After more than a month of "heartbreak, connection and everything in between,"“Love Island” capped Season 3 by crowning one of the villa’s four remainingcouples as the 2021 winners of the reality dating show.
On Sunday night, viewers voted Olivia Kaiser, a 29-year-oldcosmetologist from Scottsdale, Arizona,and Korey Gandy, a 28-year-old rental car agent from Virginia Beach, Virginia, as their favorite couple. Kaiser and Gandy, who were both Day 1 contestants and coupledup recently in Episode 23, won $50,000 apiece.
"I choose you, it's always been you, and this is just the beginning," Olivia told Korey before"America's favorite couple" was revealed.
Episode 2 couple Will Moncada and Kyra Lizama came in second place.
Before the winners were announced, the final week of “Love Island” was dedicated to casting doubt on the most stable couple in the villa to ramp up the drama before the finale on Aug. 15. From one final elimination to meeting each other’s families and going on luxurious dates, here’s what happened during Week 6, in Episodes 25-28.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Olivia and Korey were sent to the Hideaway
After bidding farewell to Elly Steffen and K-Ci Maultsby, the islanders learned during the “Too Spicy for TV Exclusive Episode” on Monday, Aug. 9, that the Hideaway was open for one couple to spend uninterrupted — albeit filmed — time in a separate room.
New couple Korey Gandy and Olivia Kaiser, who paired up during Episode 23’s recoupling, were delighted when their friends voted to send them upstairs for intimate time alone.
“In my wildest dreams I never thought this would happen,” Korey said in a confessional. “(We) can finally sleep away from the other 20 people in the room.”
'Sexy Beasts':Why are there no plus-size contestants on 'blind' dating shows?
More dating shows:Netflix's bizarre 'Sexy Beasts,' 'Too Hot to Handle' and more reality TV heating up summer
The ‘Love Island’ cast finds out what America thinks of them
The next day, the couples were allowed a peek at what’s going on outside of the Hawaiian villa during the “Dirty Laundry” challenge in Episode 25. They were shown a selection of social media users’ opinions on the show’s developments and tasked with guessing which islanders they thought the posts were referring to.
“This is going to be the first time I’m hearing what America questions between us,” Kyra said of her relationship with Will
Here were some of the highlights of the challenge:
- Andre Brunelli was called the “Tupperware” of the villa because “he’s there to hold the leftovers.”
- Jeremy Hershbergwas labeled “the grim reaper of ‘Love Island’” — every woman he coupled up with endedup leaving.
- Olivia was accused of acting like she likes Korey.
- Kyra forgave Will too quickly for being interested in Flo Mueller during Casa Amor.
This set off a chain of events for Kyra as she started doubting her partner: “Maybe he didn’t tell me the full details,” she said in a confessional.
‘I think Will is going to break her heart’
Understandably, Kyra was shaken after yet another person — even an anonymous stranger — cast doubt on what happened between her and Will after Casa Amor.
Will, however, was on the defensive. He told Kyra that America didn’t know the “deep” things they discussed during their nightly pillow talks.
“I told her 100% everything that happened” with Flo, he told Andre.
Kyra still showed some confidence in her partner from Day 2, asserting to Will that “I moved on so long ago.”
Behind closed doors, her friends were not as sanguine.
“Kyra is losing herself in another guy,” Olivia told Trina Njoroge.
“She needs an awakening, and I think you and I need to give that to her. I don’t want to break her heart or feel like she needs to lose trust,” Trina said. “I’m not for them being together because I think Will is going to break her heart.”
The duo then expressed these concerns to Kyra, who was open to them calling out “flags” they saw in Will but said she felt the pressure of “all the backlash” from what some viewed as infidelity on Will’s part.
“I don’t know if he’s actually wanting, like, a relationship,” Olivia said.
'The Bachelorette' finale recap:Katie gets engaged in the aftermath of losing two frontrunners
Kyra’s family has second thoughts
In Episode 26, Kyra finally addressed her doubts with Will himself. When she asked whether he was looking for “something serious,” he replied, “100%.”
“But there’s no need to rush anything,” he said, repeating the hesitation he expressed during their Episode 24 date over labeling their relationship.
When the islanders’ families started popping up in video chats on a big TV screen, Kyra and Will finally met each other’s parents and siblings. Will told his family that Kyra was “super positive and nontoxic,” adding that he was excited to take her to Colombia.
Kyra’s conversation alone with her parents and sister didn’t go as well. Her dad expressed having “second thoughts” about being part of the show before ultimately deciding that they should support her. Then he dropped a bomb that caused his daughter to hide in a corner and sob into her hands: He wasn’t sure that Will was all-in on Kyra.
How the islanders’ family meet-and-greets went
Each islander was allowed to speak with their family members alone before introducing their bathing suit-donning partners to their parents, grandparents, aunts and children.
Trina shared the lesson that this “Love Island” experience has taught her: “I don’t need to be with a man to be happy,” she said.
After she introduced them to Andre, his mom and 5-year-old daughter appeared on the screen and expressed their love and pride.
Each meeting went smoothly, and Olivia also shared the growth she experienced in the villa with her mom.
“I always knew I wasn’t broken, but I’ve never felt I wasn’t. My mind and heart just were not aligning. My mind knew I wasn’t broken; I’m stronger than that,” Olivia said. “I put down those barriers, and I’m deserving. … For once, I feel like I am.”
The islanders smelled each other's dirty laundry to determine attraction
The fallout from Kyra’s conversations with her friends and family about her relationship with Will continued in Episode 27 when the islanders participated in a “Couples Therapy” challenge.
The day started with each person drenching a supplied outfit with sweat during a workout. The clothing was anonymized and passed around to the islanders of the opposite sex to determine whose pheromones they were most attracted to.
Supposedly, most islanders chose the people they were coupled up with — except for Korey and Alana, who chose each other’s sweaty apparel.
The next challenge sent each couple into a room to interrogate each other while their friends watched on a screen in real time.
In other iterations of the show, this has involved a lie detector.This time they were asked to use their own judgment to determine whether someone was telling a lie when answering the questions, which ranged from sleep farting to biggest relationship fears.
The fun and games had to come to an end at some point, and that time came when the five couples learned that only four would proceed to the finale.
After much deliberation, every couple voted for Trina and Andre as the “least compatible couple,” sending home another Day 1 contestant.
Will and Kyra become official
As the "Love Island" summer drew to a close, the islanders spent their final days discussing what their lives outside the villa would be like and being rewarded with extravagant dates for their perseverance over the last six weeks.
In Episode 28, Korey and Olivia were treated to an afternoon helicopter date andKyra and Will took off on a yacht. In the evening, Bailey and Jeremy watched fire dancers, and Charlie and Alana saw a hula dance performance.
Korey and Olivia experienced the "happiest day of my life," while Will and Kyra took an important step together. Will apologized for what happened at Casa Amor and reasserted that he wanted to take their partnership outside the villa— relationship label and all.
"I was kind of scared of commitment before, but Kyra made me so secure," Will said before the date.
In Episode 29, Olivia and Korey's good luck continued when they received their second invitation to the Hideaway after winning the "Race to the Altar" challenge.
Olivia revealed to Korey that he was "shaping and healing a part of me that was broken."
Reach the reporter at kimi.robinson@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @kimirobinand Instagram @ReporterKiMi.
