Amaya Espinal won over “Love Island USA” fans with her honesty, genuine search for love, and her self-proclaimed “sensitive gangsta” energy. She ultimately won season 7, coupling up with Bryan Arenales in July, but the couple split just a month later.
In a recent interview with OK! Magazine, the reality TV star opened up about whether she’s back in the dating game after going through a very highly publicized split.
‘Love Island USA’ Star Amaya Espinal Confirms She’s Back in the Dating Game
Getty“Love Island USA” season 7 winner Amaya Espinal is stepping back into the dating world. Just three months after her split from Bryan Arenales, the man she won the show with, Espinal revealed to OK! Magazine that she’s ready to open up her heart again.
“I be dating,” she told the outlet. However, she shared some important advice for single people before they jump into the dating pool, advising them that they should feel secure and comfortable with being on their own before entering a relationship.
“Before you even get into dating, you have to know you’re OK by yourself. You should learn how to be alone before you’re even spending time with somebody else,” she shared.
Espinal shared that it’s important to know “what you want in that relationship — and once you know what you want, don’t let that other partner try to make you compromise or lower your standards.”
As fans can recall, Espinal ultimately won season 7 of “Love Island USA” after coupling up with Bryan Arenales. According to People, Espinal confirmed in an Instagram Story in August that the pair had decided to go their separate ways after just dating for one month.
Getty“My papayas – Bryan and I are no longer together. After leaving the villa, it became very clear that we were on two different journeys. Our visions didn’t align and relationships are supposed to be a team sport. You don’t have to drink the whole sea to know it’s salty. All love here and I truly wish him the best. – Amaya Papaya.” She wrote.
Espinal Returns With Her Season 7 Cast for ‘Love Island: Beyond the Villa’
Fans will get to see Espinal back on their screens, hanging out with her “Love Island” girlfriends and potentially going out on dates for the “Love Island” spinoff, “Love Island: Beyond the Villa.” According to Deadline, the spinoff was renewed for a second season and will now follow the post-villa lives of the season 7 cast.
Espinal’s ex, Arenales, will star in the series alongside other notable cast members, including former couple Pepe Garcia and Iris Kendall, with Kendall now dating cast member TJ Palma. Fans will also get to see what Taylor Williams and Clarke Carraway are up to after becoming “official,” and see the return of Jeremiah Brown, Hannah Fields, Andreina Santos, and more.
It’ll certainly be interesting to see if any of these exes interact with one another in the new season. For season one, the stars all resided in Los Angeles post “Love Island” fame. Although it’s not clear if cameras will follow their lives separately or follow the same format of having them live in the same city.
However, some surprising absences from the series include couples Nic Vansteenberghe and Olandria Carthen, who have booked several projects since their time on the show, as well as Ace Greene and Chelle Bissainthe, who also won’t be appearing.
“Love Island: Beyond the Villa” season 2 is set to premiere in early 2026.
