Peacock didn’t waste any time letting America stir the pot on season 7 of Love Island USA.
During the Sunday, June 15, episode of the dating show — which airs daily with the exception of Wednesdays — Ace Greene, Amaya Espinal, Austin Shepard, Chelley Bissainthe, Cierra Ortega, Hannah Fields, Huda Mustafa, Iris Kendall, Jalen Brown, Jeremiah Brown, Pepe Garcia, Nic Vansteenberghe, Olandria Carthen, Taylor Williams and Charlie Georgiou were in for a surprise when host Ariana Madix announced a recoupling with a twist.
Several pairings, including Taylor and Olandria, Huda and Jeremiah and Hannah and Charlie, were actively trying to work out their issues when they were told America would be breaking up three existing couples to pair new bombshells Pepe, Jalen and Iris with an islander.
What ensued next could only be described as a group crash out. islanders fell apart as they watched Jeremiah be coupled up with Iris, Hannah with Pepe and Olandria and Jalen. Things only got more tense when Ariana told the group that they will all be voting to send one of the just-dumped islanders — Huda, Charlie and Taylor — home.
Amaya — to Ace’s amusement — started crying and initially refused to cast a vote as if she was casting a ballot in The Hunger Games. Huda seemed emotionally zoned out as both Ace and Nic voted for her to go home because they claimed she wasn’t being genuine by closing her and Jeremiah off one week into the show.
It was ultimately Charlie who was eliminated (after first making a plea to the other contestants as if he was on Big Brother). Hannah, despite several makeout sessions with newcomer Pepe, was distraught. She was even seen sobbing on the bed while holding a photo of her and Charlie.
Luckily, this is only the start to week 2 for those watching at home. (The islanders are halfway through their second week in Fiji but for the sake of timeline, Us will be tracking the events based on when they air on Peacock.)
As the group will grapple with next steps after that shocking elimination, Us Weekly is keeping you up to date with live highlights so keep scrolling:
The second week (of episodes) started with Hannah admitting to Charlie that she kissed Pepe. Charlie tried to be supportive of Hannah exploring her options but in typical Love Island USA form, Charlie got even by seeing which women he could form connections with as well. He specifically zeroed in on newcomers Iris and Amaya, with Amaya not taking the bait as she is close with Hannah.
Hannah had one more steamy makeout session with Pepe before realizing he reminded her of her physical connection with exes compared to her romantic bond with Charlie. . After a meaningful chat, Hannah and Charlie were recommitted to a future together, which America didn’t see before locking in their votes (but more on that later).
An undercooked pancake was nearly the straw that broke the camel’s back for Jeremiah and Huda who had been arguing over her reactions to him kissing other women, including Olandria, in challenges. Still, the twosome slept together shortly before the already-infamous recoupling with America’s votes.
Austin, for his part, told Chelley he was insecure about her connection with Ace — which only made Chelley want Ace more as he is more lined up more with her spontaneous nature. It didn’t take long for Ace, however, to remind Chelley once again that he was open to any new connection that could happen when more bombshells entered the villa, which was just code for he wasn’t looking to commit to Chelley.
There was also Olandria considering a future with Jalen. After having to kiss just about every guy during the woodcutting challenge, Olandria had a moment with Jalen that made her unsure whether they were moving too fast on the physical front.
This all accumulated into what some viewers are referring to as the most “traumatizing” recoupling where the contestants got their first glimpse into what fans think of the season so far.
The June 15 episode ended with the following couples still together and on the show: Ace and Amaya, Austin and Chelley, Cierra and Nic, Hannah and Pepe, Iris and Jeremiah, Olandria and Jalen. The contestants that are single and vulnerable are Taylor and Huda.
New episodes of Love Island USA stream on Peacock daily at 9 p.m. ET. Us Weekly will be updating this post with the biggest developments.
