Spoilers for all of Love Island USA season 7 ahead. Among the nonstop drama provided by the Love Island USA season 7 cast, one Islander stood out all season as a ray of sunshine. N.Y.C. nurse Amaya Espinal, a.k.a. Amaya Papaya, entered the reality TV show early and stayed positive in the face of rejection, as millions of fans rooted for her to find love. Eventually, in came Boston accountant Bryan Arenales to sweep the people's princess off her feet and reciprocate her bubbly energy.
Though Amaya and Bryan only had a short time as an official couple on the show, their fairytale courtship won America's hearts, and the pair became the first Latino couple to win Love Island USA. Now, fans are clamoring for any news of the couple's future outside the villa. Below, read on for a breakdown of Amaya and Bryan's relationship so far, including what the pair has said about life post-Love Island.
Amaya and Bryan kiss in the finale.
What happened between Amaya and Bryan on 'Love Island USA' season 7?
Amaya Espinal, a 25-year-old registered nurse born and raised in N.Y.C., entered the villa in the first week of season 7, joining as a bombshell along with Hannah Fields. Unfortunately, Amaya had a rough time on the series out of the gate. At her first recoupling, Ace Greene chose to pair up with her, but he also continued to explore his connection with Chelley Bissainthe. Amaya called this out as "player behavior," which offended Ace (even though it was true). Things got worse when Ace felt uncomfortable with Amaya calling him "babe" and getting upset that he wasn't putting in as much effort with her as he was with Chelley.
After several days of being essentially single, Amaya next coupled up with Austin Shepard, who had begun to show more interest once it became clear that his match, Chelley, was set on Ace. However, once Amaya and Austin were coupled up, he immediately did a 180 and said that her naturally affectionate vibe was too much for him. Despite being so unlucky in love, Amaya made quick friendships among the Islanders and remained safe during the votes, making it through to week 4.
Meanwhile, when 28-year-old finance and real estate guy Bryan Arenales joined the show as one of the Casa Amor boys, he didn't immediately show interest in Amaya. Instead, he quickly coupled up with Andreina Santos and stayed with her all through Casa and into the villa. Amaya continued to go through it; after the Casa first impressions, no one chose to couple up with her. The next day, she set her sights on Zak Srakaew, and he decided to pair up with her instead of Olandria Carthen.
Amaya and Bryan's first couple pic.
By the time everyone returned to the villa, a familiar pattern was repeating, and Zak was cooling off. Everything came to a head in the Stand on Business challenge; when Austin wrote a letter to Amaya that she cried too much and moved too fast, both Ace and Zak (her current match!!) piled on. However, before Amaya ran off in tears, one boy chimed in to have Amaya's back. Bryan explained that being affectionate was part of Latino culture, and calling people "babe, mi amor, mi vida" was common. This moment was the first time viewers saw Bryan and Amaya share a connection (and, low-key, that Bryan stood out from the crowd).
Andreina had started to ignore Bryan to explore others by then, so he and Amaya began to really explore each other. (He also begins putting in work before Amaya's popularity is revealed during the Burst Your Bubble challenge.) Finally, Amaya found someone to keep up with her whirlwind pace and even appreciate her for it. It only took the pair a few days to become one of the villa's strongest couples, and they even became the first couple of the season to spend the night alone in the Hideaway.
After the Hideaway, Amaya and Bryan sailed through the end of season 7. During their final date, when they looked through a photo album of their baby pictures, Bryan asked Amaya to be exclusive, and they became the only official couple heading into the final ceremony. (This season was bleak, y'all.) Their declarations of love were absolutely adorable, with Amaya calling Bryan someone who "embraces the waterfall of my emotion," and Bryan calling her "Mi diabla, mi ángel, mi loquita," which translates to "My devil, my angel, my crazy girl." (Both pet names and Bad Bunny lyrics!)
Amaya and Bryan enjoy their final date.
Are Amaya and Bryan still together after 'Love Island USA' season 7?
Unsurprisingly, Amaya and Bryan are still stunned after winning the show, taking home $50,000 each, and finding out how massively popular they are in the real world. Appearing on TODAY two days after the July 13 finale, they explained that they're leaning on each other for support as they get used to their viral fame.
When asked whether their relationship was real or just for the show, Bryan held up their intertwined hands. "I'm so happy to be here with her, and trust us, it's real," he said, with Amaya adding, "I'm also a bad actress and a bad liar, so I think people will be able to catch on quickly. I need Botox after this; he makes me smile so much."
Though we'll have to wait a bit to see how their romance evolved outside the villa—don't worry, they're near-guaranteed to attend the season 7 reunion—the pair has shared their plans for the prize money. Speaking to host Ariana Madix on Instagram, they both shared that they want to donate a portion of their winnings to charity, with Bryan mentioning mental health awareness in particular.
"I wanna give back to a community, that's one of my biggest passions—[which] he asked [about] early on—is just me leaving a positive impact [on] a group of people who are in need," Amaya said.