After six weeks of around-the-clock drama in Fiji, the hit reality show Love Island USASeason Six ended on Sunday with viewers choosing the coupled-up Serena Page and Kordell Beckham as the $100,000 prize winners. Leah Kateb and Miguel Harichi were declared the season’s runners-up.
While Page and Beckham, together since the first episode of Season Six, were expected to take the top spot, the strong second-place finish of Kateb and Harichi was more surprising. The duo had a late start compared to the rest, not solidifying their relationship until more than halfway through the season.
“It was just a bit of a shock for us like, ‘Oh shit, we’re getting more votes than the ones that have been together from the beginning,’” Harichi tells Rolling Stone. “At the same time, it was nice to see that people were seeing what we were feeling.”
While the Love Island fandom has been going strong since the U.K. version launched the series back in 2015, the twists and turns of Season Six of Love Island USA exceeded expectations, Peacock says, with Neilsen ratings showing it as the number one reality series in the U.S. across all streaming platforms. In its biggest week, from July 5-11, entertainment data company Luminate says Love Island USA was the number-one-watched streaming original series in the U.S., surpassing viewership for both The Bear Season Three and The Boys Season Four.
And there’s more to come: Fans of this season’s cast will be treated to a reunion special on Aug. 19.
For Harichi, being a part of this season was an unexpected challenge.
“I had no idea how Love Island really works,” the 27-year-old fitness model and actor tells Rolling Stone. “I’ve never really seen the show prior to going on and I didn’t want to watch once I got cast, because I liked the idea of going in fresh.”
He says the franchise’s producers had been reaching out to him on social media since 2021, trying to recruit him to be a part of both Love Island U.K. and Love Island USA. He eventually opted to spend his summer with the USA cast in Fiji. “I just wanted to try out a new experience to test myself, see how I cope in a new environment. It’s very much deep waters out there, and I knew I’d come out with a new outlook on life and a new outlook on myself.”
Entering the villa in Episode Nine as an early bombshell after the original cast members spent more than a week filming wasn’t an easy task for Harichi, since friendships and couples had already had time to take root. But the women immediately fawned over him, the men came around to him as a friend, and viewers grew to love him as one of their favorites of the season.
In one video clip making its rounds on social media, fans even discovered that Harichi had a small acting role on Ted Lasso playing a contestant in a Love Island parody.
“It’s foreshadowing, innit? I was speaking to my sister prior to going on this season of Love Island, and I was like, it’s mad how I did a show [Ted Lasso] playing a Love Island character, and now I’m actually going to be an Islander,” Harichi says. “It is a full circle moment for real.”
After the season finale wrapped filming, Harichi spoke exclusively to Rolling Stone over Zoom from his hotel room to dish about his time in the villa.
When you signed up to participate in this season of Love Island USA, did you know you would be entering the villa as a bombshell?
I remember having a conversation [with producers] where they asked how I would feel about being in Casa Amor [where the couples are separated and introduced to a new batch of contestants to test their relationships], and I wasn’t too stoked about it, but I was happy to do whatever. I had a gut feeling before I even flew out [to Fiji] that I was going to be a bombshell. The team is very good at keeping their cards close to their chest.
I don’t think they even told me that filming had started [when I arrived in Fiji]. You’re waiting in [the hotel], and you don’t know anything. I didn’t have my cell phone. I didn’t have a computer. I didn’t have Netflix for the first week. I was literally living in limbo, just working out and reading books. You’re living in the unknown. There are no clocks, so you don’t even know what time it is. You’re just moving day by day; you only know the time because you watch the sun go up and down. Once the episodes start airing, you get an idea of what’s going on in the villa. At that point, I still didn’t know 100 percent when I was going to go in, whether I was going to be a boy in Casa Amor or I was going to be an early bombshell or a very late bombshell like Harrison [Luna]. But [producers] literally pulled up to my hotel room door one day, and they were like, “Here’s your suitcase, start packing your bags.”
What did you think of the episodes you watched before you went into the villa?
At first, I thought, “Wow, this is a crazy bunch.” But everyone seemed cool. [Producers] would ask me, “Who do you like? Who do you dislike?” And I always said, “I don’t dislike anybody.” With the women, I thought the majority of them were very beautiful. However I didn’t have a set plan of who I wanted to speak to because I’m very much aware that what you see on screen is just a fraction of what’s going on in real life. The personalities and traits you see are picked and edited. I was just getting a rough idea of everyone, but I hadn’t made a solid decision of who I wanted to speak to. I wanted to make that decision when I got inside.
You originally coupled with Liv Walker but then recoupled with Leah Kateb before you left the villa for Casa Amor. You and Leah seemed shocked when you learned that fans voted you as one of the final four couples in the season finale. Why were you surprised to make it to the finale?
It was more because we were one of the later couples to get together and everyone else already had a very strong and established coupling. Some of them were locked off, others became boyfriend and girlfriend, and others even told each other that they loved each other. But Leah and I were moving at a more real-world pace compared to everybody else. I’m a bit of a slow burn; I like to take my time with things and sometimes the speed of the villa would get to me a little bit. We were moving at our own pace. However, I knew where my heart was; I knew how I was feeling even though I may not have always vocalized it, and I definitely knew that I didn’t really want to speak to anybody else in the villa quite early on.
When you and Leah were named the runners-up, how did you feel?
I know Leah was definitely thrown off — she was saying things like, “Why are we here? How are they not getting picked, and we’re still standing? I don’t get it.” I was surprised, too, but at the same time, I understood why we were still there. I think Leah and I hit it off so well from the beginning. We have the same sense of humor and a very similar outlook on life, and she got me in ways that I don’t think anybody else in the villa really got me, especially when it came to the women. I also understood her in ways that other people may have misunderstood. Especially considering I came in later on, I saw aspects of her that outshined a lot of the things people were saying about her that were slightly more negative.
Why do you think fans didn’t vote for Aaron Evans and Kaylor Martin to make it to the finale?
It was definitely surprising for me when I saw that we had been elected for the final four, and they hadn’t. However, I can understand why. I think there was a certain lack of communication between them. I don’t think Aaron necessarily withheld any information, I think perhaps he might have just forgotten certain things that happened, especially in Casa Amor, and it portrayed him in a bad image. I do still think that what they have is very sweet and genuine. I feel like Aaron does have a lot of care for Kaylor, and Kaylor has a lot of care and love for Aaron. It was a bit of a shock at first but then it kind of made a little bit more sense.
Even when I look at the Kordell and Serena situation — Kordell was honest and upfront about every little detail that had happened in Casa, he was mad apologetic, he stayed calm, and then he actually allowed himself to get heated for a little bit. Sometimes you have to be like, “This is what happened. This is how I feel. I apologize. But you need to listen to me for a second so I can get these words out.” And I think him having that moment showed a bit of what’s needed within a relationship to actually make it work. Things like that, I think, are what outshined Kaylor and Aaron’s situation.
What was it like to film the finale episode compared to every other day of filming?
The finale episode has to be one of my favorite episodes I filmed in the villa. Even when we got the text saying we had to write our vows of love to our girls, I wasn’t nervous about it because I already had an idea of what I wanted to say to Leah and some of the things I already said, but I wanted to elaborate, which I hope I did well. I was feeling pretty calm and I wasn’t nervous about where I ended up [in the ranking]. I think both Leah and I were expecting to leave a little bit earlier on, so the fact that we made the final four was enough for me. I didn’t care what place I came in, I was just happy to be there and to be given the opportunity to see this whole thing through with the girl that I really enjoyed my time with.
You excitedly seized the opportunity to go to Casa Amor and meet a new group of women, leaving Leah behind in the villa. What do you think you learned from your Casa Amor experience?
I’m aware of how fast things move in the villa. A genuine connection is something that does take a little bit more time and it needs to be tested. I was very much prepared to take the time that I could take and test the waters that I was able to test. I saw Casa as an opportunity to really see if whatever I was feeling for Leah was more than just infatuation or a puppy love type thing. When I went into Casa, at first, I wasn’t expecting anything crazy, but the girls were all beautiful, and they were all really nice women; they had caring natures. Getting to know Sierra, she definitely had traits that I admire in a woman and she’s definitely attractive. But I did keep thinking about Leah, which I was very surprised by. I even said to the guys a fair amount of times, “I’m really thrown off at the fact that I’m thinking more and more of Leah each day.” However, just because I was thinking of her, I still wanted to know whether the feelings were genuine. Bringing Sierra back was definitely a risky move, but one I don’t actually regret because I think it actually brought us together and made us a lot stronger.
You and Leah have talked about wanting to make things work on the outside. Have you two been spending together without cameras documenting you?
Yeah, we’re spending time together. She’s been in my room. We’re just chilling and enjoying each other’s company, watching TV, and having talks. I definitely do want to see how things can work on the outside. I didn’t want to rush things in the villa because I knew that the world outside was so different. I’m looking forward to going to Los Angeles and getting to see how she lives her life out there and then hopefully see her come over to the U.K. This is one day at a time type thing. I definitely feel us getting closer. The last few days in the villa, we were very, very close, and in the days following, we’ve been getting even closer. Things are looking good. However, we are still stuck within four walls; we haven’t actually been able to go out for drinks, go to amusement parks, go to restaurants, or go for walks, so I’m looking forward to doing those little things.
You said on the most recent Aftersun episode that you didn’t tell your mom you were going to film Love Island USA. How do you think she’s going to react?
I haven’t actually spoken to my mom yet, so I have no idea whether she knows that I’m still here. I’m excited to speak to her because I miss her so much. I miss her, my brothers, my sister, and my dad. I can’t wait to get on a FaceTime call and give him the lowdown on everything that’s happened. Hopefully they’re proud of the way I carried myself on the show, if they’ve seen the show.
A lot of people who watched Season Six were invested in the friendships that cast members built on the show, not just the romantic connections. Which friendships meant the most to you in the villa?
The two guys that I feel connected with the most were definitely Kordell and Rob. I saw Kordell as a little brother to me because of the banter we had, and he understood me the most when I came in, more than any of the other guys. And Rob, as well — I think we had a very similar outlook on life. He was probably one of the most quiet characters in there, but the more I got to know him, the more I got along with him. He actually ended up being one of my favorite people in the villa. But I really have a deep love for all the guys in there, and the girls are such sweet people. We very much made long-lasting relationships and friendships this season.
This season of Love Island USA has been wildly successful. Did you have any sense of this when you were in the villa?
None of us had any idea until we wrapped up everything. The producers came out to congratulate us and thank us, and they were like, “OK, so we just want to let you know, you guys skyrocketed.” We found out literally just moments after we finished filming and everyone’s looking around at everyone’s faces, our jaws just dropped to the floor in just utter shock. I still haven’t fully processed it because I haven’t gotten my phone. I’m not seeing anything, I’m just hearing words. It’s mad how everything panned out, I’m so grateful for it.
When you’re in the villa, you’re in the dark when it comes to learning about news updates and current events. How did it feel to have that complete separation from the rest of the world?
It did feel good to be disconnected from the outside world and just be present there. In the real world, it’s easy to be distracted by life and external things going on that you don’t always have time to process your emotions, how you’re feeling, and what’s going on in your day-to-day, so it was really cool being in a spot where you have no other choice but to be utterly present. I feel like for myself and everyone else who entered this season, everyone is leaving a much greater person than they were going in.
What’s next for you? Would you do more reality TV?
If the right opportunity comes about, I probably won’t say no. I definitely want to get back into the modeling game, and I’m looking forward to getting back to my business with my business partner. I manage Only Fans creators — we help manage and market their content — and my partner has been working solo with his girlfriend while I was away. We’re looking to branch out and get more into managing talent as well. I’m just taking one day at a time and trying to make the most of the opportunities that come about and enjoy life in the process.
