“Love Island USA” Season 7 favorites Olandria Carthen and Nic Vansteenberghe “decided to part ways” just over one year after leaving the Fiji villa and attempting to build a relationship in the real world.
“The distance between them and their busy schedules made it challenging to maintain their connection,” a source told People. “They still remain close friends. They share a deep love and respect for each other and will always support one another whenever possible.”
Their relationship did not follow the usual reality television formula. Nic and Olandria spent much of their time in the villa building a friendship while pursuing connections with other cast members. Their chemistry became impossible for viewers to ignore after they shared a kiss during a challenge, but both initially resisted exploring the attraction.
Olandria said she “didn’t allow myself to feel that spark” because she wanted to respect Cierra Ortega’s connection with Nic. After circumstances inside the villa changed, Olandria allowed herself to “make my own selfish decision.” She later called coupling with Nic the “best decision I could have ever made” and said it “made my whole experience way better.” Nic described himself as Olandria’s “secret admirer from day one.”
The pair ultimately finished in second place behind winners Amaya Espinal and Bryan Arenales. Their placement did little to slow down the fan support surrounding them. Viewers created the name Nicolandria, closely monitored their public appearances, and regularly questioned the couple whenever they went several days without posting together.
The breakup now adds new context to the couple’s repeated efforts to establish boundaries. During the Season 7 reunion, Nic and Olandria defended the authenticity of their relationship and said they would not allow “outside pressure” to control how they moved. They also began sharing less of their romance online as their individual careers expanded.
“Mentally, we were both just drained,” Olandria told Glamour in December. “I’m like, ‘Okay, maybe if we share less, that’s better.’ But even then, discourse starts because we don’t share enough. I’m like, I don’t know how to find a happy medium in this life now.”
Nic described the situation as “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”
“Being in the social media space now, people want to be let in, and the more you let in, the monetary gain is nice. So finding that balance of, ‘Okay, this is our work now, but it’s also our life,’ was kind of hard in the beginning,” he said. “But now I feel like we’ve got a better grip on it.”
Distance also appeared to be a practical concern before the breakup was announced. During a May appearance on “Love Island: Beyond the Villa,” Nic discussed the difficulties of coordinating their lives. Olandria maintained a home base in Houston while Nic traveled from Florida for DJ performances, brand opportunities, and other commitments. Nic said their calendars often placed them in different cities, though they tried to meet whenever their schedules aligned.
Olandria later made it clear that the public demand for constant relationship updates had become uncomfortable. In a June interview with Cosmopolitan, she said the scrutiny “kind of creeps me out.”
“I’m never that invested in someone’s relationship, and I’m not living for the internet. I don’t always post what people want me to or always do what people want me to do,” she said. “Why does it matter if me and Nic are together? Even when we were at Coachella, people in the comments were like, ‘Oh, I just needed proof that they saw each other this week.’ Why are you so invested in people that don’t know you?”
“We don’t monetize our relationship or put it on display. If you genuinely like spending quality time with somebody, it shouldn’t involve a camera every two seconds,” Olandria added. “We enjoy each other’s presence and do what normal people do: go out, have fun, and get to know each other.”
The split may disappoint the fans who treated their romance like a shared community experience, but their previous comments show that the relationship belonged to two people navigating an extraordinary amount of attention. Their decision to remain friends suggests that the connection viewers rooted for was meaningful, even if distance, ambition, and life outside the villa eventually changed its direction.
