At the end of Love Island USA season 7's premiere, a hot new bombshell entered the villa. 25-year-old Cierra Ortega made a memorable entrance, dropping in on a blindfolded kiss challenge before stealing Nicolas Vansteenberghe away for a cozy night in the Hideaway. Cierra and Nic have stood out as one of the long-standing couples this season, as viewers saw more of Cierra's personality, from her flirtationship with Chelley Bissainthe to her love of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
However, resurfaced posts from Cierra's past soon had fans calling for her removal from the reality show, despite being a frontrunner for America's favorite couple. Following Cierra's departure on July 6, we're breaking down what to know about her. Below, read on for everything we know about Love Island USA's Cierra Ortega.
Cierra's Love Island USA portrait.
Cierra Ortega is a content creator and world traveler.
Cierra Ortega, 25, is a content creator with Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage. According to NBC, Cierra is a Libra and was born and raised in Arizona, although she is now based in L.A.
"I'm the full package: brains, beauty, and boobs," she said in her Love Island intro. "I don't care whose toes I have to step on. If I can take your man, he was never your man in the first place."
On Instagram or TikTok, you'll find that Cierra is a fashion girlie and avid world traveler, who has visited locales including Egypt, Thailand, Saint Martin, Costa Rica, Paris, and Italy.
Cierra Ortega has already worked with brands like Skims and AdoreMe.
Cierra has found success in the social media world, both as a manager and as the face in front of the camera. According to her LinkedIn, the University of Arizona graduate worked in influencer management and creator and brand partnerships for companies prior to joining Love Island USA. She formerly worked for Lucy Guo's creator platform Passes up until April 2025, according to a company spokesperson.
On her personal Instagram, Cierra has collaborated with brands like SKIMS, AdoreMe, and Good American. She wrote in a March caption, "so grateful when opportunities like this find their way to me. not a model, not an influencer, just a girl pouring a lot of love into herself and letting the universe do the rest."
Cierra Ortega does her makeup.
Cierra is friends with several 'Love Island USA' alums.
It's no surprise that Cierra eventually made it to Fiji, considering her friendships with some past Islanders. She has previously hung out with Love Island USA alums Johnnie Olivia (from season 5) and Kassy Castillo (from seasons 5 and 6). Another of Cierra's famous friends outside of the Love Island universe is podcaster Brooke Schofield, who has also been called out for racist social media posts in the past. Per Schofield, she and Cierra have known each other since high school and college.
On July 5, Johnnie condemned Cierra's past posts and distanced herself from the then-Islander. "I’m sure many of you have noticed that I’ve refrained from talking about Love Island and have stopped publicly supporting my friend on the show. This was after I saw a post involving a racial slur for the first time," she wrote in an Instagram story, per Vulture. "I loved supporting her during her time on the show, but once I came across that post, I felt it was necessary to take a step back. I do not support or condone that kind of language never have, never will."
She was called out by 'Love Island USA' fans because she previously used a racial slur.
In late June, screenshots of two of Cierra's alleged old Instagram posts surfaced. They later went viral on July 1. The reality star used a racial slur directed towards Asian Americans in the posts, which were from 2023 and 2015. In the 2023 post, where she talked about getting Botox injected into her face, she wrote, "I am incredibly expressive with my face and I catch myself frowning for no reason throughout the day when I’m focusing on something or thinking too hard lol. I can also be a little ch*nky when I laugh/smile so. I love getting a mini brow lift to open up my eyes and get that snatched look."
Cierra immediately began losing Instagram followers; as of July 7, her count has decreased by over 200,000. Since the post was shared, outraged Love Island fans began calling for Cierra to be removed from the show, arguing that allowing her to stay would be a double standard after day 1 Islander Yulissa Escobar was removed early in the show due to resurfaced clips of her saying the n-word on a podcast.
Cierra during the 'Stand on Business' challenge.
On Sunday, July 6, Cierra officially left Love Island USA. During that night's episode, announcer Iain Stirling confirmed that Cierra had left the villa "due to a personal situation."
Fans in the know had been wondering when Cierra would depart the show, as she had notably been shown less in the past few episodes. On July 3, The Sun reported that the series's producers were "furious" and that Cierra was in "deep trouble" regarding resurfaced posts. Host Ariana Madix had also hinted in an Instagram comment that she was "not silent" on the issue behind the scenes.
Following Cierra's exit, fellow season 7 star Belle-A Walker shared a statement on her Instagram Story. "As a proud Asian American woman, I'm deeply appreciative of the Love Island USA producers for taking a stand and making it clear that racism of any kind is not tolerated," she wrote, before explaining that she unfollowed Cierra on Instagram after multiple posts resurfaced.
"Asian hate is oftentimes overlooked and dismissed," she added. "But being a first-generation American, I have personally witnessed and experienced how real and hurtful comments like these are. It is my hope that this situation can shed light on how big of an issue anti-Asian hate actually is."
The statement from Belle-A.
Cierra's parents have asked for "basic human decency" in response to online hate.
Following Cierra's departure, her parents posted an Instagram Story on her account, saying they've experienced "one of the most painful weeks of their lives."
"We’ve seen the posts, the headlines, the hurt and the hate. And while Cierra hasn’t seen any of it yet, we have. And so have the people who love her," they wrote, per Deadline. "We're not here to justify or ignore what's surfaced. We understand why people are upset, and we know accountability matters. But what's happening online right now has gone far beyond that."
"The threats. The cruel messages. The attacks on her family, her friends, even her supporters, it's heartbreaking. It's uncalled for. And no one deserves that kind of hate, no matter what mistake they've made," the statement continued. "We know our daughter. We know her heart. And when she returns, we believe she’ll face this with honesty, growth, and grace,” the parents added. “While she’ll always be our little girl, she’s also a woman, one who will take responsibility in her own time and her own voice."
They ended the statement with, "Until then, we’re simply asking for compassion. For patience. For basic human decency. Not just for her, but for everyone caught in the middle of this.Thank you to those who’ve continued to show love, even when it’s not easy."
The statement from Cierra's parents.
Cierra shared a video in response to the controversy, apologizing to "the entire Asian community"
On July 9, Cierra spoke out for the first time since departing Love Island USA season 7. In a video she posted to Instagram, the influencer explained that she waited 48 hours after returning to the U.S. to speak out, to ensure that she "[could] speak about this without being highly emotional, because I am not the victim in this situation."
While wearing a jade pendant necklace with a graphic sweatshirt reading "Empathy," she began her statement by "addressing not just anyone that I have hurt or deeply affected, but most importantly, the entire Asian community. I am deeply, truly, honestly so sorry. I had no idea that the word held as much pain, as much harm, and came the history that it did, or I never would have used it."
She continued, “This is not an apology video. This is an accountability video,” she said. “I do want to hold my hands up and say that I take accountability for using the word, but I do want it to be known that I genuinely had no idea it was a slur. I had no idea of its meaning. And it wasn’t until I made the public story post in 2024 when a follower of mine reached out to correct me and let me know that what I was saying was incredibly hurtful. It was a derogatory term, it was a slur, and in that moment, I was embarrassed."
While speaking, Cierra showed a screenshot of her DM conversation with the follower. She then added that she "immediately deleted the post" and "removed [the slur] from her vocabulary. She also said that following the incident, she "educated" herself on the "true meaning of the history of the word."
"The truth is that in that moment, the lesson was learned, the word was removed, and it was a true learning moment for me,” she said. “And I think since that moment, I’ve done so much growing as an individual, and I’ve tried my best to educate others who might be accidentally holding space for these types of words that could be offensive in your vocabulary."
Cierra and Charlie stand at the fire pit during the recoupling in episode 2.
Cierra said of her ousting, "I completely agree with the network’s decision to remove me from the villa. I think that this is something that deserved punishment, and the punishment has absolutely been received, for sure." She concluded the video by asking for grace towards herself and her family members, claiming that she has received death threats and that her family had ICE called on them.
"There’s no need to fight hate with hate," she said. "I don’t think that that’s justice, and if you want to know that you’re heard and that I’m sorry and that I will move differently, I promise you, that’s what will happen."
She finished by saying, "I do need it to be known that I am sorry and I did mean no harm, and hopefully there are people out there that can use my mistake as a learning moment and to just be better, because that’s what I’m going to do."