Love Island Winners Amaya, Bryan on Favorite Moments, Future, Reunion

If you’re wondering how Amaya Espinal is processing all the love and support since winning Love Island USA season seven with Bryan Arenales and returning home, here’s how: “The food’s on our plate right now and we’re digesting it bite by bite.”

It’s definitely been a whirlwind few days for the couple, who went from being crowned the winners of the latest season of the hit Peacock reality dating series to leaving the Fiji villa, flying back to the U.S. and are currently on a press tour.

After entering the villa as a bombshell, Espinal became a fan-favorite for her genuine personality, iconic one-liners, songwriting abilities and her random zoomies around the villa. While she struggled to find a romantic connection initially, sparks eventually began to fly between her and Arenales after he entered the show as one of the Casa Amor boys.

Though the pair didn’t have a ton of time to explore their connection in the villa, as they coupled up towards the end, they wouldn’t change anything about their experience. And Love Island USA fans clearly noticed something special between them, as they were ultimatly named the winners.

“We also don’t live life with any regrets, so every decision that we did make during our time on Love Island has led us to each other,” Espinal tells The Hollywood Reporter. Arenales says he’s also looking foward to exploring their connection on a deeper level “without cameras and mics.”

Below, the winning couple chat about their reaction to all the love and support, their favorite moments in the villa, the future of their relationship, the upcoming season seven reunion and more.

It’s been a few days since you’ve been back in the U.S. Have you been able to wrap your head around everything and the love you’ve received?

ESPINAL To be honest, the food’s on our plate right now and we’re digesting it bite by bite. 

ARENALES It’s a lot so far, so we’re definitely still catching up. 

ESPINAL But we’re so grateful and we’re so blessed for all of the supporters, our extended family, and we love them all. 

You’re also the first Latino couple to win Love Island USA. How does that feel, and what message do you have for all your Latino supporters?

ESPINAL It’s very powerful and for us to be the first Latinos couple is extremely meaningful. We just want to say thank you to the community for supporting us and being there for us, and you know, queroque, like we outside. 

ARENALES For the culture, we had to do it (Laughs). 

Bryan, you’re also the first Casa Amor boy to win Love Island USA. What do you make of that?

ARENALES I think there’s a new standard when it comes to Casa now (Laughs). I feel like Casa kind of gets looked down upon or there’s not high expectations, and now there’s a new standard for it. 

Fans first noticed your spark when Bryan defended Amaya’s way expressing love during the “Stand on Business” challenge. Amaya, how did you feel when he spoke out for you in that moment? 

ESPINAL I felt really good to have somebody have my back, and I already found him physically attracted, and I liked his personality. So that was just the icing on the cake for me to be like, “OK, yeah, it’s definitely time for us to talk in a romantic level.” 

You’ve both recently said that you’re two misunderstood people who understand each other. How did being different in your personalities and ways of seeking love help you grow closer as a couple?

ARENALES Honestly, I call it two misunderstood people who understand each other, and I think we both went through our troubles in the villa and it ultimate led us to each other and worked out like crazy. 

ESPINAL No, 100 percent! I feel like he understands me in different ways that other people don’t, and you definitely do need that in your life, especially when it comes down to having a partner. 

Would either of you change anything about your experience in the villa?

ARENALES Honestly, no. I think everything worked out how it’s supposed to be. We’re big on whatever is for you is for you, and what’s not is not. 

ESPINAL We also don’t live life with any regrets, so every decision that we did make during our time on Love Island has led us to each other. 

Having been disconnected from the outside world and social media for several weeks, what are you going to miss about being in the villa, as well as what did you miss the most from the real world?

ARENALES I think being disconnected has its pros and its cons, to be honest. It was fun to be disconnected from everything and just live in the moment and really interact with all the Islanders. That’s why you can know somebody for three days and you feel like you know them forever just because all you could do is really talk and have those deep conversations. 

ESPINAL To add on what he said, I definitely love the fact that we didn’t really have our phones. We were really disconnected and focused on the conversations, but I miss my family and my journal a lot. Like your girl loves writing her journal and we weren’t able to write down anything. Like I forgot how to write for a little bit when I got back out, like holding a pen still feels taboo to me in a way (Laughs). 

Going into the finale, Amaya, you already knew you were a fan-favorite after the “Hate To Burst Your Bubble” challenge. Because of that, did you already think you might win or were you both completely shocked when host Ariana Madix said your names?

ESPINAL We were completely shocked. 

ARENALES We were both shocked, if you notice the reaction. I had no idea. 

ESPINAL Because we never really spoke about winning. I know it feels weird to say, but that was really not in our thoughts. We just prioritized every single day waking up and us really talking to each other and watering that seed that I love to say. I mean, of course we’re confident in our connection, but to hear her say our names, we’re like, what in the world is going on? 

ARENALES It’s so crazy because you don’t know what’s going on and how you guys are perceived, so we’re just so in tune and making the time with each other so intentional. And we started kind of late, so time was against us. 

You both mentioned you wanted to give back to charity with the $100,000 prize money. Do you know which organizations you want to support?

ESPINAL We’re definitely going to look to support mental health awareness. That’s something that we both bonded on in one of our beginning conversations. So we definitely do want to get back to the communities in need and to let people know that they’re not alone and that we’re advocates for that. 

Can you each share something about the other person that you love that viewers maybe don’t know?

ARENALES Something they already know is her craziness. I think that’s something that stands out on its own, and honestly just her being able to really express her feelings. I think people don’t really see that or it was looked down upon at one point. I think it’s actually really great how she expresses her feelings instead of just holding them in. 

ESPINAL His patience would be (Laughs). He’s definitely very patient with me. He keeps me grounded, and then I definitely do love the fact that I feel safe for him. I don’t really feel anxious or like I’m going insane. I feel very calm. 

Since Amaya is known for her iconic metaphors and one-liners, do you have a favorite, Bryan?

ARENALES Yeah, easily the stand on 10 toes, I don’t got a toe missing, something like that (Laughs). That one was my favorite by far. 

What does the future look like for you as a couple? Have you thought about your first official date outside the villa?

ARENALES The first day is definitely the first thing up, and then outside the villa, just prioritizing each other and understanding each other more and just taking the time with each other without cameras and mics. 

ESPINAL We definitely wanna do truffle pasta. 

ARENALES Yeah, I need to get her a truffle pasta. 

What are you both looking forward to the most about the upcoming reunion, and are you hoping to call anyone out during it?

ESPINAL Yeah, we’re definitely going to clear up the air with certain people. Zak definitely being one, and for me personally, Austin. 

ARENALES I think we’re just excited to get everybody together too, so it’s not all bad. (Laughs) 

Looking back at your entire time in the villa, what was your favorite moment?

ESPINAL I definitely liked the slime challenge towards the very end. We all jumped in the pool of slime, so I think that was just very beautiful. It was like a big family just having and sharing those moments together. 

ARENALES I think the slime challenge as well. That was the first time I picked Amaya to kiss, and I feel like that was our coming out pretty much, like public statement to the villa. And the family dinner. I feel like we really, really touched each other’s hearts and everybody was just giving each other flowers, and that was very important to me. 

If you got the opportunity, would either of you like to do the Love Island spinoff, Beyond the Villa?

ARENALES We’re not shutting down anything. We haven’t really thought about it. We just got back about a day ago, so we’re just catching up with everything. But we’re definitely not shutting it down for sure. 

Love Island USA season seven is currently streaming on Peacock.