Ten days into Season 8 of Love Island USA, Paralympian and former Islander Beatrice Hutz was sent home after her marital status was put to the test in a national vote.
Hutz’s partner, Gabriel Vasconcelos, was paired with newcomer Jennifer “Jen” Terry in the bombshell after America decided which of the three new bombshell contestants (Terry, Sol Dean, and Caleb McDaniel) would be paired with.
“Once I saw what was going on[in the villa]I wasn’t surprised. It was very obvious,” Hutz told Variety. “I was like, ‘Okay, I’m going home.’
Hutz and Vasconcelos first paired up on Day 2, when Hutz, who was a couple with fellow former Islander Sean Reiffel at the time, suggested he was open to exploring outside of their connections. Vasconcelos then whisked Hutz and Trinity Tatum away for a date night, where he hooked up with the former.
Hutz and Vasconcelos encounter problems of their own when their connection is tested by the arrival of Terry and Dean. Both Vasconcelos became good friends outside of assignments.
OG Islander Hutz also quickly struck up friendships with the other women, but had a confrontation with Melanie Moreno in episode 4, when Hutz told Moreno that she was hogging the time and attention with her new bombshell, resulting in a disagreement between the girls and Moreno’s now-popular line, “Give me number 10.”
After the two made up, they encountered their own hurdles in episode nine, when Corbin Mims, Hutz, and Moreno were all left single and vulnerable after their respective partners added new bombshells. As the only single man, Mims had to choose which islander to pair up with and chose Moreno, causing Hutz to be kicked off the island.
In subsequent episodes, Vasconcelos and Terry’s relationship accelerates (they appear to have sex in episode 13), while Hutz’s friends Tatum and Kayda Bosse argue about how to support their new relationship. The show is once again exploding in popularity, with Variety reporting that the Season 8 premiere saw a 74% increase in total viewing time over the first three days of the Season 7 premiere. And with an extra pair of eyes comes a new wave of online comments and critiques.
“I’ve gotten messages saying things like, ‘I want you to have one foot out of the villa,'” Hutz said. “Okay, if you’re going to make fun of me, be more creative.”
Below, Hutz speaks to Variety about his friendship with Moreno, how he feels about Vasconcelos’ new coupling, and his largely unaired relationship with McDaniel.
Beatriz Alexa Hatz, Gabriel Viana Vasconcelos
Provided by Ben Simmons/Peacock
The “Love Island” fandom has basically taken over social media. What surprised you the most about fan feedback online after you got your phone back?
Oh my god, it was really hard to get my phone back. When I opened the app, it crashed due to too many notifications. The craziest thing was probably what a friend said to me. She said, “Oh, people think you’re gay, and I thought, “Oh, well, I take that as a compliment, there’s nothing wrong with that, but I just don’t?”
Ahead of the Season 8 cast announcement, Love Island has issued a statement asking for respect. Did you feel that people respected that in terms of what they said about you?
To be honest, I don’t know because people do what they want. Just because you post anti-bullying posts doesn’t mean bullying will stop. I’ve gotten messages saying things like, “We want you and your feet out of the villa.” Okay, if you’re going to make fun of me, be more creative.
So it doesn’t bother me.
No, I don’t really care. Because at the end of the day, people are going to have an opinion, whether it’s good or bad. Especially when you’re in these types of spaces, there’s always going to be opinions about you. I mean, people can have opinions about me, but they don’t know me, and the only opinions that matter are those of the people closest to me.
You had a tense exchange with Melanie earlier in the season, which fans quickly dissected. What is your relationship with her really like?
I think our relationship is good. It’s friendship. Each of our friends has their own little arguments and arguments, but in the end, we break it off. I think people aren’t used to seeing friends communicating with each other and saying things like, “I didn’t like that,” or “I don’t think we should do this.” I think people are just not used to that kind of thing, and I’ve learned that maybe my direct communication style isn’t for everyone. Being outside of this athlete box was something I had to learn quickly. “Well, I still need to be candid, but maybe I also need to learn how to be candid in a slightly gentler way.” That’s what I learned during my time in the villa.
Were there any off-screen moments that viewers didn’t get to see at home?
There were a lot of off-screen moments. I mean, we’re filmed 24/7, but the show is only an hour long with each episode, so there’s a lot of chat, conversation, and funny moments — the kind of deep emotional connections that maybe we don’t always get to see.
Were you surprised that America voted for Gabriel to be with Jen? Why do you think they voted that way?
No, I wasn’t surprised. When I looked at what was going on, it was very obvious. I was like, “Okay, I’m going home.”
So I had a hunch that things would go in that direction. Did you also know that Corbyn was going to choose Melanie?
I was confident that Corbyn would definitely choose Melanie. They had different stories, but he and I didn’t mesh that well. I think it was a very simple answer because we didn’t have the vibe that he would choose me as a connection. After all, you’re driving someone home, so it was probably very difficult, but that wasn’t surprising. You must select the actual connection.
Back to Gabriel, what do you think of his actions since leaving the villa?
So, at the end of the day, men are going to do what they want, or anyone is going to do what they want. I’m glad I went in there and acted in a way that when I came out, they didn’t say, “Oh, what did you do there?” (Hatsu winks and gives a nudge). I think everyone operates in their own way. I’m not particularly angry, I understand. We’re in the villa, and it’s island time, so we need to be with a couple, but I guess I was expecting — well, not really expecting anything — but I was caught off guard when he was like, “Oh, I’m going to ask you to be respectful this time” (to Terry after Hutz got dumped). I thought he would be meaningful for at least the rest of the night! But I’m glad he didn’t hold back.
What do you think about his and Jen’s relationship as a whole and how quickly it seems to be progressing?
I don’t really know what to think about their relationship since I’m not involved in it. If it’s deep to them, I think it’s deep, but I think anyone can look in from the outside and form an opinion. I’m not going to hate it. I have no desire to support it.
Sean, who you first became a couple with, left right before you did. What was it like watching the scene where he was talking about you? Did you ever regret choosing Gabriel over him?
I haven’t watched the full episode yet, so I don’t know what Sean said. I don’t know if I can say I regret it completely, but I think I regret it a little. I didn’t fully understand the challenge. I never thought that I would be standing at a red light and be like, “Hey, you’re done with your marriage.” But I’ve had a lot of little conversations with Sean about it and we understand that. And he’s a great guy, a great guy.
Did you have any other connections with people that you would have liked to explore?
I think Caleb and I had some sort of connection, we just chatted a few times. I mean, he just came to the villa and shortly after that I was kicked off the island. But the chats I had with him and the two kisses we had during the challenge made me wish I had had the chance to explore him more or explore him more because he was such a real guy.
What brought you two together?
I think it was very easy to open up to him about my disability. I didn’t talk much about it to too many islanders. The girls asked questions and I told them, but as for the boys, I think they were very interested in running blades and how they work. And it was cool to talk about it. However, I was able to quickly open up to Caleb and say, “This is what I was worried about,” and I also went through a lot of surgeries when I was young, so I think he opened up to me as well. He’s very sincere.
There were some changes to the cast before the season began. Vasana Montgomery was fired for using the n-word, and the OG crew increased from eight Islanders to six. Did you find out after you left the villa that there were originally eight people? Were you told while you were still there?
I found out after I left the villa and it was kind of crazy.
Who were you closest to in the villa? Did you see Trinity and Keida discussing what they thought about Jen and Gabriel?
yes! Oh my god, Trinity and Keida are my girls. I can’t wait until they come out. They were my two best friends in the villa, and I was definitely sadder to leave them than, “Oh, I can’t be on the show anymore.” It’s like, “Okay, I don’t care. I miss my friends!”
Looking back, is there anything you wish you had done differently?
I don’t think I would have done anything different anymore. Because there’s really nothing else you can do. That is the current situation. I think what was supposed to happen happened. That was enough time to spend in the villa. I don’t know if I needed to be there anymore, but I think I made the friends and connections I needed. Otherwise, I would never have met these people.
Of everyone in the villa right now, who do you think you have the most genuine connection with?
I think Bryce and Trinity have the purest connection. I literally loved them and was on a slow burn! They started off as little best friends and now just by looking at them, their relationship has evolved. I was there too so it was cool to see that live time and to hear Trinity talk about it was cool and really great.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
