‘Love Island USA’s Emily Chaves and Harrison Luna Reveal They’re Still Together: “There’s No Reason For Us to Deny the Click That We Had”

Season 5 of Love Island USA has been packed with romance, drama, challenges, and of course, dumping. At the most recent elimination, the public voted for their favorite Islanders this season. The four girls and four boys with the least amount of votes became vulnerable to being dumped from the island. It came down to the safe Islanders to choose one girl and one boy to be sent home. And after a tough deliberation, Emily Chaves and Harrison Luna had to say their goodbyes.

Fortunately, Emily and Harrison were already coupled up, so their elimination left no islanders freshly single, and gave the two the opportunity to continue their connection on the outside. But have they taken advantage of this opportunity? We sat down with both Islanders to find out. 

Read Decider’s post-villa Zoom chat with contestants Emily and Harrison, in which we covered everything from their relationship status to their relationships with other Islanders like Bergie, and Ariana Madix’s guest appearance. 

[Editor’s Note: These interviews were conducted separately, but have been condensed for ease of reading.]

Decider: Have you continued talking or maybe even met up since leaving the villa?

Emily Chavez: We haven’t met up yet. He is in Australia, unfortunately. Which is so annoying. But we have been talking and like we were on FaceTime last night and I met his mom. It was really cute.

Harrison Luna: Yeah, we have. I actually spoke with her yesterday just before she went to bed. So yeah, we’re still staying in touch. There’s no reason for us to deny the click that we had. So we’re just gonna when I’m over in America, see how things go. But stay in touch in the meantime, obviously, the facetimes and the video calls and stuff make it possible. Otherwise, it’d be real, real difficult. But we were lucky enough to catch up after the interview with Maya, we went out for dinner and it was really nice. 

Did you expect to continue getting to know one another romantically after leaving?

Emily Chavez: I mean, I did and I didn’t. I kind of like [to] go in with super low expectations. And then l just like go with the flow, because I can’t control anything, really. But I mean, I was expecting it knowing him and knowing how genuine he is, that it was like what he says is just what he means. So I am pleasantly surprised, I guess, just because, you know, like I said, my expectations are so low. But yeah, I did know that we were gonna have some sort of communication right after, which is nice. It’s also nice to know that, like, he still cares about me.

Harrison Luna: I mean, my plan going in was to explore connections, and if one was strong enough, then of course, like, why would I just leave it in the villa? And so yeah, just again, it’s very, very natural with her. So it’s like, why would I stop talking to her? 

How did it feel getting eliminated? What was going on in your head at that moment?

Emily Chavez: When I got eliminated, I was literally shocked. If you told me 10 seconds before they said my name I would have been like, “You’re lying. Like no.” So I’m genuinely still kind of processing it, because I had no idea it was gonna be me. Especially prior to the elimination or the dumping that day, they all had voted Destiny. So like, I thought, “Well, I’m staying.” So it was for sure confusing. I was just confused.

Harrison Luna: It was surprising and almost just disappointing, because the reasons I feel were not — I just feel like it was a bit confusing. I thought that I went about things the right way, you know, I had a connection with Destiny and explored that. It wasn’t as strong as the connection I had with Emily, and so then I pursued that. It’s Love Island, so you’re meant to move pretty quickly to get to know people. So I didn’t exactly lead Destiny down the garden path at all. Our communication was very open. I was open about seeing other people and exploring other connections. So yeah, I was just surprised about how it came up. And then Emily leaving as well that, yeah, the reasoning is really just a bit odd. It’s just a weird feeling.

Based on what you’ve watched and what you know, what do you think is the biggest difference between what we see on TV and what actually goes down in the villa?

Emily Chavez: I think the biggest difference of what is shown versus what is actually happening is like, it really is what they want you to see. There’s so many ins and outs of little minute details that make things different and sway your opinion. And so when you don’t get the entire 100% of every story, all those little details that get lost, it’s so easy to create a narrative — good or bad. it’s so easy to also like form an opinion when you don’t even know the full story. So just TV is so crazy to be on the inside and then watching it. It’s like “well, wait, there was a big piece of information that wasn’t shown that would maybe sway someone.”

Harrison Luna: I’m not caught up, because it’s only been two to three days since I’ve been back. But I’m watching it now with my mother, so we’re kind of going through everything. She’s asking all the questions and stuff as we go through the episodes. I just finished episode two now. I actually come in on episode three or four, so I haven’t seen my bits yet. But yeah, it’ll be interesting. I’m looking forward to it.

I reckon the biggest difference is probably the amount of interaction that we actually have with the girls. It’s not as constant as it looks. And this is probably why the bromance is formed so well, it’s because you get to know the guys really, really well. And with the girls, it’s like you got to make the most of the time that you have with them. That would probably be the biggest difference, but again, I haven’t seen too much of the episodes yet. I guess I’ll find out as I go.

Bergie has become America’s sweetheart in an interesting way, was he the same way in the villa? 

Emily Chavez: Yeah, Bergie was definitely Bergie. He really is so sweet. And like you really can’t help but love him. He’s the first person that reeled me in before I met anybody. Like I already knew he was a sweetheart and I wanted to get to know him, just because personality is so important to me. And I knew that he had all the qualities that I’m looking for in a husband. Bergie is really Bergie. He really is the sweetheart that everybody wants to believe in so bad. Like it actually is true.

I think Bergie and my, like, our like, sexual chemistry and romantic chemistry was just not really there. I think with time it could have definitely formed into something really nice. But you have no time in the villa, like you don’t have time to build anything, You kind of have to go for what is immediate and what you immediately feel connected to. And so unfortunately, I just didn’t get that time with Bergie 

Harrison Luna: Yeah, he was a very nice guy, and very innocent. So that innocence is what shines through the whole way. The social cues or the social expertise, I guess you could say, that he has were unfortunately kind of holding him back in in the villa. So I didn’t click with him as well as I did other people, just because I feel like I’m a pretty social guy. So I didn’t click exceptionally well with him, but there was always a level of respect. We were always friends in the villa. That’s the best way to put it.

There were a couple of times as well where your Bergie might have gotten into a situation, and I was able to talk with him and just kind of give any kind of help if it was possible. I’d just put it out there and just give him my unbiased opinion. And so we kind of had a brother sort of relationship.

Emily, after kissing Bergie in the challenge, flirting with Keenan, and going on dates with Marco and Harrison, how did you ultimately decide to couple up with Harrison?

Emily Chavez: I think the decision to couple up with Harrison honestly wasn’t hard. It was difficult in the first few moments of thinking, because I was like, I do have so many options because they are all so great in so many different ways. But there’s just something so special about Harrison and my connection. So I think at the end of the day, every guy had something different that caught my attention, but Harrison had everything. So it was kind of easy.

Harrison, what was going through your head when Emily chose you at the recoupling? Were you expecting it? Were you happy about it?

Harrison Luna: I told her this too. I was like, I was 80-90 percent sure that she was going to pick me, and I actually let Destiny know about it as well.  Because it was really hard to deny how naturally our conversation flowed and how naturally we got along on the date. So I was almost expecting it, but I was still unsure. You know, you’re never sure until it happens. But when she picked me, I was excited about continuing to get to know her on a closer level, because obviously when you’re coupled up you naturally become closer. But I didn’t expect to get as close as we did. So yeah, it was a nice surprise, too. 

It all comes back to just how well everything went with the flow of the conversation. Like we were always talking, like it was just a constant back and forth. She’s got that sarcasm to her as well, so there’s the humor there. I like that sort of stuff. She’s obviously a beautiful girl, too, so you know, the attraction was there from the start. But it was mainly the conversation and like the love that she had for a family, because I kind of talk about my family like that too. So yeah, it was just natural.

Emily, was it intimidating coming in as a bombshell and almost immediately having to break up another couple?

Emily Chavez: I mean, it’s a scary feeling coming in as a bombshell, especially as a girl. I feel like girls just get the heat of things so much worse than any guy ever will. So it was hard. But I think knowing myself as well as I do, and being so self-assured, I was just like, whatever. Like, I signed up for this and I’m fully prepared for it. It was scary, don’t get me wrong, but I knew what I was doing and had a sense of like, “well, I gotta do it.”

Harrison, since you’re from Australia, why did you choose to go on Love Island USA instead of Love Island Australia? 

Harrison Luna: Good question. Well, for me, it was a coincidence because I was already planning on going to America in September. I’ve been to America twice last year, so I was like, well, this just seems like a ridiculously perfectly timed fit. So I just figured, why not? They reached out and messaged me. And I was like, Huh, that’s a bit odd, but why wouldn’t I? And just choosing between Love Island US and Australia, for me, in Australia I don’t tend to click with the girls as well as I do with international girls. So the International thing does definitely have some appeal. I was talking to one of the producers a while ago about the Australian one and then they asked again this year, but it didn’t feel as right.

Scandoval has been a huge story this summer, and, Harrison, you got to meet Ariana Madix during the show. Since you’re not from America, did you know about the scandal and who Ariana was? What was it like meeting her?

Harrison Luna: Honestly, I knew who she was because I used to watch Vanderpump Rules with my mother actually back in the day. I think it was maybe the first or second season that we watched. I don’t really know. But yeah, we enjoyed the show a lot, like I’ve been to Sur in in LA a couple of times. So I know it, but I had no clue what was going on. Like, she just kind of came up and I was like, “Oh, hey, I recognize your face”. And at the start, I didn’t I didn’t know she was from TV, so I was like, ‘Have I met you before or something?” Yeah, I have limited expertise in that area. 

What was your favorite part about your time in the villa?

Emily Chavez: My favorite part about the villa was definitely just meeting people that I would never meet. I left with the hottest Australian man in the world. Like if I stayed here in Texas, I would never have met this man. And then on top of that, there’s so many girls that I’ve made such genuine friendships with, that now I can’t wait for them to get out and just have a bunch of besties. And then on top of that, they actually live pretty close to me. So I just know that the connections I made in there are just going to last me so long. That was the best part, my girls.

Harrison Luna: Honestly, my favorite part, because I’m a really kind of inquisitive person, was just how it was all put together. And I probably can’t dive too deep into all this, but the social experiment side of the experience is just mind-blowing. It’s unlike anything that I’ve ever done. To be completely disconnected from the outside world, and all those sorts of things. It was just so fascinating to me. I love that. I think that just comes from my natural curiosity about how things work. So that was probably, for me, like the most personally entertaining part. 

But the second part is, like, you’re meeting people all the time, you’re in such a confined space, and you just have really, really good times. They just pop up. Like there was one time when we were playing cards, and it’s just the simplest thing like playing cards on an ironing board in a bedroom. And we’re just all just pissing ourselves laughing. It was just such a weird moment, but so much fun. And they’re the better moments you’ll never forget, you know?

Love Island USA streams six nights a week on Peacock.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.