Love Island USA’s Amaya Espinal on What’s Next After Season 7

Love Island USA star Amaya Espinal has and will always be the self-proclaimed sensitive gangster.

The way she wears her heart on her sleeve and doesn’t shy away from being vulnerable is what initially made America fall in love with her during season seven of the hit Peacock reality dating series. Despite having a tough time finding a real romantic connection in the villa at first, including some of the boys on the show criticizing her for the way she seeks love, Espinal says she clung to her faith, which eventually led her to Bryan Arenales, who “makes me feel so understood and so seen.”

By staying true to herself during those several weeks, while cut off from the outside world as the Islanders searched for love, she was not only crowned the winner of season six with Arenales but also dubbed the people’s princess and given the beloved nickname, “Amaya Papaya.” Love Island viewers continued to praise her throughout the season for being herself, iconic metaphors, zoomies and all.

Once she left the villa, returned home and was flooded with all the love and support, to say she was overwhelmed is an understatement. However, she tells The Hollywood Reporter through “happy tears” as she’s been processing it all, “I thank America for allowing this light to shine.”

To anyone else who doesn’t feel understood, Espinal has a message: “Baby, as long as you understand yourself, that’s all that matters because you came into this world by yourself and you will be leaving the world by yourself.”

Below, Espinal gets candid about her time in the Love Island USA villa, things her fans may not know about her, why she loves journaling so much, what she hopes to accomplish in the future, and her best advice on self-love.

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How did you end up on this season of Love Island USA, and did you imagine your experience going the way it did?

[The casting team] slid into the DMs and it was perfect timing because I had been single for about a year. I found the best self-love there was. I felt so confident and strong of who I am as a woman, and I feel like whenever you do reach that point in your life, that’s when you are ready to start dating and exploring again. I do suffer from anxiety, but at that point, I didn’t want anxiety or doubt to put me in any cage anymore. I felt like this was going to put me out of my comfort zone, because I have never done anything like this before. We don’t have phones or access to social media [on the show], and that’s a great test to the connections and learning how to have meaningful conversations.

I’m from the big city, everyone’s always scrolling on their phone. Everybody’s so addicted to it that there’s no more meaningful conversations as much as before, so I was very excited for that. And girl, no, I did not think my experience was going to be exactly the way that it was, but I am so happy and grateful for the way it ended.

Since basically everyone wants to be your bestie now, what’s something people don’t know about you?

I have an asymmetrical ear. It pops out. I don’t know what’s missing there, because it’s just like a C cup. I love cracking my knuckles a lot. I’m a big jogger. I love to journal. If you didn’t know, now you know, I love coffee. Wake up and smell the coffee (Laughs). I’m honestly just a social butterfly. I give a very comforting aura, the way I treat people is how I would want to be treated. 

You have also become a viral sensation with your “Amaya Papaya” nickname, your song and iconic metaphors. How does it feel to see the love online and all the trends you’ve started?

The love and support feels amazing. Everybody who’s rooting for me just by me being me, especially when there were moments back in the villa where I felt so misunderstood. I came to the villa with a cookie of confidence, and I was so scared of that cookie being crumbled because at a certain point, I was like, is there something wrong with me? Am I doing something wrong? Usually in the outside world, when you’re around the wrong people, you could easily just be like, all right, bye. But in there, it really does put you out of your comfort zone. So to see the acknowledgement, I love each and every single one of my extended family and just thank you for accepting me for who I am. Let me not be the sensitive gangster right now! But I thank America for allowing this light to shine. 

As someone who calls themselves a “sensitive gangster” who isn’t afraid to stay true to herself and her emotions, how were you able to process all the ups and downs in the villa while also taking care of your own feelings?

That’s why I would have my self-positive talks and affirmations [in the villa]. Usually, I have my journal that I could write my feelings in, or I have my phone where I could call my mom and dad who could make me feel validated. So to have those two things taken away from me, I was faced with a mirror and learning to love the reflection and be in my own space and love my own space. Yes, there were times that were hard and times that I did isolate myself, but during those periods of isolation, I would just keep speaking to myself and be my own best friend.

Given all the hurdles you faced in the villa, were there any moments when you were ready to give up and leave? And since you eventually found Bryan, what would you say to the Amaya who didn’t give up?

I would tell her to continue on having faith, having hope and also trust in the process because there were moments that were really hard and moments where I’m like, “Is there someone here for me?” But Amaya clung on to that hope and kept on putting her best foot forward, and it really did end me up with Bryan. Someone that makes me feel so understood and seen. I’m just really thankful. I would just keep on telling her to keep on being the backbone that she is. 

Do you have a message to all the Latina baddies as well as fellow nurses out there waiting to become the next Dominican Cinderella? 

I would say the most important love is self-love. Once you have that strong foundation of loving yourself, it follows up with the factors of your standards and boundaries and never settling for less. It’s going to leave such a beautiful pathway to the bond that you should have and deserve to have in your life. So listen, if he’s not treating you right, girl — thank you, next. I’d rather be alone than with somebody who is making me feel like shit. Once you keep on having that mindset, you’re going to be so empowered. 

Now that you have your prince, your prize and the glass slipper, where do you see yourself going next?

I definitely want to keep on having my self-discovery journey. I want to be engaging with all of my extended family, especially since they’ve been supporting and rooting for me throughout this whole process. I didn’t have access to my phone, but I felt it, especially after “Burst Your Bubble” challenge. So I’m really excited for what I have to give to the world, and I’m very optimistic. I want to leave a positive impact on everybody I speak to, whether it’s small or big. 

In the outside world, what does the perfect Amaya day look like?

I would wake up; put her matching pink set on, probably a jogger set; take a beautiful walk in the park, whether it’s Central Park or any other park, engage with what’s around me: nature, the birds, squirrels, the water; and get my favorite coffee or my Matcha and have time for myself. But to end it, it would definitely either be at my mom’s or my dad’s house, eating dinner with them. And now I’m going to be able to share those moments with Bryan, which I’m super excited for because if those moments mean a lot to me, I’m sure it will mean a lot to him, too. 

Since you are known for your metaphors and one-liners, how do you come up with them so quickly?

To be honest, I will just start talking. But growing up, I was always really big on poetry and reading books, so maybe it’s an art skill. I know my frontal lobe finally developed at 25, so maybe it kept kicking in now. But I just be saying whatever and I do it in the most respectful way, of course. 

What metaphor would describe your entire Love Island USA experience?

I really do feel like it resonates with me a lot: Just to always be the butterfly in the sky that’s flying, no matter if there’s rain, your wings are going to flap. 

During our previous conversation, you mentioned you love journaling. Do you have any aspirations of releasing your own written work to the world?

Yeah! It’s so funny because in my Notes sections in my phone, there’s a whole section of poems that I’ve written in my life. And sometimes it doesn’t necessarily relate to me. It could be something that my best friend or any good friend confided in to me, and I would write a poem about how she could possibly feel. So all of these poems I would love to put together, potentially, and categorize as sadness, happiness, gratitude, optimism, you know, different sections. 

What would you say to little Amaya, seeing where you are today?

I would just tell her that everything’s going to be OK, and to keep on trusting in God, keep on having faith, never lose that sight, and just remember that all of those morals embedded in your head by your parents, it’s going to lead to a great, great ending. 

Looking ahead, what do you hope to accomplish in the next five years following the success of the show? Like, do you see yourself continuing your career as a nurse?

I don’t ever like to put any type of limitation on myself, so if opportunities are coming my way that resonates with the message that I want to give across the world, there’s no way I’ll deny it. In regard to nursing, I definitely see myself going back to school to get my PhD. I want to become a professor later on in life, but I want to keep on engaging with my extended family and be an advocate for mental health awareness and self-love and female empowerment. Us women, we get so much thrown at us and we carry it so well. I definitely want to keep on being a part of that community. 

If you had to describe what makes Amaya Espinal, Amaya Espinal, what would you say?

The fact that I have this mindset that I do. I believe that’s the most beautiful thing about me. It’s nothing physical. It’s just this beautiful perspective I have of the world overall, and that no matter what, I would never let reality make my world turn black and white. I want it to be as colorful as possible. 

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Love Island USA is streaming on Peacock.