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The Love Island USA villa just saw a major shake-up as five contestants were sent home following a dramatic elimination.
On the Tuesday, July 1 episode of the hit Peacock reality show, the Islanders played a game called "Stand on Business," where they shared unfiltered opinions about each other. Afterward, viewers across America cast their votes for their favorite contestants. While fans anticipated that someone might be leaving, no one expected just how many Islanders would be dumped from the villa.
The results were revealed during the Thursday, July 3 episode, when host Ariana Madix arrived to deliver the news. She announced that, in no particular order, the bottom three women were Jaden Duggar, Gracyn Blackmore, and Andreina Santos. For the men, the bottom three were Taylor Williams, Austin Shepard, and TJ Palma.
Madix explained that only one Islander from each group would be saved. Instead of a private deliberation, the remaining contestants had to physically stand behind the person they wanted to keep in the villa. Bryan Arenales and Chris Seeley supported Jaden, while Elan Bibas stood behind Gracyn. Andreina had the most support among the women, with Huda Mustafa, Amaya Espinal, and Chelley Bissainthe backing her.
Among the men, Taylor received support from his couple partner Clarke and friends Pepe Garcia, Ace Greene, Nic Vansteenberghe, and Cierra Ortega. Austin had Olandria Carthen behind him, while TJ was supported by Zak Srakaew and his partner Iris Kendall.
Ultimately, Andreina and Taylor were saved. This meant that Gracyn, TJ, Jaden, Austin, and Andreina were eliminated. Several couples were split up in the process: Andreina and Bryan, Gracyn and Pepe, TJ and Iris, and Jaden and Austin. Notably, the men coupled with Gracyn and Andreina did not stand behind them. Bryan had expressed interest in Jaden, and Pepe admitted he was still thinking about Hannah Fields, who was eliminated in episode 18.
Iris and TJ had become a strong couple after Iris arrived as a bombshell in episode 9. She had previously connected with Ace and Jeremiah Brown, but later chose TJ, who joined in episode 15. Jaden and Austin, both eliminated, had formed a connection during Casa Amor.
According to Deadline, the July 1 vote broke records, with over 1 million votes cast in just six minutes and 3.5 million total within the voting window.
