Love Island USA<\/a> season seven.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPeacock<\/p>\n
\n\tNic, why did you wait so long to tell Olandria that you kissed her in the blindfold challenge? And Olandria, did you not wonder who\u00a0your secret admirer was?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tVANSTEENBERGHE<\/strong> I really did apologize to her in my letter at the end, I\u2019m like, \u201cI\u2019m so sorry I didn\u2019t tell you sooner.\u201d But in a way, it was beautiful that we came full circle, and if things had been different, you never know where we could be and so I\u2019m happy where we\u2019re at now. So looking back on it, I\u2019m happy how the process went.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tCARTHEN<\/strong> It makes the edits 10 times better, like leading up to it. I didn\u2019t even realize he looked at me so much when I was doing my own thing. I\u2019m like, \u201cOh, that\u2019s so cute. You stared at me a lot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tVANSTEENBERGHE<\/strong> The \u201cfix your shirt\u201d edit, that\u2019s my favorite (Laughs).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tAfter both of you shared your first kiss outside of a challenge in \u201cSoul Ties,\u201d the next day, you both agreed that there wasn\u2019t a romantic spark. Now, seeing where you are today, were you all being\u00a0truthful\u00a0to yourselves in that moment, or did that romantic connection just take time to develop?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tVANSTEENBERGHE<\/strong>\u00a0A little bit of both. We weren\u2019t being completely honest with ourselves, and at the same time, it did take a little time because my connection was still there and she was coming off of this strong connection. So I think there was just a time to be taken, but at the same time, internally we\u2019re like, \u201cHm,\u201d but externally we\u2019re like, you know.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tSince both of you were coupled up with\u00a0completely\u00a0different people for most of your time in the villa, what does it feel like to leave the villa as a couple and as the runner-ups?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tVANSTEENBERGHE<\/strong> For us, it was a blessing to be in second place. I think that the journey we had was so rough and I think when we were considered top four, that was already a win in my book.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tCARTHEN<\/strong> I did not expect to come in second\u00a0at all. It\u2019s a little weird because when you spend the majority of your experience with someone else because you could see you guys making it all the way. And then when it ended up not playing out like that, I actually felt lost when I lost my connection because I was like, OK, what do I do now? Like I\u2019m gonna continue to build these connections, but that\u2019s all I could do, because at one point I was like, I\u2019m just gonna go home. I don\u2019t feel like love lives here. I don\u2019t feel like anybody that\u2019s supposed to be here for me is here; they\u2019re not in this villa, but I\u2019m so happy that I stayed. I was like, I\u2019m gonna let the island get rid of me, and it just wasn\u2019t meant for me to go. The islands like, \u201cOlandria, we\u2019re not getting rid of you. It\u2019s meant for you to be here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tNic, now that you know why Cierra left the villa, do you plan to have a conversation with her in the real world?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tVANSTEENBERGHE<\/strong> Today is only my second day outside of the villa, and I\u2019m still taking the time to process everything. Just getting my phone back in itself was like this whole influx of\u00a0notifications and life and I\u2019m just taking the time to process it all.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tOlandria, I feel like viewers seemed to really appreciate the honest advice you would give your fellow Islanders. Have you always been someone to offer guidance to your friends and loved ones? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tCARTHEN<\/strong> I am literally like a therapist to my friends, to my siblings, to my parents, even, because my parents literally had me in the 10th grade, so we kind of grew up together. So being that strong person for all of them is something that came naturally to me. So I knew once I stepped in the villa, I was going to be that nurturing person. People literally\u00a0were\u00a0like, she\u2019s the glue to this place. Even the guys, they\u2019ve expressed like, \u201cIt\u2019s so easy to talk to Olandria, it\u2019s so easy to be vulnerable with her. She feels so safe for me,\u201d and that\u2019s all I wanted to do. So I\u2019m happy that that was portrayed to you guys because that\u2019s really who I am. I always want to make people feel seen and feel heard and just so they have somebody.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tWhat does the future look like for you as a couple, especially since Nic, you live in Florida, and Olandria, you live in Alabama?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tVANSTEENBERGHE<\/strong> I think I\u2019ll be moving to L.A. soon and I\u2019m really trying hard to convince Olandria to do the same.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tCARTHEN<\/strong> Yeah, he\u2019s trying really hard. I\u2019m a Southern girl, so it\u2019s kind of hard to leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tVANSTEENBERGHE<\/strong> I\u2019m an East Coast boy, but it\u2019d be cool to come out here and explore the West Coast.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tIs there anything you\u2019re dying to do as a couple, and have you planned any real-world dates yet?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tVANSTEENBERGHE<\/strong> I think last night was a big one. We went to Disneyland together. That was really really fun! But also I wanna go to Universal together, I wanna go skydiving, I wanna go to a restaurant and just eat food. We haven\u2019t even done that (Laughs). Luckily we have a lot of time, but life\u2019s moving so fast right now, we\u2019re trying to keep up.\u00a0<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tOlandria and Nic on \u2018Love Island USA\u2019 season seven.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPeacock<\/p>\n
\n\tWould either of you change anything about your experiences in the villa?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tVANSTEENBERGHE<\/strong> I\u2019m just honestly appreciative of where we\u2019ve ended up, and even though I made some mistakes and even though bad things happen, we build from that. I think I\u2019ve grown a lot of resilience and growth from this journey and I\u2019m just appreciative to be where I\u2019m at right now.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tCARTHEN<\/strong> Although my journey was rough and it had me second-guessing if I should even stay on the show, I look back and I\u2019m just so appreciative of those\u00a0hard moments. I truly felt like I grew a lot when I was in those uncomfortable positions. I don\u2019t like to ever feel stagnant, so wherever I can grow, I truly love that. \u2026 And I truly felt like I walked out of the villa a different person, and I walked out with my person.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tVANSTEENBERGHE<\/strong> This guy (Laughs).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tNic, I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve seen the thousands of memes and AI-created videos of you by now. Do you find them funny, or do any of them sting a bit?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tVANSTEENBERGHE<\/strong> Lowkey, I\u2019m eating it up. I feel like my personality, I love to make fun of myself and I think it\u2019s funny as hell, especially the AI videos. I think me, Ace and Taylor \u2014 sorry, Daddy Ace and Taylor \u2014 it\u2019s so funny to me. Just keep on going. I love it! I\u2019m eating it up.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tBe careful what you ask for.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tVANSTEENBERGHE<\/strong> True.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tCARTHEN<\/strong>: I\u2019s so funny because any and everything Nic does make it to Twitter, and I\u2019m a Twitter girly, so I\u2019m always on it. And I\u2019m like, \u201cNic, what did you do?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tVANSTEENBERGHE<\/strong> Sometimes I\u2019ll take a selfie of us and she\u2019ll be like, \u201cDid you post that selfie?\u201d And then I\u2019ll be like, \u201cMaybe?\u201d And then she flips her phone and it\u2019s Twitter and it is the selfie.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tCARTHEN<\/strong> They tell everything. I love it!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tVANSTEENBERGHE<\/strong> They tell on me (Laughs).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tWhat are you all looking forward to the most about the upcoming reunion, and are you planning to call anyone out?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tVANSTEENBERGHE<\/strong> I\u2019m excited to call people out if there needs to be people called out, which there might need to be. But I\u2019m also excited to grab my popcorn and watch other people call people out. So I\u2019m just gonna be chilling on the side eating popcorn, like, I\u2019m actually gonna request popcorn.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tCARTHEN<\/strong> That is so messy!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tVANSTEENBERGHE<\/strong> It\u2019s gonna be a cinematic film and it\u2019s all caught in 4K, so it\u2019s beautiful.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tCARTHEN<\/strong> It might have to be multiple parts, to be honest. I don\u2019t think one episode would do this reunion justice, because everyone\u2019s gonna keep holding these things in until the reunion.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tVANSTEENBERGHE<\/strong> I\u2019m hoping it\u2019s another 35 episodes of just reunion (Laughs).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tCARTHEN<\/strong> Absolutely not. I\u2019m not going for that.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tIf you got the opportunity, could you see yourself returning to the Love Island franchise, maybe Beyond the Villa?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\tVANSTEENBERGHE<\/strong> As far as Beyond the Villa, that sounds really fun.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tCARTHEN<\/strong> I would love to be considered. I know the Nicolandrians truly want that. We need more screen time for Nic and Olandria, so I think they will be very appreciative of it. We definitely would. I feel like that last week was so magical for both of us and one of my favorite days by far.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tVANSTEENBERGHE<\/strong>: Outside the villa, that\u2019d be so fun just to see what we\u2019re really like, the interest that we have outside of the villa, outside of challenges, so I think we\u2019re both hoping. It\u2019d be cool to do.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tLove Island USA\u00a0season seven is currently streaming on Peacock<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Though Olandria Carthen and Nic Vansteenberghe may have been \u201coblivious\u201d to the romantic spark initially, they\u2019re so happy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":270372,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[383,59839,26364,49,978,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-270371","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-love-island","9":"tag-love-island-usa","10":"tag-peacock","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-us","13":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114870792040594546","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}