Why Love Island USA Fans Believe Chelley And Ace Already Had A Romantic Connection Before Entering The Villa

Reality television has captivated audiences for decades at this point. Viewers tune in and develop a real connection to the cast members in the way they also do for fictional characters. The journey of the contestants on these shows becomes something viewers want to keep up with. They keep tuning in each week in order to see how their favorite reality star moves to the next stage of their journey.

A show like Love Island has fans tuning in to see which contestants will end up with each other. However, when viewers feel the story they're being presented with isn't true, they understandably feel betrayed. This is the case when rumors spread that Ace and Chelley were more seriously involved prior to joining the show. This led to many fans feeling scammed by the two reality stars.

Some Fans Believe Ace And Chelley Were Scamming Viewers With Their Story On The Show

Michelle "Chelley" Bissainthe and Ace Green have paired up on Love Island USA. However, there are rumors the two already had a connection prior to joining the cast. These claims shocked fans of the show, as they felt misled and lied to. However, the pair's friends are now coming to their defense and clearing the air.

"We want to be transparent and clear the air, as some of the rumors have gotten far from the truth," Chelley's friends wrote on her Instagram page. "Chelley and Ace briefly crossed paths in New York and later connected on social media. They were never in a relationship, never lived together, and there are no children or hidden past. What's unfolding now is real, unscripted, and could change at any moment. We're fully supporting Chelley, wherever her heart leads and with whomever she chooses to couple with."

Of course, these rumors of a previous romance didn't come out of nowhere. In the season premiere, it was revealed that the two met before joining the cast of the show at a nightclub. They admitted to sending each other DMs on occasion. However, this didn't necessarily mean they were involved closely before the show started.

"I do know Chelley! I met her in New York actually. Outside of the club," Ace told contestants during the episode. Chelley then said, "We met and we were talking on Instagram and stuff. He lives in LA and I live in Orlando. This is insane!" The U.S. Sun reported that the couple "flirted with each other for years" prior to the show's production.

Ace previously commented on Chelley's Instagram posts with fire emojis on three separate occasions. He even commented, "Snapped," on a photo from July 2023. Further investigation shows that Ace has been liking Chelley's posts dating all the way back to July 2022. Another part of the reason viewers thought the two had been linked more seriously involved a Valentine's Day story. On the famous holiday, Ace had the students of a dance class he teaches ask Chelley, “Will you be my Valentine, Chelley?"

Fans also believed Ace's behavior toward Jeremiah Brown could be an indication of his alleged past with Chelley. Jeremiah had been voted to pair up with Iris Kendall. Unfortunately, this meant that he would leave Huda Mustafa. Jeremiah paired up with Huda on the first day and said they weren't looking to see anyone else.

“We found a connection and we instantly liked each other and we explored that,” Jeremiah said. But Ace didn't believe him. He replied, “I’m not going for that bulls***. You lying bro. You acting like you all about that person day one. That’s scamming to me. How are you so sure about someone 30 seconds in? That’s a scam.”

Viewers began to theorize that Ace's anger at Jeremiah was a sign of him projecting what allegedly happened between him and Chelley. They believed he was the one who was scamming the audience. Ace would go on to tell Amaya Espinal that he didn't want to kiss and cuddle with her right away. Ace told her this was because he prefers to take things "slow."

“I’ve been saying Ace is on Jeremiah’s neck because they are competitors on a whole different game of scamming,” a fan commented.
Another person wrote, “Ace’s hyper-emotional reaction to Jeremiah’s alleged ‘scamming’ has nothing to do with morality, and everything to do with being envious that someone is threatening his hidden agenda.”
Someone else posted, “Yup, Ace screaming about Jeremiah playing the game when he has the same motive… Honestly, get rid of the cash prize. These guys make enough after the show anyways with the amount of followers they get on social media.”
“Exactly why I’m not voting for them. I honestly believe that they planned this,” another viewer expressed.

Austin Encouraged Ace And Chelley To Eventually Couple Up On The Show

While they eventually decided to couple up, they weren't each other's first choice. Ace had previously connected with Amaya and Chelley linked up with Austin Shepard. However, viewers were very aware of the chemistry between them. Therefore, it didn't surprise the audience when they chose each other. And it didn't end up going badly for everyone, as Austin would later date Amaya.

Chelley and Ace were initially hesitant to go down the path of pursuing each other, much to everyone's surprise. In fact, it was Austin who encouraged the future couple to take the leap, saying their connection was "so obvious."

"It feels like there's just been this weird game they've been playing where they keep going and floating by each other and not actually figuring out what the f*** is going on," Austin said during one episode. "Dude, you know what you want. It's so obvious. F****** go for it."

"I really like Chelley because she's challenged me and helped me let down my walls, be vulnerable, and she's helped me be a better person here in this villa," Ace gushed in his speech. "She's challenged me to be creative and step outside of the box, and that's something that doesn't come often for me."

"She's gorgeous," he added. "Every time she walks those stairs, no matter who she's with, she lights up the room. I'm just excited to get to know her every day." Chelley admitted she was thrilled with the outcome, saying, "I'm feeling great, I'm feeling like, about time! It was a lot of emotions and processing. I'm actually really happy."

A Former Love Island Contestant Claimed That Some Of Her Cast Mates Faked Their Relationships

A former Love Island contestant has claimed some cast members have been "faking" relationships in their everyday lives. She has said these encounters have been "shocking" to her. The contestant in question is Diamanté Laiva, who was featured on Love Island in 2024. She was in the Casa Amor stage and had decided to blow the lid off what she says really happens at influencer parties.

Diamanté explained to her followers that she was "just telling you my experience" and went on to say that some of her cast mates who seemed paired up on camera "just link up when it's time to take a picture." Diamanté's entrance into the villa caused quite a stir, but this time she was actually hoping not to set off another controversy. Before she told her story, she said, "Disclaimer I'm not bashing anybody. I'm not specifically speaking about a particular person."

The reality star then said, "Nobody likes each other - some of your fan favorites will be excluded from the groups and it's shocking when you see pictures and the TikTokers doing their videos, they take their pictures and disperse. Some of your favorite couples aren't really couples. Liked booed up on the internet and, in real life, the girl will be all the way over there and the guy will be all the way over there for the entire party. And they'll just link up when it's time to take a picture."

According to the reality star, this isn't just true of romantic relationships. She said that this kind of phony behavior is happening with so-called friendships as well. "In terms of friendship groups as well," Diamanté said, "it's literally like a revolving door. You'll go and take pictures with this person and you'll never speak to them again, but in the eyes of the public you'd think those two people are the best of friends."

Diamanté said that she was "uncomfortable" at these parties sometimes and had become more "aware of surroundings" due to being sober. She concluded by saying, "The people that some of you make famous, damn." Diamanté wrote in the caption, "The described behavior is not affiliated with the show. This happened at external private parties."

Fans made their feelings clear in the comment section. Someone commented, "She just spilled all the tea." A second fan wrote, "Not shocked," while a third expressed, "Lovinn these stories." Of course, there were also a lot of people wondering who Diamanté was talking about. "The things I would do to find out who you’re referencing with some of this," someone else commented.