Love Island USA sometimes reflects dynamics between men and women in the dating world. Ideally, everyone and every dating interaction would have full consent. It could be verbal asking if a kiss is OK, like we saw with Jalen Brown and Olandria Carthen, or it could be nonverbal — but that takes understanding physical cues.
According to RAINN, the goal should be enthusiastic consent, where both parties confirm there is reciprocal interest before engaging, and that includes periodically checking in, because a person can revoke consent at any time. Physical cues should also be taken into account: A partner might say yes, but they might also show physically they're uncomfortable.
Amaya, Zak, and the Complications of Enthusiastic Consent
There might also be verbal consent that isn't enthusiastic; we saw a good example of this between Zak Srakaew and Amaya Espinal. Amaya wasn't chosen by any of the men in Casa Amor and had the tough challenge to find a connection or risk being dumped. That understandably meant she had to put in the work — and fast. Casa Amor islanders also have the pressure of making a connection in order to earn a spot on the show, and this power imbalance can blur the lines of consent.
Amaya pulled Zak aside for a conversation in episode 19. They sat on the daybeds, in view of other islanders, as Amaya asked him about his boundaries, and we saw him say he's OK with pet names. The conversation turned to the physical: "A kiss would be nice," Amaya told him. When she asked him directly if he wanted to, he gave an honest answer: "I do, but I don't. I'm like 50/50 right now." Then they went in for a kiss.
This is a perfect example of unenthusiastic consent, and it had consequences. Amaya was in the hot seat with the men in the mail challenge: Zak chimed in saying he wasn't comfortable with their kiss, and Amaya yelled at him for not telling her privately. She had given him the opportunity to decline, and he didn't say no — but he also mentioned not fully being comfortable with a kiss at the moment. They talked about the situation again and she called him an odd individual.
Amaya addressed the situation on Call Her Daddy. She claimed she had no clue about Zak's feelings until the mail challenge. The nurse said she was confused, since Love Island typically was a kissing and dating show, yet men were distancing themselves from her. "Nobody wanted smooches," she said. Amaya told Alex Cooper she was confused by Zak. "He's a grown man, he can tell me no," she said. "He kissed me." The fact is Zak did tell her he wasn't fully enthusiastic about kissing her, but he's also a guy who has to make a connection to move forward on the show. That all makes enthusiastic consent harder to identify. "Uncomfortable? What? That's a strong word," Amaya said.
There is also the unsaid fact that the public is watching this hit show. No one knows what decision could cause major backlash from viewers, including rejecting a kiss on a dating show; Zak, Austin Shephard, and Ace Greene were punished by the public for rejecting Amaya by being ranked low in future votes. This isn't the only postseason discussion about consent.
Chris Says Huda Crossed His Boundary in Bed
Chris Seeley and Huda Mustafa placed third this season. However, their last episodes showed a very strained relationship. The finale showed Huda and Chris lying in bed. She shook him to wake him up, and he didn't respond. "I'm going to give you three seconds, I'm dead a–," she whispered. She counted down and Chris didn't turn around to face her. She tapped his shoulder. "I wanna get some sleep," he responded. "Oh my god, bro," she said. Chris said he wanted to sleep again. "Just snuggle me then," she said.
Fans debated online whether this was an example of coercion. RAINN says coercion "can include using phrases such as 'If you really loved me, you would sleep with me.'" An early sign of potential abuse from a partner is also someone ignoring or violating physical boundaries.
Chris and Huda addressed this interaction in recent interviews. The basketball player claimed parts of their argument weren't shown. "We weren't arguing because I didn't cuddle her," Chris claimed on The Viall Files. "We were arguing because we're told we were only going to get two hours of sleep. And instead of prioritizing sleep, she wanted to get active in the bedroom, and I wasn't about that." The Casa boy said he told her that if they weren't going to publicly kiss, then they weren’t going to be intimate in the bedroom. "I set a boundary, and she crossed it." Chris said she threatened not to speak to him the next day if he didn't comply, and he admitted this interaction made him "hot" on their final day. He mentioned he respected her boundary about not kissing in front of islanders despite not understanding it, and she didn't reciprocate that.
Huda addressed the physical aspect of their relationship which led to their arguments on Call Her Daddy. Chris told Huda on the show that her wanting to have sex, but not kiss in public, didn't make sense to him. Huda claimed having sex in the bedroom seemed private to her despite them sharing the bedroom with other islanders.
The fitness influencer tried to walk back what they were doing in bed on the podcast. "We didn't fully do anything, that's the other part," Huda claimed. "Girl, it was like half way." She went on to make it seem like Chris bragged about them having sex. However, he told Bryan Arenales in episode 31 that he "folded" when it came to intimacy the previous night."I couldn't do it no more," Chris laughed. In their confessional, he said it was a great step and made them stronger. Chris revealed this after Bryan mentioned how he could tell Huda liked him, because, he said, "She be on you."
Huda told Cooper that she knew Chris wasn't asleep before she threatened him in bed; she said she put her finger to his lip to get his attention. Cooper mentioned Huda threatening him with a bad day the next day, "because I was so over it, because I brought it up so many times!" Huda also said she was still angry over him hitting her in the face with a pillow during their pillow fight. "I tried everything," she claimed. "I got down to 'You want me to treat you like a child?'" Huda admitted this was wrong and that she should've left him alone.
Chris Revealed There Was a Consent Conversation Before the Heart Rate Challenge
Love Island USA challenges are framed as a free-for-all. Islanders can kiss anyone in a challenge with fewer repercussions. However, the season started with Huda and Jeremiah Brown not wanting to kiss other people in challenge. So when Huda did her big one in the heart rate challenge with Ace Greene, her good friend's (Chelley Bissainthe) partner, it was a shock.
Chris revealed there was a conversation about consent before that challenge. "Do we all have consent about anything? Do anybody have any boundaries that they have? Let's address them," the basketball player claimed on The Viall Files. He said islanders raised their hands in response to the consent questions. "And I think the big thing is nobody established their boundaries with their person before, that led to people doing whatever they want to somebody else's couple." He believes that if someone would have a problem, they should've said something. Chris was asked about the rumor that Huda almost sat on Ace's face, which led to Chelley being upset. "That she was," he responded.
Huda revealed to all the guys on Call Her Daddy that she licked the men from "d-ck up," which led to the fall out. This is the same move she did to Jeremiah in the bondage episode. It's good that the cast had a conversation before the heart rate challenge. However, this doesn't address if Huda asked Ace or Chelley for consent for that specific interaction. Chelley made it clear that crossed her boundaries and questioned what kind of friend Huda is because of this. That type of hurt could've been avoided if there were better communication beforehand.
The good thing is that the islanders are out of the house and able to give their perspective on these interactions. Chris said he wants to be friends with Huda. Amaya won and is in a couple with Bryan. Hopefully these conversations help everyone have meaningful conversations about consent and how it shows up verbally and physically. The goal is enthusiastic consent, but that doesn't always happen in the dating world. Things get even more complicated on a dating show where power dynamics change from week to week.
