'Love Island' fans celebrate Latino couple Amaya and Bryan's finale win: 'This was needed'
Amaya Espinal and Bryan Arenales, fan-favorite contestants on the latest season of Peacock's hit dating competition series, were crowned the winners of Season 7 during the reality show's finale on Sunday, July 13. Alongside their bragging rights as island victors, the two will split a $100,000 prize.
Following a season plagued by racism controversies, including the abrupt exit of frontrunner Cierra Ortega, Espinal and Arenales' win earned praise from fans on social media for its positive media representation of the Latino community.
Some online users shared their excitement over Espinal and Arenales reportedly being the first Latino couple to win the show (Espinal is of Dominican descent, while Arenales purportedly has Puerto Rican and Guatemalan roots). USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for "Love Island" for comment.
Others highlighted the cultural significance of a Latino couple winning "Love Island" amid the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration. In June, several demonstrations erupted across Los Angeles in response to a series of immigration raids carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which were part of a larger directive from President Trump to target immigrants living in the United States without legal status.
"Two Latinos winning Love Island in a time when innocent hardworking immigrants are being raided, deported, and demonized?" @swagrman wrote on Threads. "Yeah. This was needed🙌"
'Love Island USA' 2025 finale: Amaya and Bryan crowned Season 7 winners
'Love Island' fans thrilled by Amaya and Bryan's win
After Espinal and Arenales were named the Season 7 winners, X user @vietbaddie playfully marked the occasion by sharing a clip of Puerto Rican entertainer Jennifer Lopez giving a shout-out to the Latino community during an awards show acceptance speech.
"Amaya Papaya and Bryan, the first Latino couple to win Love Island ever and in Trump's America," @vietbaddie wrote. "LET'S GOOOOO!!!!!!"
"I can sleep peacefully tonight knowing my Amaya Papaya and Bryan won Love Island USA and are the first Latino couple to win the show and a white man DID NOT," @tolIerateit wrote on X.
In response to the finale news, X user @tabbyfarans shared a GIF that read: "Smiling through it all: Can't believe this my life."
"Bramaya Love Island USA's s7 winners!!!!!!" @tabbyfarans added. "This is literally a reward for living in Trump's America."
"Amaya and Bryan winning was always on the bingo card," @uknwuluvme_xoxogossipgirl wrote on Threads. "Our first Latino couple making it on Love Island. Thank you for representing Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and New York. Congratulations 🎉🍾"
'Love Island' winner Amaya Espinal dishes on love for Dominican heritage
During her tenure on "Love Island," Espinal, a New York City native, emphasized the importance of her Dominican culture as the daughter of immigrants.
"Both of my parents were actually born in the Dominican Republic, and I'm the first generation to be born here," Espinal previously said on the show. "I'm heavy, heavy on culture."
'Love Island USA' Season 7 reunion: Find out date, time, hosts
Although Espinal's love story with Arenales is in its early stages, the cardiac nurse also shared how her Latino heritage would inform her family life.
"Even when I have my kids, let's say my husband isn't Dominican, they're still going to know Spanish," Espinal added. "They're still going to know the culture."
Contributing: KiMi Robinson and Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
11 minutes ago
- USA Today
Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar step out at 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' premiere
It's the moment you've been waiting for. The cast of the new "I Know What You Did Last Summer," including Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr., hit the red carpet for the film's Los Angeles premiere on Monday, July 14, nearly 28 years after the original slasher hit. Prinze was joined on the carpet by his wife, Sarah Michelle Gellar. The actors met working together on the original "I Know What You Did Last Summer," the 1997 horror film in which they played friends who accidentally run over a pedestrian and are then stalked by a killer who knows their secret. Speaking with USA TODAY about the new movie, which hits theaters on July 18, Prinze recalled how he and Gellar grew close on the first film. "Sarah and I became really, really good friends on that movie, long before we ever went on a date together," he says. "We were just cool. I was always grateful for that relationship, even before we started dating. We started dating by accident. It just kind of happened." Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr. share sweet photo for wedding anniversary Prinze and Gellar, who married in 2002, went on to work together again starring as Fred and Daphne, respectively, in 2002's "Scooby-Doo" and its sequel, "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed." Gellar's fan favorite "I Know What You Did Last Summer" character, Helen Shivers, was killed off in the original movie. But Prinze reprised his role of Ray in the film's 1998 sequel, "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer." Almost three decades later, he now returns in the latest film, which reunites him with Hewitt and mixes the veteran actors with a new cast of stars who are stalked by a killer once again. In November, Gellar caused a stir among fans when she posted a photo from the set of the new "I Know What You Did Last Summer." But she later clarified on "Live with Kelly and Mark" that her character is "dead" and noted she didn't realize she wasn't supposed to share the behind-the-scenes look. How Sarah Michelle Gellar pays homage to 'Buffy' in supernatural drama 'Wolf Pack' "My husband's starring in the movie, and it was Thanksgiving, so I took our kids to Australia to go out there and visit him," she said. "I was sitting on set and I was like, 'Oh, what a great picture.' Then I posted it, and then I found out that they hadn't posted any pictures from the set yet, hadn't announced they started filming. That was (an), 'Oops, my bad!'" Gellar added that it was "really cool" to bring her kids to set but admitted, "I got in a little bit of trouble."
Refinery29
an hour ago
- Refinery29
Love Island USA Needs An Overhaul Next Season
Love Island USA needs to figure out what it wants to be before returning for Season 8. Sunday night's finale was proof. Amaya Espinal and Bryan Arenales' historic win felt like the best case scenario for an ending featuring a break up (Huda and Chris), a couple brought together by production and audience influence (sorry, Nicolandria truthers), and a couple that seemed to be folks' least favorite despite getting enough votes to make it to the finale (Iris Kendall and Pepe Garcia). Season 7 of Peacock's No. 1 reality dating show was a hot mess, naturally, but it also felt like an identity crisis. And Sunday night's two-hour season finale was a reflection of a series of questionable production decisions, weird audience engagement tactics, overzealous parasocial relationships, and problematic behavior. None of which are unique to this show, but this season's record-breaking success played a huge role in both the peaks and pits — as contestant Nic Vansteenberghe would call them — of the stateside franchise. Let's review. Amaya and Bryan became the first Latine couple to win Love Island USA. Them winning over fan adoration was a late twist as the two bombshells entered the villa at different points during the season and formed a connection a week prior to the finale. Their victory was largely due to Amaya's popularity which rose astronomically throughout the season despite her sometimes over-the-top theatrics (LOTS of crying) that in the past have turned audiences off of contestants. Once the season hit a point where there weren't many couples with a genuine connection to root for, her authentic energy, bubbly personality and consistent one-liners made it easy to see that she would win it all no matter who she was paired up with. Bryan stepped in to defend her during the tension-filled 'Standing on Business' challenge. This set him up to couple up with Amaya. Season 7 earned record-breaking viewership with it becoming the second most-watched streaming original title, The Wrap reports, with new viewers making up for 39 percent of its audience. The show garnered over 1.2 billion minutes viewed across nine episodes in just its second week, according to Luminate's streaming data. That was reflected on social media as well with a 232 percent increase in TikTok engagement compared to last season. Its success created waves beyond virtual spaces, too, with numerous watch parties popping up across the country. Out of the gate, it was evident that the show was chasing its own success after the happy accident of casting the perfect set of singles that made Season 6 a cultural phenomenon — so much so that the cast earned a spinoff, Love Island: Beyond The Villa. Many of the Season 8 contestants were content creators with sizable followings before they headed into the villa. Many islanders left social media handlers to take over their accounts while they were on the show, disconnected from the outside world. The beginning of the six-week experiment felt like any other season packed with attractive singles, steamy conversations, jealousy and challenges that remind you why this show isn't on cable. But viewers had an unprecedented amount of power this season, dictating which bombshells would break up couples and digging up old videos and posts of contestants — Yulissa Escobar and Cierra Ortega — using racist language. Audience influence was partly to blame for a lukewarm finale. None of the original couples from the show's early days made it to the end. Amaya and Bryan were the only remaining couple who committed to each other. Only three of the eight contestants — Nic, Olandria Carthen, and Huda Mustafa — were islanders who entered on Day 1 with a majority of the finalists being bombshells. ' Season 7 of Peacock's No. 1 reality dating show was a hot mess, naturally, but it also felt like an identity crisis. taryn finley ' One of the most talked about moments from the episode was Huda and Chris Seely breaking up during their final, hard to watch date. Their 11th hour split was a first for the show — though predictable for the rocky relationship that began after Casa Amor. Chris slept in Soul Ties instead of in the bed with Huda the final night, which may also be a first for the show. While the drama was entertaining enough, it's not the direction the show should be headed in. The show is, after all, called LOVE Island and this season lacked the thing the reality series is sold on: singles finding genuine connections and romance. We know most of these couples don't last, but the final three couples from Season 6 are still going strong and part of the joy of that season was watching their relationships blossom. If producers and the audience had their way last season, who knows if Leah Kateb and Miguel Harichi would be together? What Should Change For Season 8? Less Viewer Intervention The truth is that Season 7 just did too much. In an attempt to make this season bigger and better, production pulled out all of the stops. They sent the girls to Casa Amor for the first time, which was fine. But bringing everyone back from Casa into the main villa and having 24 people in the villa at the same time was chaotic and nearly impossible for viewers to remember who was who. What really set off a spiral was producers giving viewers the ability to couple up bombshells with whomever they pleased. This created a canon event that split up Huda and Jeremiah Brown and gave the islanders the unspoken validity of kicking off those lucky enough to find someone they like enough to be with for more than a few days. Love Island became more about exploring everyone possible until the options were depleted (maybe also a reflection of real world dating). And if those decisions were based on strategy, it didn't work for anyone hoping to make it to the end. The audience had a lot of say outside of the voting windows as well, which led to only Yulissa and Cierra's departure despite other contestants posting and reposting derogatory things about other races. There seemed to be a double standard in who was getting punished and who wasn't. Moving forward, producers have to do a better job of vetting show candidates while also clearly defining what they find unacceptable. Love Island's official stance on what moral standard their contestants need to meet isn't clear since they have never explicitly stated their policy on racist comments and actions and only left viewers to assume. Plus, given the show's history with racial bias — and this season's edits — their Black singles and other contestants of color have gotten the short end of the stick. Audiences stereotyped Olandria and Chelley Bissainthe as mean girls based off of editing bias and harmful tropes. Just last week, Buzzfeed Tasty shared an Instagram post stating that they would give Chelley a 'knuckle sandwich,' promoting violence against a Black woman. If Love Island is going to stand up against bullying, then they need to be specific and call it what it is with their whole chest: racism. A big appeal for viewers isn't just the real-time factor of the show, but that they have a say in what goes on in the villa. And though this may be just a show to those watching at home, there are some real ethical questions it brings up as we're ultimately playing with these people's feelings with the click of a button. The producers already have enough of that power. Maybe it's best to keep the voting process very straight forward in the future. Amaya and Bryan's victory — as well as Kordell Beckham and Serena Page's win in Season 6 — are indicative of what kind of stories win big on Love Island USA. It's those that are between authentic individuals who have a genuine connection. Though most Love Island couples typically don't stay together long after, it is, after all, the kind of escapist entertainment that should make us feel more positive emotions than negative, not the other way around. My hot take is that Love Island USA should take a year off and figure its shit out before coming back. But after its most successful season to date, that's very unlikely. Besides, the islanders could barely get out of the villa before the Season 8 call to audition was posted. Like last season, viewers will get a chance to find closure with a Season 7 reunion, airing on Peacock on August 25. It will be hosted by Ariana Madix and Andy Cohen. Hopefully by then, we'll know a little bit more definitively what the hell we just spent the last six weeks watching.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Zach Bryan's Ex Brianna LaPaglia Fires Back Against Song Remarks, Leaked Text Message
The online post-breakup drama between singer-songwriter Zach Bryan and his ex-girlfriend, podcaster Brianna LaPaglia continues nearly a year after the former couple's breakup in late 2024. A new set of back-and-forth of barbs thrown between Bryan and LaPaglia began shortly after Bryan released a trio of new songs earlier this month, including 'River Washed Hair.' The Grammy winner denied online speculation the new song was about LaPaglia, commenting, 'Lmfao, I said 'sweet' this is not about whatever she has going on hahahahaah.' More from Billboard Matt Cameron Denies He's Retired Following Exit From Pearl Jam Kesha Makes Chart-Topping Debut With New Album '. (Period)' Rauw Alejandro Gains Big: 'Carita Linda' Takes No. 1 Spot on Latin Airplay Chart LaPaglia swiftly responded on social media, writing, 'Lmao obviously he doesn't think I'm sweet I turned down 12 million dollars to share my abuse,' going on to claim of Bryan's previous romantic partners, 'while rose [Madden] and Deb [Peifer] signed nda's. Also fyi his songs aren't about anyone he writes them drunk at 6am.' On his Instagram Stories, Bryan shared a screenshot of a text message allegedly sent from LaPaglia, sometime prior to Oct. 29, 2024. The lengthy message includes lines such as 'I'll never forget the love I felt for you at one time in this life! Timing was wrong and you weren't ready and that's okay. Enjoy being a rockstar. If you ever need a friend that gets it, I'll always be here, I don't break my promises.' On July 14, LaPaglia shared on Instagram a screenshot of a different text message, one which LaPaglia claimed was from Bryan's management team, offering non-disclosure agreement option proposals, with one option including a house in addition to $3 million, and another option being a flat $10 million. 'And I rest my case! His manager texting me their options for NDA [non-disclosure agreement],' LaPaglia captioned the Instagram story containing the screenshot of the text message. In another Instagram Story on July 14, LaPaglia wrote, 'I have not told one lie ever and it's baffling to me the brain dead little army of men that so clearly abuse women too that blindly follow their little leader bc he makes songs for them about being bad boyz lol.' She also seemed to confirm that Bryan's previously screenshotted text message was indeed from her, writing, 'For those of you confused, my ex posted screenshots of our texts (where I'm being nice lol) this morning at 7 am. He also commented on TikTok's about me last week. I am simply responding to him attacking me. I want nothing to do with this man idk why he's crashing out.' She also wrote, 'One last thing, I am not taking the bait and please stop dming me to expose him. The proof is literally in the pudding I don't need to relive my trauma for the sake of online entertainment. Like I've said from day one. I share my experiences that I thought would be helpful for other women and I'll continue to honor that.' She later added, 'I was offered 12.9 million dollars to stay quiet. I was presented options on what I could choose. I chose none because I have morals. End of story. I'm so sick of this s–t idk why he's crashing out. After their breakup last year, Bryan posted on his Instagram Stories, 'Brianna and me have broken up with each other and I respect and love her with every ounce of my heart. She has loved me unconditionally for a very long time and for that I'll always thank her. I have had an incredibly hard year personally and struggled through some pretty severe things. I thought it would be beneficial for both of us to go our different ways. I am not perfect and I never will be.' Billboard has reached out to Bryan's team for comment. Next up, Bryan will perform three headlining shows at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 18-20. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
