Just days after coming out of the “Love Island USA” villa, Amaya Espinal told TheWrap winning Season 7 with Bryan Arenales still feels like a fairytale.
The native New Yorker captivated fans of the Peacock reality series this season with her quirky quips and hopeless romantic heart of gold. Though the fan-favorite struggled to find her footing at first as a bombshell in the villa, she won over fans at home and took home the $100,000 cash prize alongside her new beau.
Several moments of Amaya alone in the villa made social media fall in love with her. The bombshell said her favorite viral moment that she’s seen since coming back online was her viral original song: “I never said I was perfect.”
“You’ll be surprised how quick it is to forget that you’re being recorded because the cameras are so small,” Amaya told TheWrap, surprised that the innocuous moment made it into the final cut. “Dude, it’s just a part of me for real, but [the producers] capturing those moments are so funny.”
The self-proclaimed “sensitive gangster” was beaten down by several of her attempted connections in the villa during the “Stand on Business” challenge, in which islanders aired the grievances with one another. When Ace, Austin and Zak ganged up on her, it was not one of her sisters in the villa but Casa boy Bryan, who came to her rescue.
Bryan said it felt natural to stand up for her in the moment, and he was surprised that he was the only one. Amaya admitted she did not expect anyone in the villa to come to her defense.
“I wasn’t really expecting anybody to stand up for me. I was just really being my own backbone. But to hear Bryan’s voice, I was like, ‘I appreciate that so much,’ ” she said. “I clearly was almost having a panic attack, and I felt like he was like the Prince Knight and Charming.”
Just one episode later, Amaya emerged as a definitive fan-favorite after the “Hate To Burst Your Bubble” challenge, in which America had the chance to rank the Islanders in a slew of categories. Amaya came out on top as most genuine and most trustworthy.
The breakout star said that, without saying names, she noticed some people in the villa started to treat her differently after that challenge.
“I feel like with certain people there was a shift,” she said. “I could see them trying to play the game. It’s like, Wwhy do you want to talk to me now or make things better with me now when you didn’t even care to a couple hours ago?’”
Amaya admitted she had started to have a crush on Bryan even before she was coupled up with Zak in Casa Amor. Bryan, who was paired up with bombshell Andreina first, said he had no clue.
“I always had a crush on him, but, look, I become shy around people that I have crushes on, so I’m like, let me kind of back up a little bit,” she said. “I remember during the first night [in Casa Amor] when I wasn’t in a couple or anything, yet, I would gravitate to him.”
Meanwhile the Boston native said his feelings grew for Amaya once they returned to the villa, and his connection with Andreina started to fall out.
“I was always physically attracted to her. We just never had that conversation, so we were friends,” Bryan said. “Then we caught each other in the hall one random time, and I don’t know what made me say out loud, I was like, ‘Amaya, you’re a vibe, like, I f-ck with you.’ And then we gave each other a high five and a hug.”
Both Bryan and Amaya said that producers for “Love Island USA” slid into their DMs, asking them to audition for the reality dating series. Bryan was approached for the series after his tattoo artist convinced him to start posting on social media, just three weeks prior to joining the cast.
Amaya had never seen the show, but had seen clips on TikTok. For her, the ask came at just the right time.
“I was single for about a year, and I was just in a really great place of self love and my confidence, where I felt like that’s the time where it’s perfect to start dating again,” she said. “I was like, ‘if I could survive NYC dating world, I could definitely do Love Island.’”
Andy Cohen and Ariana Madix have been tapped to host the “Love Island USA” Season 7 reunion. Amaya joked that the “double-A duo” will be sure to stir up some drama on August 25.
“When Mr. Andy coming through in the seat, you know he going to be asking the right questions,” Amaya said. “And Ariana by his side, baby, they are going to make sure things are checked, OK?”
When asked who they thought would be in the hot seat for the reunion, the couple looked at each other for a moment before Bryan said, “Zak with a K for sure.”
As for the couple’s future, they are looking forward to continuing their relationship outside of the villa and taking advantage of the new opportunities coming their way. Amaya, who did not have someone run her social media while she was away, gained 2.2 million Instagram followers over the course of the season, and also had several brands reach out to her for potential partnerships.
“Some brands are people I have been looking up to since I’ve been a young girl, and that they’re really my big inspirations,” she said.
When asked who she was most excited to collaborate with, she answered, “@BadGalRiRi! Hi Ms. Fenty Beauty!”
“Love Island USA” Seasons 4-7 are now streaming on Peacock.
