Love Island USA is an American reality dating series based on the British Love Island format. Produced by ITV Entertainment and ITV America, the series follows a rotating group of single contestants (known as Islanders), living together in a villa while forming couples, participating in challenges, and trying to avoid elimination while finding love. New contestants (also known as bombshells) enter through various points in the season, while Casa Amor temporarily separates established couples and introduces another group of potential partners, disrupting the status quo. Viewers also participate through public voting that can affect which contestants remain in the competition.
Although the structure of Love Island USA has traditionally been done with men coupling with women, bi and other queer contestants have appeared throughout the series. Their experiences have ranged from Islanders openly discussing attraction to men and women, to women exploring attraction to one another inside the Villa, to contestants later revealing that part of their experiences were not included in the episodes that aired.
Bisexuality was present from the show’s first season through Islander Kyra Green. Kyra entered the Villa on the first day and pursued a connection with several male Islanders during the competition, especially Cashel Barnett. However, Kyra was also open about being attracted to men and women. In a 2019 interview after the end of the season, she discussed the response she had received from bi viewers, explaining that she had not entered the show specifically to make her sexuality a plot point of her stay in the Villa. She told TV Insider, “It’s just who I am…and it naturally comes up in conversation.” She also stated that bi women had contacted her after watching the series to tell her they were happy to see her being herself.
Kyra’s sexuality became relevant through fellow Season 1 contestant Emily Salch. Although they didn’t develop a full-on connection during their stay, Kyra and Emily noted that not exploring it led them to date after the season ended, then fall out and not talk for three years.
Season 3 introduced another queer Islander through Leslie Golden, who entered as a Casa Amor bombshell. Leslie’s label has varied throughout the years, with some publications calling her bi, while others label her as queer. Leslie herself has described herself as pansexual after leaving the Villa. During an Instagram Q&A with Us Weekly, she explained that she was open to dating men and women, and had developed crushes on several of the female Islanders. When discussing her sexuality, Leslie said: “I am VERY passionate about my love for women, but I am in fact pansexual.”
Leslie’s romantic storyline remained focused on men during her stay. In Casa Amor, she explored connections with Cinco Holland and Korey Gandy, with Korey ultimately choosing her at the recoupling ceremony. Her time in the main Villa was brief, but after leaving the show, Leslie revealed she had also been attracted to several of the women she lived with — even if viewers never saw her explore those connections romantically.
Season 4 marked a more deliberate step toward bi visibility with Islander Courtney Boerner. Before the season premiere, Peacock’s promo noted that Courtney had both dated men and women. She also discussed being bi with fellow Islanders. During the first week, she told the other contestants about her sexuality, and her bisexuality became part of Episode 16’s plot, when Islanders had to compete in a game of Truth or Dare. Fellow Islander Zeta had to kiss three people she found attractive and approached Courtney first. Zeta acknowledged that Courtney was bi before the two kissed, and their kiss prompted viewers to speculate whether there could be a romantic connection between the two.
After leaving the show, Courtney spoke about her sexuality and dating history. In an interview with PRIDE, she explicitly labeled herself as bi and explained that some of her relationships with former girlfriends had been among the deepest romantic relationships of her life. She also recalled realizing she was bi after developing feelings for a female friend in high school. Courtney also distinguished between simply finding women attractive and genuinely wanting to explore relationships with them, explaining that she was comfortable imagining herself sharing her life with another woman.
Season 5 then produced the most iconic same-sex romantic storyline Love Island USA had aired, with Johnnie Garcia and Kassy Castillo. Johnnie entered the Villa during Casa Amor, and initially became involved with Leonardo Dionicio, who had been originally coupled with Kassy. Leonardo and Johnnie got hot and heavy during Casa Amor, and he brought Johnnie back to the main Villa, creating the season’s central love triangle. That all changed, though, when Johnnie and Kassy began developing feelings for each other.
In Episode 31, Johnnie let fellow Islanders know she was bi and that she was attracted to Kassy. The two women had previously joked about their connection, but the conversation made it clear that their interest was no longer just playful. Kassy, who had not previously pursued a relationship with a woman on the show, acknowledged that she was attracted to Johnnie as well. Their connection became real when they shared a kiss and continued to explore it.
Their developing relationship became significant enough that official outlets openly discussed whether Johnnie and Kassy could become the first same-sex couple in Love Island USA history. The relationship was especially controversial because Johnnie and Kassy had initially been set up as romantic rivals for the same man. After Casa Amor, Johnnie learned that Leonardo had slept with Kassy while she was away. Rather than leaving the two women permanently opposed to one another, their own attraction became a storyline in its own right. Johnnie credited Kassy with bringing out a more playful side of her after the drama with Leonardo, while Kassy found herself torn between unresolved feelings for him and her new attraction to Johnnie.
Although the two did not choose each other at the recoupling (and Kassy reconciled with Leonardo), the storyline moved beyond the challenge kisses and quick flirtations that had characterized many of the show’s earlier brief queer moments.
Season 7 incorporated bisexuality directly into the Villa with Michelle “Chelley” Bissainthe. During the first week of the season, Chelley openly discussed her bisexuality with fellow Islanders. She also talked about her past experiences with women, including dating women before appearing on the show. Her sexuality became relevant after bombshell Cierra Ortega entered the Villa. The two developed a flirtatious relationship that led to a kiss. Although they did not become a couple, their connection resonated with queer viewers.
Season 8 introduced a very different situation through Casa Amor bombshell Amora Cacheé. Amora was introduced in Episode 17 and became involved with Sincere Rhea, who was coupled with Melaine Moreno at the time. Sincere ultimately returned to Melaine after Casa Amor, resulting in Amora’s first elimination in Episode 21. The public later voted one male and one female bombshell back, with Amora receiving the most votes, leading to her return in Episode 23. Her connection with Sincere became part of Movie Night, where videos showed Sincere telling Amora that if he had more time with her, he would have chosen her instead of Melaine. Amora remained in the Villa until episode 27, when she was eliminated while coupled with Gal.
Nothing in Season 8 informed viewers that Amora was bi.
After leaving the Villa, Amora addressed the online speculations about her sexuality during a TikTok Live in July of 2026. She responded to rumors that she was secretly a lesbian who had gone on the show pretending to be attracted to men. Amora verified and said: “Guys, I am bi. It was never a secret.” She then explained that she had actually mentioned being bi multiple times during her stay in the Villa, but those moments never made it out of the editing room.
Across its eight seasons, bi representation on Love Island USA has taken different forms, but the show’s central structure remains largely organized around heterosexual pairings. Islanders are generally divided by sex, and recouplings continue to assume that women will choose men and vice versa. The experiences of Kyra, Leslie, Courtney, Kassy, Johnnie, and Amora have repeatedly complicated those assumptions, whether through relationships, attractions, conversations about sexuality, or revelations about experiences that did not make it on screen. As a result, bisexuality has been present through some seasons of Love Island USA, even when the format itself has not always been designed to accommodate all of the romantic possibilities of its queer and bi contestants.