For most of Love Island USA’s third season, fans went back and forth with feelings on Shannon St. Clair.
While she was one of the most-searched-for people on Google when she showed up, her past and her actions on the show painted her as a villain to some.
Others fell in love with her as the season wore on, seeing her rude comments and abrasive attitude as a “tell it like it is” personality.
There were also many people who felt she and Josh Goldstein would never work outside the villa, mostly because of how Shannon was always talking down to him about everything he did in the villa.
In a new interview, Shannon explained why she was so hard on Josh during their time in Love Island USA.
Shannon talks her attitude on Love Island USA
One thing people can appreciate about Shannon St. Clair is that she speaks her mind, even if some see her as out of line when she does.
She said she won’t hold back any of her feelings, attributing it to how she was raised in the Philadelphia area.
This includes her interfering in other’s relationships, such as when she kept pushing Kyra Lizama to question Will Moncada harder after he admitted to kissing another girl in Casa Amor.
When it came to how terribly she treated Josh at times on the show, she had a different explanation.
Josh told ET Online that most of his and Shannon’s arguments came when they were trying to find ways to tear their relationship apart.
“I tried pushing him away as much as I could just because if it’s a good thing, it’ll always come back and I definitely tested him while in there,” Shannon said.
She continued, “I definitely came in with a little bit of trust issues and reality TV and I didn’t know the type of people that were going to be on it and I have to take care of my heart.”
“So I definitely put Josh to the test a bunch of times and tried to push him away a little bit to see if he would run away or if he would come back to me. And he came back to me every single time.”
Shannon and Josh’s Love Island USA love endured
Not only did Josh always come back to Shannon no matter what she said or did to him, but she stuck with him when he needed it the most.
When his sister Lindsey Goldstein died suddenly, Josh left Love Island USA to be with his family and Shannon went with him.
She didn’t even have to think about this decision.
“It wasn’t even a second thought,” Shannon said. “Josh and I are so close — our connection, it doesn’t come often in this life.”
Love Island USA Season 3 airs on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sundays at 9/8c on CBS.