The winners of “Love Island USA” thought America was fed up with them

Photo: Ben Symons/Peacock

As soon as Serena Page and Kordell Beckham looked into each other’s eyes Love Island USA Villa while dressed (coincidentally?) in matching neon green ensembles, viewers were captivated. TikTok celebrated the couple’s black love, gushing over clips of Page doing Beckham’s hair and dramatic compilations of the pair’s arguments. Over the course of the show’s sixth season, its most popular and celebrated yet, the couple endured a rollercoaster of ups and downs: Page thinking Beckham, 22, wasn’t “intellectually stimulating” enough after he expressed interest in a Cheez-It sponsorship, their subsequent breakup and reconciliation, and Beckham’s ill-advised round of “exploring connections” with bombshell Daia during Casa Amor. And yet they persevered, ultimately emerging victorious and pocketing a combined $100,000 prize (plus a potential Cheez-It payout, if Beckham’s Instagram followers are any indication).

Pretty good considering the couple never thought they would win. “I thought it was either JaNa and Kenny or Kendall and Nicole,” says Beckham. “Even when it got down to the final two, I thought it was had Leah and Miguel. We don’t know what everyone watching on the outside thinks of us, but it turned out to be good stuff.”

You are the first black couple win Love Island, and not just in the US, but all over the world. This is a big deal because there was Complaints in the past about the voters of the show Giving people with color A bad deal. What does your victory mean to you?
Cordell Beckham: We have made history.

Serena page: I love it. I’m very pro-black so this means the world to me. Kudos to the community for supporting us and believing in us.

You just got your phones back. What was it like seeing your story received online?
SP: I would definitely use the term “overwhelmed,” but in a positive sense.

I know you live in a bubble on the show, but have you ever been able to get a sense of what people think of you?
SP: We got an idea when we made it to the final four. Personally, I didn’t know what America thought of us because we weren’t the most typical Love Island journey or the smoothest sailing. I thought to myself: Maybe they’re tired of our asses.

Why did you think another couple would win?
KB: With JaNa and Kenny, their progress was crazy, like they had a real little love experience. Kenny really likes this woman and JaNa really likes this man. Kendall and Nicole were a love story too. Even Aaron and Kaylor, since they were boyfriend and girlfriend, I thought they would still be there at the end.

Was it a surprise to both of you that this was not the case?
SP: Just a little. I feel like Aaron wasn’t particularly honest about his Casa experience, and I knew that wouldn’t go over well. Nobody likes a liar. I love Aaron to death, but that’s probably why America turned away from him.

It’s as if he forgot that there were people watching at home or that there were cameras nearby. But can something like that happen easily?
KB: On the second day, I literally forgot that there were cameras everywhere. There are those moments when you see one and think: Oh shit, there’s a camerabut most of the time you just forget about them completely.

Kordell, you seemed to forget that there was even a prize for victory Love Island.
KB: Yes, I forgot that you have to win. I didn’t realize that until Ariana said, “Now we’re announcing the winners of this season. Love Island,‘ and I just thought, ‘Oh, shit!’ I was just so trapped.

SP: But that’s the way he is.

KB: I can be in my own world a lot.

There are a popular tweet that says: “Kordell really came Love Island as a boy and will leave as a man.” Do you think that’s true?
KB: That’s the truth. I’m not going to sit here and lie. I came in as a boy, even though I already had a mature mindset. Everything I did on the show was something I did very naturally, but I feel like I left as a man because there’s always room for growth. I grew in ways I didn’t know I could grow.

I also saw much discussion about why there is so much damn avocado toast.
KB: That was my first question when I got there! Everyone was talking about avocado toast. I don’t like avocados at all. Serena eats avocados though, so I thought: You know what? Let me make this little avocado toast and I’ll try it myself. And I must say, it’s pretty good. But I thought to myself: Is that a Love Island or does everyone else in the world really only like avocado toast? I honestly do not know.

SP: It is also one of the breakfast dishes that is easier to prepare, especially because we have to start the day. We cannot spend the whole day preparing a buffet.

KB: I have to say, I made Serena a proper breakfast literally every day. Even on our bad days, I made eggs and bacon, pancakes, or French toast.

Kordell, you’ve made a few jokes about being blind, and some people online have wondered what the deal is with your glasses. Did you just not want to wear them?
KB: I have glasses, but they’re the wrong prescription. I wanted to get a new pair before the show, but they said it would take two months because my eyesight had gotten worse or my lenses were getting thicker. I thought, ‘I don’t have that much time,’ so I just went with the same two pairs of glasses that I’d been wearing and managed to break both of them. One of the arms broke off, and the other one broke halfway. I wore them sometimes, but I tried to put my hair down to cover where the arm ended so you couldn’t see it.

How much time do you have to prepare for the show, from the time you get the call that you’ve been officially cast in the show to boarding the plane?
SP: It depends on the person. It may take a few weeks or a few days, but the process is long enough that you can start preparing if you decide to go ahead.

KB: Yes, they always said, “You never know when you’re going in. Do whatever you need to do now so you have enough time.”

Have you talked about what’s next for both of you? Are you in a long-distance relationship? Are either of you moving?
SP: We definitely talked about it in the villa. We’re both from Texas, but I’ve been in LA for a year now and convinced him to move there, so you’ll be seeing a lot more of us.

KB: I’ve been trying to move out of Texas for a long time, but it was going to be either Arizona, Miami, or Vegas. LA wasn’t on my radar, but I met her, so it’s on the radar now.

Your love story has had its ups and downs, and that’s not even taking into account the pressure that comes with being together on a reality TV show. How do you make sure things like what happened with Kordell at Casa don’t keep coming back and haunting your relationship?
KB: Everything that’s happened has only made us stronger. We don’t really think about the past. We actually joke about it. It’s become something that we can both laugh about and enjoy and say, “Hey, that happened, but look at us now.”

We found out in the final that there is a Love Island USA The reunion will take place on August 19th. Do you have any questions for the others?
SP: We Only have our phones. I haven’t even had time to check in. I might have questions when I dig deeper into social media. But for now, we’re just having a great time.