Love Island USA is the summer’s most-watched reality show. The dating dumpster fire is all too relatable

It’s a summer of love, or rather, of Love Island USA. The sixth season of the hit reality dating series – which airs its finale on Sunday, July 21 – is all anyone can talk about, and rightfully so.

For nearly 10 years, Love Island UK has reigned supreme among the franchise’s multiple spin-offs, which includes US, Australia, Love Island Games, and Love Island All Stars. The steady rise in popularity of this season’s American iteration, which debuted on Peacock on June 11, came almost by word of mouth (and by viral TikTok fan edits). Not only was Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix introduced as its new host, ushering in a new demographic of fans with her, but the relationships among this season’s cast has viewers particularly hooked.

A snake wrangler with considerable bad luck with women, a Kardashian-esque “it” girl from Calabasas, NFL star Odell Beckham Jr’s brother, and the season one winner of The Traitors UK make up just some of season six’s memorable stars. While the premise of Love Island USA is the same as seasons past – to form lasting romantic connections and compete for a $100,000 cash prize – the dynamics between these contestants are anything but romantic. What’s made this season the number one reality series streaming in the US is that the show reflects exactly how exhausting dating has become. From situationships, to love bombing tendencies, to Leah Kateb’s proclivity for emotionally unavailable men, single people everywhere can surely agree that Love Island USA is simply a microcosm of the many challenges and encouraged behaviors of modern dating.

In the Love Island villa, as Ariana Madix would say, it’s all about testing connections. Yet, this concept of “testing” is a plague on dating culture entirely, becoming a prerequisite to future exclusivity and a prime example of the modern dating scene’s inherent toxicity. Both Love Island and “the real world” uphold this deranged notion that a connection needs to be tested for it to be seriously pursued, meaning the only way to be sure your feelings for someone are strong is if you flirt, kiss, and cuddle someone else. Sounds more like an excuse to enjoy a lack of commitment before settling down, huh?

Contestants Serena Page and Kordell Beckham – arguably one of the most controversial couples of the season – are a cautionary tale for mutual destruction. While their fashion on the first day in the villa might’ve matched, they seldom saw eye-to-eye in the following weeks. It didn’t take long for Serena to spot signs of incompatibility between them, questioning whether Kordell could match her intellect after he confessed his career goal was a Cheez-Its brand deal. Surprisingly, Kordell’s willingness to explore connections with different women only served to solidify Serena’s feelings for him. A classic case of “we always want them when we can’t have them.”

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Still, neither could pass on the promise of new connections, a decision they’d later regret in the catastrophic awakening of Casa Amor – a fan favorite twist that occurs each season, testing contestants’ commitment to their couple. During this test, Love Island producers send either the male or female contestants to another villa, dubbed “Casa Amor”, where they’re met with a group of “bombshells” to form new (and sometimes stronger) connections. When they return to the Love Island villa, they’re then given the option to recouple with a Casa Amor contestant, or remain loyal to their previous partner.

To all the singles in the Love Island villa, closing themselves off in their couple from the start is frowned upon. They’ll argue getting to know other people is necessary, especially those abiding by the 37 percent rule in dating. According to the Owatonna Chamber of Commerce, in the Mathematics for Decision-Making, the 37 percent rule is as follows: “If you’re planning to go on 10 dates, you should enjoy the first three (3.7) but don’t make any commitments. Then, the very next person you date who is better than any of those three should be the one you choose to settle with.”

So, why can’t we put our energy and focus into one partner from the start? Modern dating has made us believe that “dating around” must be done regardless of the hurt it could cause to someone you care about. Though Serena and Kordell eventually found their way back to each other, much to the enjoyment of viewers, their journey was plagued by tears that could’ve been avoided had they closed off sooner.

Then again, we can’t always blame the root of toxicity in relationships on generally accepted ideologies when the values we’re looking for in a partner aren’t healthy to begin with. Whether or not you’ve religiously tuned in to Love Island USA each night, it’s likely you’ve come across a fan edit or two on TikTok – most notably of islander Leah Kateb, her original partner Rob Rausch, and her brutally honest one-liners. “I need a man to send me to the psych ward,” Leah candidly confessed while in a couple with Connor Newsum, a “kind guy” she wasn’t interested in. For Leah, and a lot of singletons out there, what we think we deserve often muddles our ability to find the right suitor. Has toxicity become an aphrodisiac where we are confusing manipulation tactics for acts of love?

Nearly every young woman has encountered her fair share of “I love yous” far earlier than expected in a new relationship. Loved-up displays of attention, affection, or compliments may cause anyone to swoon, but when it’s excessive or premature, these may be signs of love bombing. In an environment like Love Island, where single men and women only have six weeks to discover if they’ve truly met “the one,” throwing caution to the wind is essential in getting the full “Love Island experience,” so they say.

Such was the case for this season’s couple Aaron Evans and Kaylor Martin, who sparked up a romance shortly after they entered the villa as OGs last month. From the jump, the pair seemed like the strongest couple in the villa. In between PDA-filled challenges and lounging on day beds, Aaron and Kaylor dreamed of simple life on the outside: meeting each other’s families, movie nights, and cooking dinner together. The couple had even professed to each other that they were falling in love.

That is, until the dreaded Casa Amor.

Aaron, who contended that he and Kaylor had yet to “test” their relationship, instantly found himself attracted to contestant Daniela Ortiz Rivera. In less than a day, he had casually thrown around the word “love” to the 22-year-old – something that had taken him nearly three weeks to confess to Kaylor – and fans instantly took notice.

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“He’s saying ‘I love you’ SO MUCH like it’s flowing out of him,” one viewer wrote on the Love Island USA subreddit. “Aaron saying he loves Daniela multiple times but struggling to say it to Kaylor,” another fan said.

Relationship experts and downtrodden singles agree that love bombing is actually a form of emotional manipulation – disguised by lavish gifts, good morning texts, and machinations of marriage. According to Psychology Today, this behavior is typically deployed in order to gain the upper hand over a new partner. That’s why thousands of viewers collectively yelled at their TV screens when Aaron frantically told Kaylor he loved her, which came less than 24 hours after she had learned what nefarious activity he really got up to in Casa Amor.

“Telling Kaylor you love her mid-argument when your back is against the wall because you know how much she’s wanted to hear that,” one fan pointed out on X, while another user said: “Me watching Aaron love bomb Kaylor by throwing in ‘I love you, there I said it’ and Kaylor eating it up.”

Of course, it’s easy to argue that the entire experiment of Love Island lends itself to love bombing behavior. If you don’t make a strong connection or fail to confess your true feelings for your partner, you can be the next couple dumped from the island. But what has fans so up in arms over Aaron’s declarations of love for Kaylor is that there’s a $100,000 cash prize on the line. Really, is anyone in it for the right reasons?

While couples like Aaron and Kaylor may have experienced love bombing, other contestants were more hesitant to jump into a relationship – with multiple islanders citing “situationships” as a part of their relationship history. Contestants like Miguel Harichi and Liv Walker noted that they had only ever been in situationships, albeit for different reasons. When they were first paired with each other early on in the season, it was through situationships that they found common ground.

Miguel, 27, noted that he’s historically been commitment-averse, often finding himself ending things with women after the first sign of a red flag. After he recoupled with Leah and saw her lose her temper in frustration during a Movie Night argument with 22-year-old islander Liv, he voiced similar concerns in the confessionals. For some people, situationships can permit avoidance of deeper emotional intimacy and connection, according to VeryWell Mind. While there’s nothing wrong with opting to forego a relationship in favor of a situationship, especially if it benefits all parties involved, experts note that it can enable avoidance of romantic connection altogether.

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Miguel was forced to face his relationship fears head on during a conversation with Leah, in which he was able to articulate why he has difficulty addressing conflict. Although Liv wasn’t able to find the love story she deserved on the show, like Miguel she was also forced to come to terms with her personal boundaries and expectations in romantic relationships. Recoupling after recoupling, Liv found herself questioning her self-worth and wondering if she’d ever be good enough – a common feeling among people in the modern dating scene. Although she had a tough cookie shell, Liv was ultimately searching for “the one” but with a degree of caution that arises from being hurt one too many times.

As one of the Gen Z cast members, Liv is representative of many young singles who haven’t truly dated but yearn for romantic connection. In fact, a Hinge survey found that nearly half of Gen Z daters reported little to no dating experience. Just because Liv didn’t find love, however, doesn’t mean she didn’t experience deep connections. Along the way, she became fast friends with fellow contestants who rode for her just as fiercely as she did for them. Throughout the season, Liv became emblematic of the women who have yet to find the love of their lives, but have ultimately found fulfillment in platonic love as opposed to romantic love – a silver lining to the season of controversial love.

Indeed, lasting love may not have been triumphant this season. But one thing’s for certain, the female friendships always prevailed. Through the uncertainty, confusion, and even disrespect that cast members Liv, Kaylor, Serena, Leah, JaNa Craig and Nicole Jacky have experienced, they’ve been able to channel confidence and clarity within and from each other. No problem has been too small, no issue has been too talked about, and no woman has had to defend themselves alone in this drama-filled environment, where tears are often a given.

While the winner of Love Island USA has yet to be revealed, viewers can at least find solace in the bond that formed among the entire cast this summer.

The Love Island USA season six finale airs Sunday, July 21 on Peacock.