Do Love Island USA Producers Tell Islanders Who to Talk to? The Truth

Niall Horan Reacts to Love Island USA's Zach Using One Direction to Pick Up Girls

Love Island USA producers are turning heads in the villa.

From Bryce Dettloff's unexpected decision to pull Kayda Bosse for a chat to KC Chandler's belated convo with bombshell Sol Dean, Love Island USA fans have been speculating that producers may be pulling strings behind the scenes to encourage islanders to explore outside of their couples.

So, how much does the crew really sway the contestants' moves in the villa?

According to former islander Alexandra Stewart—who was part of season one on CBS before the show moved to Peacock—she can all but "guarantee" that producers told Bryce to chat with Kayda, thanks to a comment from Kayda's partner Zach Georgiou.

"It's because Zach said out loud in one of the first weeks of Love Island that he's closed off," Alexandra shared in a recent TikTok. "That is like illegal in Love Island world. You will get pulled out and get a stern talking to and be reminded that you're there to talk to all of the people, and closing off is quite literally not really an option that early on."

Alexandra said her cast got the "same talk," which she believes pushed both her and costar Elizabeth Webber's partners to talk to other women.

"Suddenly, the two boys... were saying that they were open and weren't closed off," she said. "That's because we all got yelled at, and they said they would send us home if we didn't talk to other people."

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Producers will also arrange conversations between islanders, according to season six's Kaylor Martin.

"They're not holding a gun to your head and saying, 'Go off to Casa and hook up with other girls,'" she said on The Viall Files' June 16 episode. "Sure, they'll set up chats and who's talking to who, and things like that."

Kaylor even said producers got involved in her relationship with costar Aaron Evans, allegedly trying to discourage her from making their relationship official.

"When Aaron asked me to be his girlfriend, it's like, 'I'm gonna say yes,' and the producer was like, 'Are you sure?'" she recalled. "They were definitely trying to convince me to stand my ground and be like, 'Say hell no, like, you just came back from Casa.'"

"And I was like, 'I'm gonna stay true to myself, and I'm still gonna say yes,'" Kaylor continued. "And I still did, but I definitely should not have."

In hindsight, the model admitted she was in a "love bubble" and should have listened to the crew.

"I was like, 'Producers aren't my friends. I'm not listening to you guys,'" she explained. "Looking back at it, I'm like, ‘They were looking out for me.’"

Ben Symons/Peacock via Getty Images

But while the cast may be encouraged to remain as open as possible early on, producers don't dictate who islanders actually couple up with at the fire pit.

"Sometimes they’ll tell you to lock in your answer with production, just so they know who you’re picking," Kaylor confirmed on TikTok June 17, "but they won’t sway you to pick someone else."

They will, however, use some reality TV magic to reshoot dumpings if needed.

"One time on our season, someone was dumped from the villa and they didn’t catch it on the cameras," she said in another TikTok, "so they had to dump them from the villa a second time."

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As far as other rules producers have for the cast, former star Carsten "Bergie" Bergersen explained how they controlled contestants' behaviors in order to keep continuity for the audience.

"One thing I got in trouble for when I was on Love Island season five was jumping in the pool to start my day," he said in a June 16 TikTok. "All the islanders get up, I went and just jumped straight into the pool, and you're not allowed to do that, I guess."

Bergie—who is now engaged to costar Taylor Smith—said the reason was because it "didn't make sense" to viewers.

"Because they're like, 'Bergie, why are you going to be wet when we start the day?'" he reflected. "I was like, 'Because I jumped in the pool. You guys got that on camera.' They're like, 'We don't want to show that.'"

So instead, the team told the boys "they should just go make breakfast" when they wake up, and limited time in the pool to only certain scenes.

Producers—who also wash their dishes and do their laundry, according to Kaylor—were additionally strict about islanders breaking the fourth wall.

Season three's Shannon St. Clair admitted she "got in trouble" for a comment she made on the show.

"One time I looked directly into the camera and I said, 'I'll have a second glass of wine,'" she confessed on TikTok this month. "They came right over the intercom and said, 'Shannon, we will pull you off the show just as quick as we put you on.'"

Now, you've got a text—for more secrets about Love Island.