‘Love Island USA’ Star Andrea Carmona Is Open To Exploring Her Connection With Rob Rausch Outside The Villa: “I Can’t Put Into Words What I Felt For Him”

In Season 6, Peacock’s Love Island USA is still delivering all the sexy singles, flirty games, genuine connections, and viral moments fans crave. After joining the show in Episode 7 as a bombshell with Nicole Jacky, Andrea Carmona immediately had eyes for two Islanders: Rob Rausch and Aaron Evans. While she felt out the vibes with both men, her strong connection with Rob was undeniable. Unfortunately, that meant Rob had to uncouple from Leah Kateb, who didn’t take his rejection well. As Andrea and Rob enjoyed getting to know each other, they had no idea their happy place was about to get disrupted in Episode 12.

When it was announced that the group would have to “dump” two people from the villa—a man and a woman—the Islanders were fraught. The men chose to vote out Hakeem White, who took their decision well. However, all hell break loose when the women unanimously voted out Andrea—the woman with one of the strongest connections in the villa—instead of Nicole or JaNa Craig. As Andrea burst into tears, Rob couldn’t maintain his composure. Seeing Rob was in distress, Aaron immediately stood up and tried to calm him down. “What the fuck, y’all?” exclaimed Rob as he vowed to leave the house alongside Andrea. With tears streaming down his own face, Aaron condemned the women for their decision: “Why would you guys go for Andrea; she’s got one of the strongest connections in here?”

While Rob and Aaron didn’t need to yell and berate the women for making their choice—though it made for compelling television—Andrea appreciated that they stood up for her. “It was nice to see that they were as emotional as I was,” said Andrea. At the end of Episode 12, Rob seemed pretty set on leaving with Andrea. At the beginning of Episode 13, he immediately backtracked telling Andrea, “I think I’m gonna stay.” To him, if it their connection is strong, it doesn’t matter if he remains in the villa and continues to party and meet new women to test his feelings for Andrea. However, he did give Andrea the chance to weigh in. By saying, “If you want me to go, I’ll go,” he left his fate in her hands. Being the queen that she is, Andrea choose to let him stay. “It definitely would’ve been sweet if he left with me, but that’s me being selfish,” said Andrea. “I have to think about him and his story.”

DECIDER spoke with Andrea over Zoom about being blindsided by the women, conspiracy theories in the villa, and whether there’s a chance she and Rob will “catch snakes” in the future.

DECIDER: Your undeserved dumping has been the most devastating moment of the season thus far. Did you appreciate that Rob and Aaron were so outraged and spoke up accordingly?

ANDREA CARMONA: Yeah, definitely. That really made me feel like, “damn, okay, these people care about me clearly more than the girls do.” It was nice to see that they were as emotional as I was. I felt the reciprocation of the love that I had for them. They were fighting for me, and I appreciated that.

Their anger and shock were truly unexpected and made for an iconic television moment, but the whole time, I was worried about you. Do you feel like you got to speak your peace?

I really don’t. I was blindsided and in shock. My emotions were all over the place. I just felt so cheated. I felt like my time on there was cut so short. The feelings I had for Rob in just a short amount of time made me want to see if it was real. I wanted to see bombshells come in and test our connection. I just didn’t see the rejection coming, and I was definitely hurt by the girls. In that moment I just kept saying: “I feel cheated. I feel cheated.” I was so overwhelmed that I couldn’t get any other words out.

Was it helpful to have Ariana Madix there to guide the proceedings?

Having her there was nice, and I was grateful that the vote wasn’t just run by the phones. Plus, she’s just pretty to look at too. I’m not going to lie. I developed a girl crush on her.

The internet seems divided on your exit from the Island. Some fans are totally Team Andrea while other feels that you weren’t a “girls’ girl” and that you should have spent more time on your friendships with the women and less time with Rob. How would you respond to that?

I 100% spent a lot of time with Rob in the villa. At the end of the day, I was there looking for a connection. I wasn’t there looking to build friendships that naturally come out of the experience. I did get along with the girls, and I had great times with them, but you never know who’s going to come in. My main focus was building my connection with Rob as much as I could. So yes, I didn’t really spend enough time with the girls. What’s crazy is the night before I was “dumped” from the Island, I thought: “Damn, you know what? Now that Rob and I are good, I want some more time with the girls.” And then boom, I’m off the show [laughs].

After Rob was so seemingly devastated by your ousting from the Island, were you expecting Rob to make good on his word and leave with you after the vote? Because I did.

I knew emotions were high for both of us. I was a mess emotionally, but now I feel so much better. My headspace is clear. I know, in that moment, he let his emotions speak for him because I would’ve done the same thing if the roles were reversed. I would have instantly been like: “Nope, that’s it. I’m leaving. That’s my person.”

Again, if I were in Rob’s shoes, after some time to process, I would have regretted not staying because I am a person who believes everything happens for a reason. He likely had a similar thought like: “Damn, she was voted off. Maybe this is a test or a sign that I am supposed to meet someone else here.” So I don’t hate him or blame him for that. It definitely would’ve been sweet if he left with me, but that’s me being selfish. I have to think about him and his story. I’m just curious to see how it all turns out.

That’s incredibly gracious of you. Rob is a great guy, but I just wish he hadn’t left the decision up to you, if you know what I mean.

He actually said, “If you tell me to leave right now, I will.” And honestly, I wasn’t going to live with that. I mean, God forbid, we got into the real world and the connection wasn’t there. He would have had regrets about leaving the villa and held me responsible. I’d rather that he finish his journey in the villa, and we’ll see what happens when this is all over. Maybe we will rekindle things, but if he finds someone else great, I’ll move on.

Were you surprised that Rob went back to Leah 24 hours after you left?

Yeah, I wasn’t surprised. I saw that coming from a mile away. I know they had something going on before I came into the villa. When you’re as vulnerable as Rob was, you’re going to go to the person that you’re most comfortable with. They are technically exes, after all. Normally, an ex is the first person you go back to after a breakup.

Conspiracies run wild on Love Island USA. Pretty soon after you left, the theory was floated that Leah pushed to get you dumped so she could get back with Rob. Do you believe this?

It has crossed my mind a million times. I’m like, “I knew she was waiting for her moment.” Though, I know JaNa and Nicole were closer with the rest of the girls than I was. The vote to dump me came down to just four girls. Maybe Leah could have swayed things, but I know it came down to who they were closest with. So, I got the short end of the stick in that aspect. I wouldn’t put it past Leah, but I really find it hard to believe that it was solely her decision to make.

When Rob brought that theory to Liv Walker, she was genuinely shocked at first, but then it seemed like she was beginning to put the pieces together. Is that validating to see people realizing they might have made a mistake?

Yes, in a way. I definitely don’t think people understood what I felt for Rob until both of our reactions after the vote. When I fall in love, I’m like, “my world is now your world.” My friends know it back at home. They say, “oh, the second Andrea starts dating, we know we’ve lost her.” I’ve always been that girl, which is not great and it’s something I’m working on. That’s exactly what happened in the villa.

I fell for Rob and his world was mine. When the girls voted me out, they couldn’t believe how torn up I was. I hadn’t cried once when I was in the villa—except for when Hannah left. The fact that I was bawling and couldn’t even speak made a few of them realize that I really, really, liked him. I wasn’t just trying to make it to the end of the show with him. My feelings for him were incredibly real.

I think it was very clear you were there for the right reasons, as they say. I do have to ask: do you regret not wearing waterproof mascara on that fateful night?

[Laughs] What’s crazy is that I will jump in the pool, I will run in the rain, I will party, I will sweat and my makeup is intact. The second I’m on national TV and I’m crying, my mascara was like, ” sister, you really thought we were staying on strong for this one? Nope!” [Laughs] I didn’t even care at that point. I did watch the episode and was just thankful I didn’t look like a raccoon. I had some stray lines, but it wasn’t anything crazy.

Do you think there’s a future in which you and Rob “catch snakes” together?

I definitely want to see how everything plays out. I don’t necessarily want to watch how it plays out [laughs], but I’m intrigued for people to tell me how our connection factors into the rest of his journey. I can’t put into words what I felt for him. I’ve never felt that with anyone before, which is why I wanted to stay. I’m curious to catch up with him after all said and done and see if this is something to explore.If not, it wasn’t meant to be.

So what’s next for you?

In addition to personal training, I also make music. I wrote a song two days after I got back from leaving the villa. I’m feeling really inspired right now to make more music and let the emotions of this experience run through my songs.

Sounds like you and Ariana should team up for a duet!

Oh my God, that would be amazing.