Today, Teen Vogue published a wide-ranging interview between associate editor Aiyana Ishmael and Love Island USA’s Olandria and Chelley. The popular duo chatted about their time in Fiji, being labeled the “mean girls,” hair maintenance on the island, and their hopes for the future. See more inside…
On their friendship, and timing being everything:
“We’re soul sisters for a reason,” Olandria tells Teen Vogue. “We’ll always say to one another, ‘God knew we needed each other.’ I’m so happy the past seasons did not work out for us because season seven was the year to be here at the same time.”
On staying true to themselves in the villa:
“Before going on the show, I told myself to just be myself,” Chelley says. “They could either like you or not, but I never want to feel like I’m putting up a facade. I also said, ‘Don’t feel like you’re not deserving of this opportunity, because there are so many people in this world that could have been here, but out of all those people, you were there, and that’s for a reason.’”
On their surprise after being labeled the “mean girls”:
“It was confusing and so weird because we knew who we were in that villa,” Chelley says. “We know how much we showed up for every single person on that island, how well everyone spoke of us. So for us to come out of the villa and see that we’re mean girls, we’re like, ‘Mean girls where?’”
“To see our fellow islanders playing into that narrative was hard,” Olandria says. “It’s like, you knew us, why would you get out and let America, let social media get to your head? A lot of them played into that mean girl, bully narrative. I’m like, ‘Okay, this is not fair.’”
On facing criticism over approaching castmate Huda about her behavior:
“How dare you guys say something like that to us, but not to everyone who was having that mean girl energy or mean girl moments? It goes back to the whole, you have to act a certain type of way [as a Black woman] because the moment you act ‘out of character’ you’re done,” Chelley says. “We didn’t call anyone names, we didn’t sit here and run up and down the villa yelling, screaming. We just spoke our truth and held people accountable for their actions.”
On balancing authenticity and fears about public opinion:
“I knew going into the show, especially as a Black woman, I was representing more than just myself,” she says. “The world always tries to label us as ‘angry Black women.’ They use a moment of weakness and make that one specific time our whole character. I knew that when it came to my emotions, I had to dial that back, which I did for the majority of the season.”
“The moment that I did break and I kind of blew, people were like, ‘I knew it. That’s the real her,’” she recalls. “I wanted to be unapologetically me, but it’s like this world doesn’t allow Black women to do that.”
Chelley says she tried to block out those pressures: “I still know myself, I know my truth, so I can’t take how you guys feel about me with so much weight. You sit here and try to paint me to be whoever you want me to be in your mind because of five minutes of one episode, I think that says more about a person than even myself.”
She adds, “This world could be crazy sometimes and this is what it comes with when putting yourself in these type of spaces and places, which ultimately I’m just so grateful and so thankful because again, the woman that Olandria is, the woman that I am, we represent so many Black women and even women in general, and I think they see that in us.”
On their chosen hairstyles on the show:
“On our off days, Chelley and I would be on the floor crocheting my hair, looping my braids through [to freshen them up],” Olandria says. “We didn’t have anyone there to braid our hair.”
Chelley adds: “I think one of the biggest things for us is when we both walked out, got into the villa, and looked at each other and we’re like, ‘Oh, we both got braids.’”
“I remember sitting down with the producers when I first landed and I was like, ‘By the way, I’m changing my hair,’” [Chelley] says. “It was in a bun when I was talking to them. They were like, ‘What do you mean?’ I’m like, ‘I can’t leave it like this. I’m going to braid it. So I’m just letting you guys know I’m going to have a different hairstyle.’ They’re like, ‘Okay, is this still going to go with your look?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, of course.’”
And seeing negative comments about them online:
“It was just sad to see the comments saying, ‘They need their hair done.’ You see how many challenges I’m doing,” Chelley says. “Since when have you known someone to go in the water 20 times in a summer, get slime and this and that in their hair, and it comes out looking fresh?”
On why others feel the need to bring them down:
“I think a big part of it is we are very confident in ourselves,” Chelley says. “It’s a thing of wanting to bring us down so badly, but why? If you see us feeling ourselves and happy about who we are, why can’t that make you want to be happy as well?”
“Because it makes them uncomfortable,” Olandria follows. “I truly feel like, as a little girl, I always struggled with my skin complexion and my hair type. I have 4C hair, I have dark skin, and I have brown eyes. So I always felt like I looked the opposite of what beauty looked like in the Black community. Light skin, curly hair, bright eyes. If only I could go back and hug little Olandria and say, ‘Baby, we’re going to be all right. You’re beautiful.’”
On their goals for the future:
“I think my biggest goal right now is longevity,” Chelley says. “It’s not just one thing that I want to do. From modeling, working with brands, or hosting, there are so many different things.”
“As for my relationship, your girl is happily in love,” she continues. “I’m not fully in a relationship yet because I’m like, ‘Look [Ace], you told me you want to be exclusive, I said, Yes. But until you ask, Will you be my girlfriend? I am not your girlfriend, okay?’ And if anyone knows anything about Ace, he’s going to do it in the most romantic, grandest gesture ever. So I’m excited for that because he knows I’m extra too.”
Similarly, Olandria has her eyes set on multiple paths: “I don’t want to just put myself in a box when it comes to certain things, like yes, I want to model. I want to go into beauty, podcasting… I want to do everything to see what sticks.”
Credits:
Photographer: Patience Ojionuka
Photo Assistants: Esai Velasquez, Hypatia Sorunke, Zuri Moultrie
Art and Design Director: Emily Zirimis
Senior Designer: Liz Coulbourn
Associate Visuals Editor: Bea Oyster
Style Director: Alyssa Hardy
Associate Editor, Style and Beauty: Donya Momenian
Associate Culture Director: Claire Dodson
Culture Editor: Kaitlyn McNab
Associate Director of Audience Development and Analytics: Mandy Velez Tatti
Senior Social Media Manager: Honestine Fraser
Senior Social Media Manager: Jillian Selzer
Editorial Assistant: Skyli Alvarez
