Love Island’s Cierra Says She Still Hasn’t Heard From Nic & Olandria

After her shocking exit from the Love Island USA villa, Cierra Ortega is back online. On July 9, she posted a lengthy “accountability video” addressing her use of an anti-Asian slur. But her social media activity has not stopped there, and she has shared some strong feelings about the former couple she was part of.

Reminder: For most of Season 7, Cierra and Nic Vansteenberghe were coupled up. Their relationship was steadily becoming more serious, and they made the decision to be “closed off” (meaning they would be solely focused on their connection) before Cierra’s exit. In a televised conversation, the couple also said they planned to prioritize their relationship when they left the villa. However, when Cierra left the show, Nic coupled up with Olandria Carthen — one of his and Cierra’s best friends in the villa — and went on to place second with her and continue that relationship in the real world.

On July 27, Cierra posted several TikToks answering questions about her time in the villa. According to her, Nic and Olandria both told her about their Soul Ties kiss quickly. But after watching it back, she questions if Nic really described the moment accurately to her. “Maybe it was downplayed. Maybe it was the way that he expressed it to me, but it never felt like it was something that I had to worry about,” she said.

They both assured Cierra that there was no spark. Apparently, Nic told her the kiss actually “gave him clarity” that he only wanted to be with her moving forward. “At this point, these are two people that I trust and that I care for. God forbid, I believe them,” she added.

When she exited the show, she still felt confident in her connection with Nic. “I come out thinking Nic and I are in this amazing place. We’re closed off and we have these strong feelings for each other,” she added. It surprised her when she discovered that the fandom (and Nic’s family) was “rooting for [Nic and Olandria] to be together the entire time.”

But Cierra “still wanted to believe” that her relationship with Nic was genuine. “As episodes went on… I was like, ‘Damn, OK,’” she recalled. “It f*cking hurts, but I think two things can exist at once. I can be sad for myself that I’m mourning this relationship and all of these things that I thought were gonna happen between us, and I can also be happy for two people that I care about.”

It sounds like Cierra’s feelings changed after the show ended, and Nic and Olandria did not reach out to her. “But as days went on and I didn’t hear from either of them, the more hurt I became… I thought they’d come out and … embrace me,” she said. “It just kind of felt like I never existed — like the friendship that Olandria and I shared never existed and the relationship that Nic and I shared never existed — that sh*t hurts.”

Cierra also revealed she will not be attending the reunion, so it’s unlikely that she will have a confrontation with the couple.

This is not the first time Cierra has addressed her co-stars’ connection. In a July 20 Instagram post, Cierra wrote that she’d been “surviving the villain edit on reality TV,” and referred to Nic as “the guy who never actually liked me and wanted my friend the entire time.”

Initially, however, she seemed supportive. On July 12, she shared photos from her time in the villa and added a special note for those shipping Nic and Olandria. “for the #nicolandria nation...they are two people I care deeply for and absolutely adore,” Cierra wrote on Instagram. “I've always wanted nothing but happiness for each of them in this experience. that has never & will never change ❤️‍🩹.”

Cierra also liked an Instagram post on Nic’s account on July 10, celebrating his growing romance with Olandria. The account shared a series of their romantic moments, captioning the post, “and so it was written in the stars 💘😍✨ voting open now — #nicolandria.”