As four couples are left vying for the win on Love Island USA Season 5, several other castmates seem like they found romantic connections to explore past the show.
The most notable was Vickala “Kay Kay” Gray and Keenan Anunay, who took fans on a roller coaster of ups and downs during their time together on the show.
Two Bombshells also seemed to connect as Australian hunk Harrison Luna and the fiery Emily Chavez exited the Fiji villa together.
While Keenan and Kay Kay seemed intent on continuing their relationship beyond the show’s filming, that may not be the case for Emily and Harrison.
Recent rumors suggest that Emily may have found a connection with one of her other castmates and has moved on past Harrison.
This report may contain spoilers for Love Island USA Season 5, which airs its finale on Sunday, August 27.
Love Island couple exited together on Day 15
Earlier this month, an elimination took place with a couple getting sent home from Fiji. That was Day 15, and the couple kicked off the island was Harrison and Emily.
Harrison entered the villa on Day 4 as a surprise Bombshell who crashed a nighttime party. From there, he and Destiny became a couple. When that didn’t work out, Harrison turned his attention towards another Bombshell, Emily, who arrived on Day 10 and stole him away. They were featured enjoying one another’s company.
In Episode 18, Love Island’s Maura Higgins showed up to reveal that America felt Harrison was “the most boring boy” on the show. From there, eight Islanders faced potentially getting dumped, which would end their time on the show.
The “safe Islanders” got to decide on one boy and one girl to send home. The four “safe guys” chose which girl to dump, while the four “safe girls” chose which girl to dump.
The women talked about how they didn’t like what Harrison did when he moved on so quickly from Destiny to Emily. The guys discussed how Harrison and Emily hadn’t “pulled anyone else for a chance” to connect since they arrived.
Ultimately, they announced their decisions. Harrison and Emily packed their luggage, said their goodbyes, and left the villa together.
“The good thing for Emily and Harrison is they were already coupled up, so they got to leave together. And if what they have is real, I know they’re gonna keep on getting to know each other on the outside,” their castmate Kassy said in a confessional interview.
Emily also told Screen Rant that she felt she and Harrison had a great connection after they met on the show and were going to feel things out after filming.
“Harrison and I are just living right now. He’s literally in Australia, and we stay in communication – we still text and FaceTime, but as far as our ‘exclusivity,’ we’re not exclusive at all by any means. I’ve known this man a week, so we’re keeping it super realistic. We’re not exclusive by any means, but I think we’re just kind of seeing where things can go,” she said.
Emily mentioned that Harrison would be visiting the United States “soon,” and they’d see each other again when he did.
Did Emily move on with a different islander after leaving the villa?
While Emily left the villa with Harrison, they certainly aren’t exclusive. She may also be exploring things with another castmate. A short TikTok clip that Emily shared on Saturday (below) showed her on a bed and then cut to a shot of a shirtless Mike Stark on a bed, suggesting something might have happened.
After Mike’s shot, it cut back to Emily, who shrugged as she looked at the camera. Based on her curious body language, they may be just trying to stir up some rumors with a viral video. However, many fans didn’t feel Harrison and Emily had a genuine connection they wanted to explore after the show, so it’s possible Emily and Mike have something.
The rumored couple also showed up in an Instagram video that Mike and Emily shared on Saturday. It started as Emily talked to an off-camera interviewer, claiming Mike seemed to “have something against her.” Emily pointed out that whenever Mike was near her, he’d “say something rude” to her.
“I feel like kind of a b***h… but I don’t f**k with him,” Emily shared with the off-camera person.
Mike popped up on the screen next with a mobile phone in hand and showed viewers that Emily had contacted him for a video call.
“I told them we had to squash our beef,” Mike said while chatting with Emily, and they had a laugh about things.
The video cuts to them hanging out together and having a few shots with “We Talked It Out” written in text on the screen.
“We’re Literally Besties Now,” another bit of text said on-screen after footage showed them playing Jenga and talking at a bar or club.
Interestingly, Mike Stark, who arrived as a bombshell with Imani Wheeler, delivered the guy’s decision for which girl was being dumped from the island. Mike was one of the islanders eliminated during the red wedding ceremony, which also featured him calling out host Sarah Hyland and drawing the ire of some viewers.
Did these Love Islanders connect beyond being “besties,” or are they simply trying to rile up viewers to think there’s something more?
Love Island USA Season 5 finale airs Sunday, August 27, at 9/8c on Peacock.