] when it [was] relevant for him,” Nicole feels she can’t trust him anymore. Where they stand going forward seems very unclear but they did say they both loved each other.
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There actually is one definition of the phrase “taking a back seat,” and it means to be openly passive in a decision-making situation. The fire pit scene showed that Leah and Serena were actively pushing to save Nicole, while Kaylor and Liv rooted for Andrea. Leah not only championed Nicole for living up the Love Island experience by exploring her connection with Miguel while coupled up with Kendall, but pointed out plenty of flaws that made Andrea vulnerable in her eyes. She said “this isn’t couple island,” implied that Andrea was potentially there for fame, and said that she didn’t care if it made her look bad or if Rob went home because of the mess. Since the group had to “punish someone for playing the game” or for “finding love” no one can say her take was invalid, but anyone with eyes and ears can say she clearly had one and putting the words “tried to” in front of “back seat” don’t change that reality unless the sentence ended in “but I didn’t.”
After his Instagram live with Daia, where the pair played the part of Villa rejects peanut gallery, Coye got some backlash for coming off as bitter after calling JaNa’s relationship with Kenny fake. Coye explained that he’d only seen bits and pieces of JaNa’s journey, which made him think, based on numbers alone, that her latest connection had to be forced. That’s some 6-foot-sized audacity to admit you didn’t really watch but wanted to throw out big judgments anyway, however, it seems the beef has thankfully been squashed.