'Love Island USA' eliminations, new bombshells, feuds – Week 1 recap

KiMi Robinson and Taylor Ardrey, USA TODAYWed, June 10, 2026 at 9:23 PM UTC

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"Love Island USA" is so back.

The Peacock show's eighth season premiered June 2 with 10 "OG" islanders, down from the original 12 that had been announced due to one woman's removal over past videos showing her using a racial slur. (The other cast member was shifted from an OG islander to a bombshell.) Nonetheless, the empty beds gradually filled up as bombshells were dropped into the villa, threatening the existing couples.

It wasn't all fun and raunchy games, though, as one islander failed to be chosen for a couple and was sent home with a bespoke suitcase.

We watched every hour-long episode that dropped daily. Here's a breakdown of what went down in Week 1 of "Love Island USA" Season 8.

'Love Island USA': Who coupled up during the premiere? Take a look

Bombshells Gabriel, Kayda, Corbin turned heads in Week 1 -

Gabriel Vasconcelos (Episode 1)

Kayda Bosse (Episode 1)

Corbin Mims (Episode 4)

Gabriel, Kayda and Corbin entered the villa with a mission to turn heads.

Gabriel, a 26-year-old from Miami originally announced as a starting cast member, instead entered the villa as a bombshell in Episode 1. He and Kayda were given the opportunity to head to a 24-hour retreat with the islanders who'd stepped on red dots, indicating they were open to other connections. They temporarily left the villa with Beatriz Hatz, Trinity Tatum, Bryce Dettloff and Zach Georgiou.

Later, the girls had their fun during a not-suitable-for-work office-themed challenge in Episode 4. They met Corbin and shared a kiss with him midway through their performance, unbeknownst to the boys.

Who is coupled up on 'Love Island USA?'

Aniya Harvey, Melanie Moreno, Kayda Reese Bosse, Trinity Celeste Tatum, Beatriz Alexa Hatz

As the most recent bombshell, Corbin was given a secret advantage via text ahead of the Episode 5 re-coupling ceremony. He was informed that he could make a selection before the girls at the fire pit. After Ariana announced the twist, Corbin selected Kenzie Annis, who was also exploring connections with Sean Reifel and Gabriel at the time.

Here's who the girls chose:

Aniya Harvey coupled up with KC Chandler.

Melanie Moreno coupled up with Sincere Rhea.

Kayda coupled up with Zach.

Beatriz coupled up with Gabriel.

Trinity coupled up with Bryce.

Who got dumped on 'Love Island USA' in week 1?

Sean Reifel, who made headlines before the show for leaving his job as a police officer, was left single and became the first islander of the season to be dumped after Trinity chose to continue exploring her relationship with Bryce.

Kenzie pulled Sean to the side to let him know that "I wasn't ready for you to go home." He replied, "Even though it didn't work out romantically, I really did enjoy getting to know you."

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Which bombshells entered the villa in Week 2? -

Sol Dean (Episode 6)

Caleb McDaniel (Episode 6)

Jen Terry (Episode 6)

Sol Dean and Jen Terry stunned the boys after making an appearance during a steamy sleepover game in which the boys were handcuffed to the headboard of a massive bed, and the blindfolded villa ladies had to try to find them with paint on their hands.

In the middle of the game, Sol and Jen sneakily approached the boys and kissed each of them, marking them with red paint. Shortly after the game ended, Caleb McDaniel entered the villa. He got to kiss each woman in front of the whole cast, sans blindfolds.

'Give me 10': Did Melanie and Beatriz squash their conflict?

As Corbin spoke to the girls upon entering in Episode 4, Melanie upset her female costars by leaning toward him and eventually pulling him for a private chat mid-sentence.

When an enthusiastic Melanie returned, Beatriz confronted her about blocking Kenzie's view, calling her actions "excessive." It led to an intense back-and-forth between the two women, which left Melanie upset. She kept repeating the phrase "Give me 10," and it immediately went viral within the "Love Island USA" fandom.

However, a heart-to-heart smoothed things over between Melanie and Beatriz in the next episode.

Sincere and Melanie head into choppy waters

By the end of Episode 7, Sincere began exploring the newest bombshell, Sol. He had two intimate chats with her and kissed her both times, eventually admitting to the second smooch when Melanie directly asked whether he'd had any physical intimacy. However, Sincere maintained that "no one can really compare to" Melanie.

Sincere Nicholas Rhea, Melanie Moreno

"I like you a lot. I really want to date you after this," Melanie said, contrite about her recent behavior, which included kissing Corbin repeatedly in the paint challenge. "It makes me so sad that I'm seeing you having chats with people. It makes me so sad that there's a chance you're going to dip for another connection."

Fans crash 'Love Island USA' app

For the first time this season, viewers were able to cast their votes for whom Sol, Jen and Caleb should couple up with.

Fans on social media said that they have trouble registering to vote on the app. The show acknowledged the issue in a social media post and announced the voting deadline had been extended.

Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at tardrey@usatodayco.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Love Island USA' recap – Who's eliminated, coupled up, new in villa

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