Spoilers for all of Love Island USA season 7 ahead. This year's installment of Love Island USA was quite different from the usual Love Island experience. Rather than following the cadence that long-time viewers of the reality TV series's fandom were used to, LIUSA season 7's cast was all about exploring, to the detriment of viewers looking for the "love" in Love Island. No couple was safe, either from their fellow Islanders's game-changing votes or from America's. And no couple exemplifies season 7's unique outlook on dating and connection more than Florida-born day trader Michelle "Chelley" Bissainthe and L.A.-based dance influencer Ace Greene.
In another world, Chelley and Ace could've been the strongest couple out of the gate—with a fairytale story of a pair who met in the real world, didn't pursue it due to geographical distance, and were able to spend six whole weeks deepening their connection. Instead, they spent so much time exploring other Islanders and getting caught up in drama that by the time they finally locked in, it was too late to make it to the July 13 finale. Still, once the dust settles, Chellace could be one of this cohort's most solid couples, long past the season 7 reunion.
Below, read on for a breakdown of everything to know about Chelley and Ace's relationship, including whether the pair is still dating outside of the villa.
Chelley and Ace leave the villa.
What happened between Chelley and Ace on 'Love Island USA' season 7?
Ace Greene, a 22-year-old dancer and content creator from L.A., arguably had a leg up upon entering the villa. Not only did he already have a million TikTok followers before joining the show, but he also met a familiar face on night one. He and Chelley Bissainthe, a 27-year-old day trader from Florida, had already met and had a casual online flirtation before they were both cast on season 7. (They've confirmed that they were contacted separately to join the show and were not dating before the series.)
Despite having obvious chemistry, Chelley and Ace were very open to exploring other connections. Chelley was initially paired with Austin Shepard after Yulissa Escobar stole Ace from Chelley during the first night of coupling. (Yulissa was removed from the show in episode 2 due to resurfaced racist posts.) However, during the first recoupling, single Ace decided to couple up with eventual winner Amaya Espinal instead. This...did not go well, as Ace clashed with Amaya Papaya's naturally touchy, lovey, too-pure-for-this-world personality.
Ace and Chelley (left) couple up for the first time. Also pictured: Amaya and Austin (right) and Ariana Madix (far right).
This established a pattern that kept up for most of the season, with Chelley and Ace continuing to check in and get to know each other even as they explored other connections. After Amaya, Ace had a brief flirtation with Iris Kendall, but most of his time was taken up with planning cute dates for Chelley (and on behalf of his bestie Taylor Williams) and conducting his campaign against Jeremiah Brown. Meanwhile, Chelley stayed coupled up with Austin—who was annoyed about his love triangle with Chelley and Ace despite putting the bare minimum effort in towards Chelley—for a while, and had a flirtation with Charlie Georgiou.
Finally, in week 3, Ace chose to couple up with Chelley, and the exploring was done...until Casa Amor. This year, each Islander had to couple up with someone entirely new during Casa; Chelley paired up with Chris Seeley, and Ace first chose Vanna Einerson, before he and CoCo Watson coupled up for the rest of Casa. When it was time to return to the main villa, both Chelley and CoCo chose to couple up with Ace (while the women were wearing matching yellow dresses and hair flowers), and Ace chose...Chelley!
So, does the will-they-won't-they couple have smooth sailing from then on? Of course not, but this time it's Chelley exploring two connections. Chris had coupled up with Huda Mustafa post-Casa, and Ace and Chelley weren't closed off yet, so it was fair game. However, that tricky situation quickly came to a head with this year's Heart Rate challenge, where Chelley got mad at Huda and Ace (mostly Huda) for going too far while making out. Before Chelley and Ace can really get into the struggle of establishing boundaries when it comes to exploring other people, Chris quickly takes a step back from Chelley and decides to focus on Huda.
Ace (center) choses between Chelley (left) and CoCo (right) after Casa Amor.
From this point on (or you could argue that the Hate To Burst Your Bubble challenge was the pivotal moment), Chelley and Ace finally lock in. They discuss their childhoods and bond over similar experiences of growing up in poverty. They raise twins during the fake-baby challenge. Chelley organizes one of their cute dates for once! By the third-to-last episode of the season, they're spending the night in the Hideaway (which only two couples did this season!?) and having the exclusive talk. Unfortunately, as evidenced by the pair landing in the bottom three for all the Burst Your Bubble polls, public opinion was already set against them by the time they actually showed their compatibility. So, after they enjoyed Family Day, Chelley and Ace were dumped from the villa on season 7's penultimate episode.
Chelley and Ace pose for a couple pic.
Are Ace and Chelley still together after 'Love Island USA' season 7?
Like with Taylor and Clarke, Chelley and Ace left the villa as an exclusive couple and plan to continue their relationship after the show. The pair told outlets that they will be long-distance for a bit, but that Chelley does have plans to move to L.A., where Ace lives.
"We are going to take our time day by day," Ace told Variety. "We are still getting to know each other outside of villa life. Life is completely different from what America gets to see. I’m excited to grow our relationship and improve our communication, especially since she’s in Florida. I’m in L.A., but she’s looking to move to L.A., and we’ll go from there."
Chelley added in an interview with Vulture, "Eventually, I am moving to L.A. That’s something that’s gonna happen. When exactly, that’s still the question mark. But we’re definitely gonna navigate long distance. With us being the intentional people that we are and knowing what we want, it’s not gonna really be a challenge."