After days of drama, triggering emotions, and heartbreak, Megan Thee Stallion, in a gold lamé bikini, crashed the party on “Love Island USA” and brought the fun back.
On Thursday’s episode, the islanders, who have all descended on a luxury villa in Fiji in the hopes of finding love and winning $100,000, were in for the shock of their lives when they received a text alerting them that Megan Thee Stallion would soon be joining them.
“Love Island is not ready for this type of bombshell,” Megan said at the top of her cameo.
It wasn’t long before Hot Girl Meg was gushing with the girls, leaving iconic confessionals, and gathering everyone for a challenge that involved twerking, limbo, and the reveal of two new bombshells. The girls were all given a chance to try styles from Meg’s new swimsuit line as well.
Before she left the islanders in much better spirits, she gave one parting piece of advice: “Be kind.”
That may have been because, leading up to her surprise appearance, the villa was in utter shambles following a dramatic recoupling that saw one of the villa’s most talked-about couples split up. The twist has led to a significant fallout within and outside the villa. It’s also far from the only dramatic element that has gone down during this already much-buzzed-about season.
From Huda’s epic crash out over Jeremiah to Jalen’s quick romp in the villa to the rumors swirling around Chelley and Ace’s relationship, below we break down “what the chelley” has been going on in Fiji.
What happened before Megan Thee Stallion got there?
Before Megan Thee Stallion had everyone twerking to their heart’s content, the castmates braced themselves as Huda crashed out spectacularly after viewer voting caused her and Jeremiah to split. The two had been coupled since the first night in the villa and quickly developed a passionate and strong physical and emotional connection. However, it became clear over time that Jeremiah wanted out and a chance to explore other connections.
How did Huda and Jeremiah’s connection implode?
When America had its say, voters chose to break them up and couple him with a slightly newer bombshell, Iris. This caused Huda to break down multiple times, engage in many arguments with Jeremiah, and negatively affect the other castmates’ experience. Fans watching at home began to call out her behavior online, with many calling her manipulative at best and akin to an emotional abuser at worst. During one particularly contentious moment, after she eavesdropped on his conversation with the other guys, she began berating him at the top of her lungs and calling him names for essentially wanting to follow the dating competition show’s process.
Black viewers also highlighted the nuanced problematic elements, given that Huda is a non-Black woman and Jeremiah is Black. The noise around Huda’s behavior got so loud that the father of her child made a statement urging people to be nice and to think of her mental health.
What does the Huda and Jeremiah drama have to do with Jalen?
Unfortunately, one of the tenets of a good reality competition show is the elimination of contestants over time. Jalen arrived late to the party and gave Taylor a run for his money with Olandria until the most recent recoupling left him single and vulnerable. During that recoupling, which involved the guys walking up to closed doors and knocking in the hopes that the woman standing behind it would unlock it for them, Jeremiah chose to stay with Iris. That decision left Huda single and vulnerable as well.
The coupled castmates were then asked to stand behind the single castmember they wanted to keep on the island; whoever had the most standing behind them would get to stay. Despite her meltdown and unwelcoming energy towards Iris, most islanders (including Iris) elected to keep Huda. That meant Jalen was getting dumped while Huda was getting another chance to find love.
Are Chelley and Ace really scamming?
The last recoupling also saw this season’s first major “will-they-won’t-they” connection finally choose each other. Chelley and Ace have been orbiting each other since night one with easy-flowing flirtatious vibes and lots of chemistry; however, Ace has continued to pursue other bombshells in the same vein as they enter the villa.
After they were officially a couple, rumors began to swirl online that there may be more to their connection than they’re letting on. While the two fully stated they knew each other prior to joining the show, they have said they only met one time. Meanwhile, others claiming to know them personally have come forward to say they are already in a relationship and trying to scam for the money.
The team currently running Chelley’s Instagram has denied these rumors. It’s also worth noting that one of the people perpetuating the rumor claims to be a “friend” of Chelley’s, which begs the question: why would someone attempt to blow their friend’s spot like that?
Who are the current couples and what’s next?
Presently, the couples are: Jeremiah and Iris; Chelley and Ace; Taylor and Olandria; Austin and Amaya; Nic and Cierra; and Hannah and Pepe. The islanders are still in for quite the ride. They have four to five more weeks left, and they haven’t even arrived at the historically very climactic “Casa Amor” episodes, when the islanders split up and either the girls or the guys head to a separate villa filled with potential suitors, of both new and sometimes earlier eliminated connections. Huda has promised her fellow castmates and Meg that she will behave going forward and bring more positive energy. Now that they have two more bombshells in the mix, time will only tell how long the peace lasts.
“Love Island USA” airs daily except Wednesdays at 9 P.m. ET on Peacock.
