Ariana Madix is raising her glass for Amaya Papaya.
As relationships continue to evolve—and devolve—on Love Island USA season seven, the dating competition’s host shared why she adored Amaya Espinal and Zak Srakaew.
“I do really like Amaya and Zak together,” Ariana said in an exclusive interview with E! News. “I feel like they’re really matching each other’s energy well and I love seeing them be funny together.”
Amaya and Zak’s sweet and silly dynamic was one viewers initially felt during their time together.
“I hope we get to see more moments of that,” she continued. “There was a clip of them doing hula hoop, and Zak was doing it with his head. I was like, ‘Who is this? What is going on?’”
While a few couples seemed like they were heading toward a stronger front earlier in the season—including ChelleyBissainthe and Ace Greene, as well as Olandria Carthen and Taylor Williams—the “Standing on Business” challenge on July 1 brought forward harsh feelings from all the islanders.
The experience brought thunderstorms to paradise after Ace and Austin Shepard described Amaya as too emotional. Zak agreed, telling her, “When we speak, obviously, I let you be passionate with me. I let you kiss me. I let you touch me. Sometimes, I feel like I have to take a step back.”
But the 25-year-old isn’t letting anyone invalidate her feelings, no matter how big or small.
“Many people could view this as a weakness, but to me personally, after everything I’ve been through in my life, I view it as a strength,” she said through tears. “Sometimes, I’m not the book that someone should be reading, and that’s OK.”
Although Ariana has major love for Amaya, she feels the same way about the other girls, like Cierra Ortega, who is now closed off with Nic Vansteenberghe.
“I really like Cierra and Nic,” the Vanderpump Rules alum told E!. “But part of me feels like I would love Cierra with anyone, just because I think she’s so amazing. And same with Olandriaand Chelley.”
But overall, she emphasized, “I feel like I’m loving the women.”
Like the rest of America, Ariana has been eagerly waiting to see whose connections bring them to the top while watching with her pals. So, when Instacart pulled her for a chat to enlist her for this partnership, it made perfect sense.
“When you think about all these watch parties and everything, it’s the perfect way to be able to order everything you need,” she explained. “I’m personally a big Instacart user. I can’t tell you how many times I have something coming up, I have friends coming over and I realize I don’t have wine or snacks and I don’t have time to run to the store.”
(E! News and Peacock are part of the NBCUniversal family.)
Keep reading to see all the islanders making a splash at the villa this season.
Bryan Arenales
Boston, Massachusetts
Elan Bibas
Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
Courtney “CoCo” Watson
Los Angeles, California
Clarke Carraway
Columbia, South Carolina
Chris Seeley
Fresno, California
Zak Srakaew
Roi Et, Thailand
Zac Woodworth
Portland, Utah
JD Dodard
Dallas, Texas
Jaden Duggar
Los Angeles, California
Gracyn Blackmore
Bristol, Virginia
Savanna “Vanna” Einerson
Salt Lake City, Utah
Andreina Santos
Thomas John “TJ” Palma
Pleasantville, New York
Belle-A Walker
Honolulu, Hawaii
Austin Shepard
Northville, Michigan
Ace Greene
Los Angeles, California
Chelley Bissainthe
Orlando, Florida
Huda Mustafa
Raleigh, North Carolina
Nicolas Vansteenberghe
Jacksonville, Florida
Jeremiah Brown
Los Angeles, California
Olandria Carthen
Decatur, Alabama
Yulissa Escobar
Miami, Florida
Taylor Williams
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Cierra Ortega
Phoenix, Arizona
Charlie Georgiou
Birmingham, United Kingdom
