Ahead of Love Island USA returning for Season 5 July 18th on Peacock, we’re looking back at the winning couples so far. The original UK Love Island series has a spotty track record of contestants actually finding love. For every Molly-Mae Hauge and Tommy Fury, there’s a couple who breaks up as soon as they leave the villa. Over the course of four seasons, how has the USA version fared by comparison?
Zac Mirabelli & Elizabeth Weber, Season 1
Zac Mirabelli and Elizabeth Weber won the inaugural season of Love Island USA in 2019. Though they had a smooth ride in the villa, it didn’t translate to real world success. Just a few months later, they announced the split on social media, emphasizing it was amicable.
While the two broke up years ago, that hasn’t stopped fans from commenting on their respective Instagrams that they hope the couple gets back together. And as more and more people watch Love Island USA Seasons 1-3 on Netflix, it seems those cries only get louder.
Since Season 2, Elizabeth has co-hosted the After The Island podcast with fellow Season 1 star, Alex Stewart. The podcast is the unofficial USA version of Love Island UK’s Aftersun, aka the place where eliminated contestants have their first post-show interview. Elizabeth has also amassed an impressive following as an Instagram influencer.
Zac, who posts on Instagram far less frequently than his ex, lives in New York and works as a model. Unlike Elizabeth, he completely deleted any evidence of their relationship from his social media. There is also no mention of his time on Love Island to be found.
Justine Ndiba & Caleb Corprew, Season 2
Season 2’s Justine Ndiba and Caleb Corprew, aka “Jaleb,” seemed like the perfect couple in the villa. Justine, an instant Love Island icon, had a rough time at first. But when Caleb arrived, her luck quickly turned around. Fans, including celebrities like Chrissy Teigen, were obsessed with the duo and their incredible chemistry. It came as no surprise when they won, becoming the first Black couple on any Love Island series to do so.
Sadly, it was too good to be true. Justine announced the breakup in January 2021, only a few months later. Soon afterwards, pictures of Caleb spending the holidays with a woman who was definitely not Justine came out. Fans quickly found evidence that suggested he was already dating this woman when he joined the show.
Making matters worse, offensive tweets from Caleb were soon uncovered. He later feuded with Murad Merali, a YouTuber who supported Justine, and ran a Twitter Q&A where he attacked everyone. Despite these actions, Caleb still has over 250K Instagram followers, and seems to find consistent work as a model.
Though obviously heartbroken by Caleb’s betrayal, Justine never stopped thriving. Today, she’s a successful model and influencer in Los Angeles, working with brands like Pretty Little Thing, Savage X Fenty, and Fashion Nova. After appearing on The Challenge franchise, her fanbase grew even more. She now has 500K followers on Instagram. While her Love Island romance fell apart, Justine is still close with co-stars like Cely Vasquez, Mackenzie Dipman, and Calvin Cobb.
Olivia Kaiser & Korey Gandy, Season 3
Olivia Kaiser and Korey Gandy winning in the first place was already bizarre, so no one was that shocked when the Love Island USA winning couple called it quits a few months later. Olivia suddenly claimed to have feelings for Korey after Casa Amor, and viewers never could tell if she was genuine.
But once the couples everyone expected to win were out of the picture, Korey and Olivia seemed to win by default. Before the finale, producers bafflingly let on-again/off-again fan favorites Melvin “Cinco” Holland Jr. and Cashay Proudfoot get eliminated and reunite on the outside world. And tragedy struck for the frontrunners, Joshua Goldstein and Shannon Saint, who left early due to the sudden death of his sister.
As an Instagram influencer, Olivia posts a lot of Shein spon, and writes a lot of overlong captions, for her 300K followers. She’s also continued a career in reality tv. Olivia followed up Love Island by appearing on The Challenge Season 38, and is also set to return for The Challenge Season 39.
Korey has an OnlyFans page, is on Cameo, and posts about fitness and traveling on his Instagram. He appears to still be trying to make his Love Island catchphrase “What the freak” happen, even selling tee shirts.
Zeta Morrison & Timmy Pandolfi, Season 4
Zeta Morrison, a British nanny who looked like a supermodel and brought the messy antics perfect for reality TV, was paired with world’s biggest shrimp fan, Timmy Pandolfi, on day one. While bombshell Bria briefly caused a love triangle, “Zimmy” couldn’t stay away from each other for long. After he stayed loyal in Casa Amor, they sailed to the finals. Sadly, viewers ended up with a sequel to the Jaleb saga.
Zeta announced she broke up with Timmy in an interview with Love Island YouTuber Murad Merali (yes, the same YouTuber Caleb fought). She explained that things felt off as soon as they left the villa. Timmy was distant and uncaring, and constantly made excuses not to see her. When Zeta met his family, she found out that his sister told him to go for a darker skinned girl because they were historically popular with viewers.
Once the shocking video came out, Timmy tried to defend himself by claiming he and Zeta agreed to fake things for the cameras. But even if that’s true, it still doesn’t excuse his treatment of Zeta or his sister’s comments. Now, going by Timmy Swerve on Instagram, he continues working as a fitness coach while pursuing careers in acting and music. He also posts comedy videos that seem a little…pointed.
If he’s trying to get under his ex’s skin, it won’t work. Zeta has the most Instagram followers of any Love Island USA contestant so far. The actress already seems poised to have the best post-show career as well. She attends red carpets, partners with major brands, and keeps up a blog and a YouTube channel.
Love Island UK stars, including host Maya Jama, publicly fangirl over her. We wouldn’t be surprised if she pops up on the rumored Love Island All-Stars spin-off. She’s also friends with another famously wronged reality tv icon, Ariana Madix of Vanderpump Rules.
TELL US – WERE YOU SHOCKED BY THESE LOVE ISLAND USA WINNER BREAKUPS? WHICH LOVE ISLAND COUPLE IS YOUR FAVORITE?
