Get ready to re-enter the Villa!
On Wednesday, Peacock confirmed that ‘Love Island USA’ has been renewed for Season 9, with ‘Vanderpump Rules’ alum and recent Emmy nominee Ariana Madix set to return as host for her fourth season.
‘Love Island: Beyond the Villa’ and ‘Love Island Games’ have also been renewed for new seasons that are set to premiere sometime in 2027.
This week’s announcements were paired with a sneak peek of the Season 8 Reunion, which airs Monday, August 31, on Peacock. Filmed in front of a live studio audience at Universal Studios Hollywood, the Reunion was hosted/moderated by Ariana and longtime reality TV host Andy Cohen.
“Nothing is off limits,” the promo teases.
Winning couple Bryce Dettloff and Trinity Tatum (AKA Brinity) return to our screens as a couple, alongside one of the only other couples still standing, Aniya Harvey and Carl Schmidt. Aniya and Carl seem to be doing very well following their exit.
“There were some jokes that Carl can’t handle all of that,” Ariana said.
“I fear he can,” Aniya said with a smirk as Carl gets visibly flustered before adding, “It’s been great!”
Not every couple seems to be thriving post-Villa, though. Fans were quick to point out that controversial couple Sincere Rhea and Melanie Moreno seemed distant and not very coupled-up on the couch.
Besides relationship updates, plenty of drama is promised to unfold during the Reunion. Fans will see Melanie get into it with Season 8 Bombshell Sol Dean, with the women calling each other “an antagonist” and “just a liar,” respectively. The trailer also teased tension boiling over between the other women and Beatriz Hatz.
In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ariana assured fans that this Reunion is definitely not one to miss.
“Everybody came there ready to say exactly how they feel, and if they had a chip on their shoulder or something they wanted to bring up, they were ready to come and talk about it,” she said. “And, of course, in talking about it, depending on who you’re talking about or the situation, it went many different directions, but I think that it was the perfect conclusion to the season.”
She also teased the release of “unseen footage” from the season that promises to “[clear] up a lot of things” amidst “tears, laughter, and screams.”
“That was really interesting for me because I only got to see [the events of the show] for [the first time] as well,” she added.
Ariana also denied the rumor that Trinity was kicked out of the Reunion– which was filmed August 10– due to her behavior.
“People go online and they post things just for the engagement, because I was seeing a lot of things posted that were very off and untrue, and those people need to just wait and see and watch because making up things about Trinity needing to be taken [off the stage], that’s just silly. Come on,” Ariana said.
Ariana went on to admit that she’s sometimes surprised to see what content from the show ends up being circulated online.
“When we had the Casa recoupling and the internet was running with the theory that Kenzie [Annis] and Melanie had been removed from the fire pit, that was crazy,” Ariana recalled. “That was like, ‘Why are they saying this?’
“Or last season– we do have some plastic flowers, some faux flowers around the Villa– and one of the pieces of them fell on the floor and people were saying that it was someone’s IUD,” she continued. “It does surprise me what the internet does pick up and run with because I just think to myself, I never would’ve thought of that.”
The ‘Love Island USA’ Season 8 Reunion airs Monday, August 31, on Peacock.
Check out the trailer below!
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(Photos: Peacock; Instagram; YouTube)
