Love Island USA’s Hannah Says She’s “Still In The Restaurant” With Pepe

Despite making two strong connections, Hannah Fields’ time on Love Island USA Season 7 was cut short. After being voted off in Episode 18, the 23-year-old from Arizona was sent home packing alongside Jeremiah Brown. Looking back at her time in Fiji, Hannah wishes she had explored a little more. “I stuck to what felt comfortable to me,” she says.

The bombshell made a splash when she entered the villa in Episode 4’s baseball challenge, where she quickly coupled up with Charlie Georgiou. Their romance was cut short when America’s vote re-coupled Hannah with newcomer Pepe, and the other Islanders dumped Charlie from the villa.

Unfortunately, Hannah and Pepe weren’t able to continue their love story. But during Episode 26’s “Stand On Business” mailbox challenge, Pepe admitted to still having Hannah in the back of his mind — and it sounds like she might feel the same after watching it. “I was trying to heal and move on, and it brought me right back to the villa. I'm still in the restaurant.” (The phrase is a reference to Taylor Swift’s Evermore track, “Right Where You Left Me.”) While she believes they would’ve explored other people — likely in Casa Amor — if she had stayed, they’d still have a strong connection. “We'd be getting close to closing off, for sure,” Hannah says.

When they first explained their reason for voting me out, I didn't understand it... I’m still confused.

Pepe also circled back with Cierra, Olandria, and Chelley during the mailbox challenge, questioning why they chose to vote out Hannah over Amaya and Iris. According to Cierra, Hannah had already been blessed with two connections early on, and they wanted to give the other girls a chance. Hannah says that answer left her “upset.”

Now that she’s home and able to catch up on everything she’s missed in the villa, Hannah tells Elite Daily about the post-villa plans she and Pepe made, the other guy she would’ve wanted to get to know, and where her heart is at right now.

Elite Daily: When Pepe asked Cierra, Olandria, and Chelley to explain their vote, they doubled down on the reasoning of strong connections, which many fans called out for not making sense. How do you feel?

Hannah Fields: I was upset. I did have two connections, because my first was sent home by the same people. It felt like I could never really catch a break. It's really hard being thrown in there. You don't know if somebody's being genuine, and you're trying to figure that out. I did do that, and it ended up not working out in my favor.

When they first explained their reason for voting me out, I didn't understand it. I thought circling back around would maybe change my thoughts, but no. I’m still confused.

ED: Pepe indicated that he's not really interested in Gracyn because he’s thinking about you. The rest of the villa accused him of checking out after you left the villa. How do you feel about his behavior since your exit?

HF: I totally understand him. When Charlie left, I was like, “Oh, what if I'm not going to find another connection?” You start to check out, but then you're open to exploring. I guess he hasn’t been able to do that so far. I don't think he should be criticized for how he feels. At the end of the day, at least he did try and was open.

I'm not forcing anything, but part of me is still in that villa, so I'm just waiting.

ED: You said you and Pepe made plans outside of the villa. What sort of plans did you guys make?

HF: He was like, “Oh, I have good snorkeling equipment at home. We'll try our date again and go to the beach.” He has a dog, so he talked about walking his dog. It was little things that aren't super big future plans, but made me feel included in his life, which feels special.

ED: Was there anyone else in the villa you would've liked to get to know, or anyone who's come on the show after you left that you're interested in?

HF: They're all hot and a little bit intriguing. I really like Elan's mindset. He’s got a similar vibe to me. He's somebody I would've wanted to get to know.

ED: Were you surprised by how some people are more loved or hated online?

HF: Amaya is unintentionally the funniest person in the villa. You can tell that she’s genuine. She's there for the right reasons. Even in a room by herself, she still manages to be the life of the party, the funniest girl in the room. So, I was not surprised to come out and see how loved she was.

No one expects to get hate in the villa, but you never know how you're being portrayed or perceived by everyone else. The hate is surprising, but it comes and goes. Cierra told me, “For every 100 people that love you, there's going to be 10 people that really hate you.”

A lot of people were Team Charlie, but it's because they didn't know enough about Pepe.

ED: Who do you think in the villa is the most misunderstood by the audience?

HF: Pepe because he's not shown enough. He's just so chill and calm that there's not much going on half the time. I hope everyone else can finally see how great he is. He and Amaya are my ride or dies. I love them so much.

ED: You’ve said that Islanders would talk about the audience's views a lot. Who do you think was the most concerned about what America was thinking?

HF: The only person I really heard talk about America hating them was Huda. She was somebody who was thrown up there in a situation where America voted to separate her and her partner, so in her mind, she thought, “What if they're doing that because they don't like me?” I tried to get that out of her head because you never know what they're actually thinking.

ED: What are your thoughts on the heart rate challenge situation with Huda?

HF: It's confusing to me. They’re there to raise heart rates. It's just a challenge. I would've been like, “Let me see whose heart rates I can get raised.” I don't think there's anything wrong with what she did because everyone was kind of doing the same thing, at least from what I saw.

ED: A lot of the fans also think that Ace is a ringleader and is telling the guys what to do. Do you get that impression from him?

HF: I don't think he's like, “You guys need to do this, this, and this.” I was actually pretty close with Ace, Taylor, and Nic. They wouldn't talk about the connections and everything with me. I don't know if the conversations are different when I'm not around — I could see that. He’s a little bit of the president of the villa.

We're both taking a step back from everything.

ED: You said you don't want to force a rekindling with your connections post-Love Island, but now that you and Charlie are both out, have you guys reconnected?

HF: I did reach out to him on his birthday. He replied, and then I replied again. That's pretty much the extent of our conversation. We're both taking a step back from everything. I've been trying to hang out with my friends and family, and calm down a bit. I'm not forcing anything, but part of me is still in that villa, so I'm just waiting.

ED: Looking back at the episodes that you were on, are there any moments that weren't shown that you wish had made the edit?

HF: More of my relationship with Pepe. People are starting to find the little tiny moments of us in the background. I'm like, “Finally, you guys are seeing it.”

I'm also rooting for Amaya Papaya. If she and Pepe want to couple up and take on the villa, I'm 100% with it.

ED: What do you think is the biggest misconception about your relationships on the show?

HF: With Charlie, we had a lot of good times, but some moments were a little rocky. The full picture of everything wasn’t shown. I did look a little wild. I'm a pretty calm girl, but I was crashing out a little bit.

With Pepe, we just had this dynamic where we would bully each other, but it was friendly. The bullying moments were shown a lot, but the actual romantic side of our relationship, when we really got to know each other and talked about everything outside the villa, wasn't shown. A lot of people were Team Charlie, but it's because they didn't know enough about Pepe.

ED: You mentioned there was a code word for sex, “journey.” Were there any other code words that the cast used either for fun or to discuss things without the producers knowing?

HF: Iris and I had nicknames for the guys, so when we would talk about them, nobody would know who we were talking about.

ED: What's your favorite nickname that you came up with for the guys?

HF: Spanky for Ace, because he would always do a move from The Little Rascals.

ED: What couples are you currently rooting for, and who do you think is going to win this season?

HF: Huda has a good man in there with her. Chris seems like a really good guy. The way he was defending her was beautiful, so I'm rooting for them. I'm also rooting for Amaya Papaya. If she and Pepe want to couple up and take on the villa, I'm 100% with it.

ED: What's the biggest lesson that you learned from this experience?

HF: I've accepted a lot of things that I don't deserve. In the villa, I learned that there are people who are able to give me the things that I deserve in my life, and that my standards have been too low in the past. It's OK to raise your standards higher than you think you deserve.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.