If you’ve been following along on my Instagram stories, you might have noticed that I’ve been sharing my reactions to Love Island USA season 2 almost every night. I don’t know how I got to this point. Actually I do. At the height of quarantine and start of my summer vacation, I binge-watched Love Island UK seasons 5, 6, and 2 (in that order). I heard some iffy things about Love Island USA season 1, but on a whim I decided to follow along with season 2 after I had seen the first episode on YouTube. It was and is still definitely worth the watch. It’s also been a while since I’ve shared a post on your favorite topic—dating. That’s why I figured I’d share love lessons from Love Island USA Season 2.
Yes, you could say it’s “just a reality TV show.” But I think love island is particularly interesting and thought-provoking because it really seems like millennial/Gen-Z American dating in a petri dish (the island) under a microscope (cameras and all the viewers). However, there are things to keep in mind, like the fact that the couple pairings are between men and women and also that the majority of people who go on the show are white or of lighter complexion with specific physiques.
Instead of giving you a random and unorganized list, I’m going to take this couple (or former couple) by couple and pull out a lesson from each. I think these love island love lessons are relevant whether or not you watch or have plans to watch Love Island. But if you do, just know that there might be some spoilers (i.e. couple pairings). I’ll try to keep it as vague as possible! Let’s get into these Love Island love lessons.
Cely and Johnny
Love lesson: It shouldn’t take seeing her in pain to realize how you feel about her.
Ah, the couple together from day 2 of life in “the villa”. They were honestly off to the greatest of starts and in their own words soon became the power couple. Honestly, even before Casa Amor took place, it was pretty clear to me how much Cely liked Johnny. On top of that, it was even clear to other people in the villa—so much so that Caleb told Johnny that he thought that Cely was falling in love. Never mind that, how about the fact that Cely would “jokingly”, on numerous occasions, say she was trying to get Johnny to fall in love with her. It felt like everyone knew how much Cely liked Johnny . . . except Johnny? Yeah, sure.
When he came back from Casa Amor and told Cely maybe half the story of what went down, as expected, Cely was hurt. And it took Johnny seeing her this way for him to understand how much he likes Cely and how the last thing he would want to do is hurt her. To this, I say do better. It really shouldn’t have taken her tears or doubt in the relationship for a light bulb of emotion to go off in Johnny’s head. Honestly, I don’t even buy it because actions speak louder than words. There’s a lot that’s still unclear and I’m curious to see how Johnny and Cely’s relationship unfolds (or crumbles lol) as the season goes on.
Mackenzie and Connor
Love lesson: Your growth areas in your past relationships won’t suddenly disappear when you’re with someone new. So focus on improving what you can control: yourself.
Sigh. Sigh. Sigh. This couple. Probably the most dramatic couple whose drama no one cared about. I’m glad we’ve seen the end of the Mackenzie-Connor saga on screen. But backtracking for a bit, this love lesson is focused primarily on Mackenzie. She had a lot to say about Connor while he was away in Casa Amor and she met someone new in the meantime. She was excited and eager. Fair enough. But soon enough, the same critique she got when she was in Connor, she got from Jalen. MacKenzie said that her luck would have it that both of the guys she liked in the villa were people that everyone else liked to talk to and for that reason, she felt like she didn’t get enough attention from them. The reality is, MacKenzie wants attention, potentially too much so from someone who she’s known for a couple of days. When she got any critique from her partner and even from some of the others in the villa, she’d often break down and cry. This distracted from the fact that she really had flaws that not one but two of her partners in the villa told her about. She needed to look internally and consider that she had some serious growth areas.
Keirstan and Carrington
Love lesson: It sucks to not be wanted by the person you like, but you have to let it go and move on.
This one is pretty straightforward, but not really because if you’ve been here you know it’s not that easy. Kierstan liked Carrington a lot. So much so that even after discussing being a friend couple, and presumably agreeing to choose new people in Casa Amor, Kierstan decided to “make a statement” and stay single for Carrington. You really do hate to see it because Kierstand has some great traits but for whatever reason, Carrington was just not feeling it. But Kierstan knew this. The Kierstan-likes-Carrington drama was drawn out for far too long but that’s because it really is tough when the person you like doesn’t want you. It’s even tougher when you live with them and thus have to see them every day. But once it’s clear a person doesn’t want you, you have to find a way to move on. Gas yourself up, remind yourself of how bomb you are, remind yourself of God’s promises for your life—whatever it is, just do it and move on.
Moira and well, errbody
Love lesson: Get comfortable with yourself.
Lol. Moira, Moira, Moira. It feels like she’s been in the most potential or actual couple pairings and she still hasn’t really found anyone. She took it really hard on herself and finally broke down after a post-Casa Amor couple pairing didn’t really give her the fireworks she wanted. As an audience viewer, it seemed like she was doing a lot of crying, which is sad because it’s not great to see someone so sad. But honestly, I think Moira isn’t as comfortable with the thought of not finding someone in Casa Amor as other people are. (Take for example Kierstan who also hasn’t been in a solid couple yet either.)
I remember Moira mentioned that she had been in an eight-year relationship that ended two years prior to coming on the show. Sure, being single for two years is a long time, but only a fourth of eight years, especially when you consider the fact that she was fairly young when she started that one. Maybe a lot of transformative reflection happened for Moira in those two years and she’s ready for something real and serious, but I think Moira is a good example of someone who could benefit from getting comfortable and confident with herself enough to be just fine if she doesn’t meet someone on the show. After all, it’s a show.
Justine and Caleb (aka Jaleb)
Love lesson: Know yourself. Know what you want. Pursue that, and hope for the best.*
The favorites. My favorite. Chrissy Teigen’s favorite. The couple we’ve watched blossom on the screen right in front of our eyes. The only couple to make it past Casa Amor basically unscathed, even though they were in the early stages of their couple pairing and still opening up to each other. I’d like to think that’s because they both knew what they wanted and no new person in the villa gave them that more than each other.
To think that this would have never happened had Justine not taken the leap and made her interest in Caleb known, even while they both were coupled with other people. Or that this would have never happened had Caleb not listened to himself and picked Justine over his partner at the time. Though in the real world, I can’t say I’d ever make the first move on a guy. But I will say Justine was on a show where the whole point is for everyone to make a move, so if I were in her shoes I’d do what I had to do. But essentially, I think they ended together by knowing what they wanted and being themselves.
*It’s also not lost on me that another reminder from Justine specifically is the feeling of being unwanted that a lot of dark skin women experience. From day uno, Justine was kind of the unwanted one (by Jeremiah first, and then by Tré—I don’t care what you say, she was his safety option.) While other women in the villa were referred to as beautiful or attractive, guys often referred to Justine as the one they could open up to or be vulnerable with. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that at all. But Justine is absolutely beautiful and she could have been both the person who is beautiful on the inside and out. But hey, Caleb is winning now and so is Justine so hopefully that’s a sign of hope!
I could go on and on with more love island love lessons, but I wanted to keep it at this. Let’s chat about Love Island in the comments of this post or in my DMs when I post my live reactions!
“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
