‘Love Island USA’ Reunion: 5 Biggest Takeaways

This summer’s season of “Love Island U.S.A.” has been the most popular of the franchise so far. And, if it feels like everyone is talking about it, it’s because they probably are — during the second week of July, this show was the most watched streaming original series in the U.S., according to Luminate, an entertainment data tracking service. That means it outranked “The Bear.”

Because of the season’s popularity, it made sense for the show to have its first ever reunion special. Hosted by Ariana Madix, whose training included being grilled by Andy Cohen during her many “Vanderpump Rules” reunions, the show featured 25 Islanders — both OGs and Casa Amor — discussing not only what went on during the season but also all the messy drama that has unfolded on social media in the weeks after the show aired.

Here are the five biggest takeaways from the reunion.

Full footage of the firepit vote between Serena Page, Olivia Walker, Leah Kateb and Kaylor Martin is revealed.

One of the biggest and longest running dramas in the villa this season had to do with the dumping of Andrea Carmona. At the time, Carmona was coupled up with Rob Rausch, who had just gotten out of a couple with Leah Kateb.

A handful of the women in the villa had to decide whom to dump between Carmona, Nicole Jacky or JaNa Craig.

The decision to send Carmona home caused many fights, including one during which Martin and Walker told Rausch that Kateb had been the one pushing to send Carmona home — and this information discouraged Rausch from recoupling with Kateb. Kateb maintained that she “tried to take a back seat” in the decision making.

Throughout and following the season, viewers asked on social media why the show didn’t just air the entire unedited footage of the four women making the decision, instead of allowing a seemingly endless “he-said-she-said.”