The must-see fifth season of Love Island: USA has officially come and gone, and it looks like our nights are going to be pretty boring from here on out (until the Love Island Games begin this fall, of course).
Regardless of whether or not they are leaving a champion, four pairs of lovebirds are exiting the villa and ready to take on the real world together as official couples: winners Hannah Wright and Marco Donatelli, runners up Kassy Castillo and Leonardo “Leo” Dionicio, third place finishers Taylor Smith and Carsten ‘Bergie’ Bergersen, and fourth place finishers Carmen Kocourek and Kenzo Nudo.
Despite coming in third place, Bergie made a true connection with Taylor during his time in the Love Island: USA villa (or so we think), despite having a bit of a rocky start to his journey…
On the very first day, Bergie found himself coupled up with Anna Kurdys by default, and the duo was voted as the least compatible by their fellow islanders. Because of this, Bergie was dumped from the villa just hours after his arrival. However, he returned the next day alongside two hot new bombshells: Hannah and Carmen.
Trying to build connections with islanders like Hannah, Carmen, Kassy, Emily Chavez, Imani Wheeler, and more, Bergie repeatedly found himself unlucky in love (that is until the oh-so infamous Casa Amor week).
As soon as Taylor entered the Love Island: USA villa, the duo hit it off almost instantaneously – they even spent a steamy night in The Hideaway together! Because of this, it was no surprise that Bergie re-coupled with the Casa Amor bombshell at the end of the week.
Unfortunately, several Love Island: USA fans quickly took to Twitter to share that the connection between Bergie and Taylor felt disingenuous, with speculation that Taylor was using him for a one-way ticket into the villa, just to drop him as soon as she arrived:
“I absolutely loved that Bergie picked… but Taylor is definitely playing the game… I’m afraid Bergie your vacation is soon coming to an end,” @CLafaye101 wrote.
“The monotony in Taylor S. voice as she talks to Bergie. She wants that villa visa BAD,“ @gomezunfiltered wrote.
“Honestly I admire Taylor’s hustle. You could tell she was not into Bergie at all, but she was getting into that villa regardless, and if she’s willing to stick it out then she deserves that finale spot Facebook is gonna gift them,” @andawasp wrote.
“Taylor S. looks like she would rather die than be coupled up with Bergie. She’s jumping ship the first chance she gets,” @rashawna_alain wrote.
As the season progressed, viewers quickly realized that the connection between Taylor and Bergie was as true as can be. She did not leave Bergie’s side as soon as she entered the villa, and the duo even left the show as a committed couple, serving as Taylor and Bergie’s first relationship ever – how wild is that?
Despite leaving the villa as a happy couple, there are quite a few red flags that make us question whether or not the two lovebirds will last in the real world…
Keep scrolling to see our thoughts as to whether or not Taylor and Bergie will stay together beyond Love Island: USA, using concrete evidence from the show and viewers alike.
Will Carsten ‘Bergie’ Bergersen and Taylor Smith stay together post-finale?
As much as we loved watching Taylor and Bergie’s connection grow throughout Love Island: USA, we find it very unlikely that the duo will last in the real world, for a wide range of reasons.
First of all, we know that family is everything to Bergie, and his grandfather unfortunately did not approve of his relationship with Taylor when they were sent messages from their loved ones. While Taylor’s mother praised her connection with Bergie, Bergie’s grandfather claimed that their relationship seemed forced and that the duo was lacking chemistry. Yikes!
While the cameras are unable to capture every little emotion, could Bergie and Taylor have been faking a connection just to make it into the finale of Love Island: USA? Regardless of what the truth is, it seemed like Bergie’s grandfather’s words shook up the oh-so happy couple, with Taylor tearing up in a confessional and explaining how she just wants to feel accepted by Bergie’s family.
While Love Island: USA fans took to Twitter to express that they think Taylor was putting on a show in that moment, her emotions felt pretty genuine to us.
Second of all, Bergie expressed to Taylor that the idea of being in a long distance relationship was something that was worrying him, because Taylor lives in Dallas, Texas and Bergie lives in Madison, South Dakota (nearly 850 miles away).
While Taylor expressed in a confessional that this did not seem to be a big deal to her (given that it is just a quick road trip North to visit her newfound boyfriend), viewers could see Bergie having more hesitations. He even had a heart to heart with his best friend in the villa, Hannah, to get advice on what he should do.
This was a major red flag to all Love Island: USA fans, because Bergie made it seem like he was always willing to move to be with his partner. But if he was willing to do it for Carmen, who lives even farther away in Scottsdale, Arizona, why is he having reservations now?
Unfortunately, this is not the only red flag that fans of Love Island: USA have seen in Bergie…
Last but certainly not least, viewers have expressed that Bergie does not seem ready for a relationship, as he is lacking in communication skills and the ability to take care of his significant other. @Cheap-Cricket-4542 explained it best via Reddit:
“I’m tired of seeing posts defending Bergie as if he hasn’t displayed terrible communication and clear disregard for Taylor’s feelings when she was very vulnerable and transparent with him… He didn’t even bother defending Taylor to his family or reassure her of his decision. Stop treating him like a child or as if he’s immune to being toxic. If he couldn’t stand up for her in the villa, there’s no way in hell he’d ever stand up for her around his family… If that wasn’t an indication of how inconsiderate he has been and will be towards her outside of the villa, I don’t know what more his cult needs to see. He is not the victim here!”
The user then went on to explain what they think will happen as soon as Taylor and Bergie leave the villa, and it is clear that they do not have high hopes:
“He will absolutely break that poor girl’s heart as soon as the show is over and all of you excusing his immature, selfish behavior should be ashamed of yourselves when the inevitable happens. If y’all are so protective of Bergie then stop voting for him and allowing him to further lead Taylor on!”
Despite how harsh this may be, even more Reddit users commented on this thread, agreeing with what was said in the original post. @CloudCitrine piggy-backed off of what @Cheap-Cricket-4542 said in a long-winded (yet spot-on) manner:
“Whether it is due to inexperience or anxiety, there is no room in Bergie’s head for anything other than what he thinks he is ‘supposed’ to be saying at any moment. This is how he gets caught in those weird repetitive scripts (‘Yeah!… Yeah!… Yeah!… Let’s goooo’ regardless of context), and why he always interrupts and talks over people. He does not respond to new information and therefore cannot participate in back-and-forth conversations that build from one idea to the next. He’s super twitchy and always volleying back canned statements of agreement. You can see him freaking out that the exchange might have a pause or take a negative turn, or that his partner might dislike him, and his immediate deploy of a nod or ‘Yeah!’ or ‘Me Too!’ to keep that ball in the air… All Bergie ever talks about is Bergie and Bergie’s issues.”
Do you think that Taylor and Bergie will be able to maintain a relationship outside of the villa? Regardless, it is safe to say that we will be keeping up with the duo on Instagram to see if anything changes.
If you want to see Taylor and Bergie’s relationship unfold from the very beginning, you can binge-watch all of season 5 of Love Island: USA on Peacock.