Love Island USA’s Leah Kateb says Taylor Swift helped her through her bumpy villa experience

July 23, 2024

The fan-favorite Islander jokes about her time on “Love Island USA” with a cheeky reference to Swift’s “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?”

<p>Ben Symons/Peacock via Getty; Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic</p>
<p> Leah Kateb and Taylor Swift” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/Cib.p_hntMBpcVpkoR8fyA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MA–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/people_218 /fb4a81f27dce0a24b8ca2fed57759b48″/></p>
<p>Ben Symons/Peacock via Getty; Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic</p>
<p> Leah Kateb and Taylor Swift” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/Cib.p_hntMBpcVpkoR8fyA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MA–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/people_218 /fb4a81f27dce0a24b8ca2fed57759b48″ class=”caas-img”/><button class= — Ben Symons/Peacock via Getty; Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Leah Kate and Taylor Swift

The Love Island USA The villa definitely had a Swiftite!

After the season six finale on Sunday, July 21, the final four couples were finally allowed to access their phones again – and runner-up Leah Kateb revealed what helped her during her bumpy six-week trip to the Fiji Islands: the discography of superstar Taylor Swift.

“Just got my phone back,” Leah, 24, wrote on Instagram Story while listening to Swift’s “You’re on Your Own, Kid” from midnight. “I love you more than you can ever imagine. Nothing could have prepared me for the love that was waiting for me outside the villa.”

In another story, she confessed to her new followers: “Please tell @taylorswift that she has been with me through my entire Love Island experience.”

Her admission was accompanied by one of Swift’s latest songs, “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” by The “Tortured Poets” section.

<p>Leah Kateb/Instagram</p>
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<p>Leah Kateb/Instagram</p>
<p>” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/STAKBywmhJlxpnT3YOfw9A–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTY0MDtoPTg5Ng–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/people_218/47569e49cc4d1bcc1ae15f2 a6ed640ea” class=”caas -img”/></p></div>
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<p>In another Swift-inspired post, Leah shared a fan video of her and her latest partner Miguel Harichi, accompanied by Swift’s <em>1989</em> <em>(Taylor’s version</em>) Archive song “Slut!”</p>
<p>She also wrote on Story: “Wow if you know me you were singing this song the whole time in the villa 💕💕That’s all 💕.”</p>
<figure class= — Ben Symons/Peacock via Getty

Leah Kateb

<p>Leah Kateb/Instagram</p>
<p>” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/BSeNnpu5C2AtcqikpYcfjg–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTY0MDtoPTg5Ng–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/people_218/33b4fa1febc69ca0579255e eaf6e6e40″/></p>
<p>Leah Kateb/Instagram</p>
<p>” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/BSeNnpu5C2AtcqikpYcfjg–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTY0MDtoPTg5Ng–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/people_218/33b4fa1febc69ca0579255ee af6e6e40″ class=”caas -img”/></p></div>
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<p>Related: Ariana Madix reveals what she told Kaylor before Aaron stepped in <em>Love Island</em>‘s Casa Amor (Exclusive)</p>
<p>Leah’s posts follow her whirlwind journey throughout the season. The Los Angeles native was a member of the original cast and stayed until the very last night, alongside her original “Islanders” Kendall Washington, JaNa Craig and winners Serena Page and Kordell Beckham.</p>
<p>As the season progressed, Leah was paired with several other male contestants, including day one cast member Rob Rausch. Although Rob and Leah ended the season on friendly terms, the two caused quite a bit of drama during the first half of the season.</p>
<figure class= — Ben Symons/Peacock via Getty

Leah Kateb

Leah and Rob initially had their eye on each other, but when “bombshell” Andrea Carmona came in, Rob quickly dumped Leah, leading to a heated and shocking reunion. A few days later, Leah and her fellow female islanders were instructed to eliminate a woman who was at risk of being dumped – and Andrea was evicted from the villa.

Rob expressed his outrage at the girls’ decision and blamed Leah, and she, in turn, did not hold back as she expressed her pain and frustration at Rob’s decisions to the other women.

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<p> Aaron Evans, Kaylor Martin, Robert Rausch” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/jF9Ie.h4OFcl3aA3GHOX9g–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MQ–/https://media.zenfs.com/ en/people_218/5c06f370ac3643a41047c4e37a806c75″ class=”caas-img”/><button class= — peacock

Aaron Evans, Kaylor Martin, Robert Rausch

Related: Ariana Madix reveals she tried to get rid of Rob’s overalls before Love Island‘s Casa Amor (Exclusive)

However, in the second half of the season, when she was paired with fellow runner-up Miguel, the clip of her passionate confessions was shown to the entire cast and Leah was forced to defend her emotional reactions. Leah took the criticism in stride and privately apologized to her colleagues and Rob.

As the season came to a close, her bond with Miguel grew stronger—and it became clear that Leah herself had grown over the course of the season.

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<p>Ben Symons/Peacock via Getty</p>
<p> Miguel Harichi and Leah Kateb” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/TWHTzmZur_ZMqUDyXOD8nA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MQ–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/people_218/0ab3a0da6403e9 0586dda01e59e83a9d “/></p>
<p>Ben Symons/Peacock via Getty</p>
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Miguel Harichi and Leah Kateb

After nearly six weeks, Serena and Kordell won the season and took home the $100,000 prize. Leah and Miguel took second place, JaNa and Kenny Rodriguez followed in third place, and Nicole Jacky and Kendall took fourth place.

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Love Island USA will stream on Peacock. A special reunion episode will premiere on Peacock on August 14.

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