Season 6 of Love Island USA took most people by surprise. Peacock gave the dating show a new life and host with Ariana Madix. She promised in the premiere to be supportive of the women in the cast and there were many times they needed it. The drama, recouplings, and everything in between led to the American show getting the most attention it ever received.
There are 10 unexpected moments this season that had everyone talking. Some of them surprised viewers with how they handled situations. Other moments led to the islanders crying and turning on each other. Here are the moments that made the season and its stars iconic.
10 Rob Calls Out Leah
Rob became a detective after Leah Kateb claimed she “took a backseat” in the vote to dump Andrea Carmona. He checked Leah Kateb’s story with Liv Walker. She was upset since the women agreed to say they all voted together. The situation began boiling when Rob called out Leah at the fire pit. He accused her of lying in episode 15.
“You lied to me, and you had a big part in it, apparently,” he told her. He asked why she supposedly lied, and she refused to answer. “I’m not doing this with you,” she told him and directed her anger at Liv. Liv didn’t back down and the debate about who was wrong continued to the reunion where we saw the unedited video of the women considering who should go home.
9 Daia on Top of Kordell
The teaser that got the Love Island USA fans showed Daia McGhee on top of Kordell Beckham in bed in Casa Amor. Some were angry because Kordell was coupled with Serena Page the whole season. Other fans were happy because Serena twisted away from Kordell right before Casa Amor. But everyone wanted to know how far Daia and Kordell went in that scene.
Episode 21 showed Daia and Kordell in their pajamas in the early morning when they were in bed. They kissed a couple of times and Daia moved her hips, which made the situation look worse. The moment also made Serena think the worst when she received a video of it back at the villa.
8 Serena and Kordell’s Egg Incident
The men love making ladies breakfast in the villa, especially when they’re in trouble. Kordell prepares two breakfasts, one for Daia and another for Serena. He hoped to get to know both women in the villa and Serena refused. The model had a feeling this was probably not the best decision because he told Rob he was scared. Rob went to the women’s dressing room with Kordell for support.
Daia accepted her plate from Kordell. Serena saw him coming and told him, “Don’t even.” Kordell didn’t listen and got scrambled eggs on his stomach. We got amazing quotes like Leah’s “Good morning, Kordell is crazy, JaNa [Craig].” Then there was Serena’s confessional, which became a trend on TikTok. “I’m sorry, but you think you’re about to have your cake and eat it too?” she asked. “And cater to both of us? And then–no, baby. You made your bed, hump in it.”
7 JaNa Picks Connor
JaNa made her attraction to Coye Simmons clear in the premiere episode. He had the most options with her, Serena, and Hannah Smith. The tall man chose JaNa, but their connection wasn’t growing stronger. JaNa started showing interest into newcomer Connor Newsum instead. Coye wasn’t worried until it was too late when JaNa chose Connor.
The islanders’ jaws were on the floor after JaNa’s decision. Kordell asked why, and she answered, “Communication, when it comes to our conversations, I just felt like I always had to push, like, initiate them first.” JaNa asked Coye to talk one more time before he left the villa to apologize. He claimed he understood, and the episode ended with him regretting not exploring his other options. The last line shocked some viewers, since he never showed interest in anyone in the villa.
6 Serena Twists off the Dance Floor
Serena and Kordell took the audience on a roller coaster. Serena told him that she saw him as a friend after the second week. But that changed after seeing how well he took her rejection. She told him that she wanted to be more than friends later. So most fans hoped to see Serena and Kordell stay on the dance floor to continue being a couple. However, Serena left while Kordell stayed to finish the dance alone.
Connor’s jaw dropped, Aaron Evans covered his face out of second-hand embarrassment, and Rob looked worried. The partition rose and Kordell looked disappointed. Some fans were upset by Serena and felt like she was toying with his emotions. It was hard to see the future winners having a strong relationship after that.
5 Rob’s Pool Break Down
Everyone knew a blow up was brewing once Rob showed interest in Andrea. He was solely focused on Leah before this, and they had romantic sneaky dates on the dock. Leah getting real competition for the first time wasn’t going to go well. But no one could predict how Rob would handle Leah’s reaction to the complicated situation.
“But there’s something there with her, and I wanted to figure it out,” he told Leah after ignoring her. “And I think that’s fair. It’s rare for me to like girls, especially off rip.” This hurt Leah’s feelings and Rob said someone’s feelings would get hurt. Surprisingly, this led to Rob breaking down instead of Leah. He cooled off from crying on the ground by jumping into the pool and hanging out under the bridge.
4 Rob Brings Back Daniela
Casa Amor prepared viewers for Aaron to break Kaylor Martin’s heart once he returned to the villa. What they didn’t foresee was Aaron’s solo return to the villa to reunite with Kaylor…and Rob coupling up with Daniela. Luckily, the women already knew what Daniela looked like and who she really spent time with while the men were away.
The ladies asked repeatedly if Daniela was the same woman from the video who was with Aaron. Aaron looked annoyed by the questioning and refused to answer at the fire pit. America was surprised to see Rob and Daniela too, because the clips of their conversations didn’t seem enough for them to match.
3 Kaylor’s Video Freak Out
The villa and Casa Amor competed in games against each other. The villa won one and the women were sent a story from Casa Amor. The videos showed Daia and Kordell flirting as she put on lip gloss, then their moment in bed. Then Aaron flirted with Daniela by speaking Spanish in another clip. Kendall Washington and the other men watched the pair, and he said, “That boy is like, ‘This is not Kaylor.'”
Fans knew the women wouldn’t be happy about this. But they didn’t see Kaylor screaming and crying so loudly that it made Aaron rethink his decision. The episode showed Aaron hearing Kaylor from Casa Amor with the new ladies. He then ended things with Daniela.
2 Serena Drags Kordell
The Casa Amor fallout didn’t end with spilled scrambled eggs. That night, Serena and Daia finally talk about what happened in Casa Amor. Serena was upset to find out Kendall and Miguel Harichi said they liked Daia for Kordell. The other men made it seem like Kordell was always more focused on Serena.
Serena called out the men involved for lying and not being her real friend. Her anger was also directed at Kordell, who was great under pressure. “Let’s talk about why I’m a piece of sh-t.” he told her. They were finally able to talk about the situation to mend it.
1 PPG Takes a Stand
JaNa, Serena, and Leah knew things weren’t going in their favor when Casa Amor ended. They all decided to stay single instead of potentially taking their men back. This sent an important message to the men once they returned, and most of them scrambled to win them back. The decision to stay single is very rare for the show.
The goal is to couple up and hopefully stay safe from being dumped from the villa. This moment came after a long and tiring journey for our original islanders. Luckily, their risk paid off, and all three made it into the final three for the season. Serena and Kordell won and split the prize money. That might be the least surprising moment of the season looking back at the most unexpected moments.
