{"id":483185,"date":"2026-06-18T06:31:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T06:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/483185\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T06:31:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T06:31:16","slug":"love-island-usa-beatriz-on-gabriel-moving-on-beef-with-melanie-and-casa-amor-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/483185\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Love Island USA\u2019 Beatriz on Gabriel Moving On, Beef With Melanie and Casa Amor Predictions"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cLove Island USA\u201d Season 8<\/a> star Beatriz Hatz\u2019s time in the villa was short but meaningful. <\/p>\n

The 25-year-old Paralympian from San Diego was an OG islander this season <\/a>who entertained fans with her decision on the first episode to explore a connection with Gabriel Vasconcelos over Sean Reifel, her blunt conversations with Melanie Moreno, and her jokes about her limb difference<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"BeatrizBeatriz Hatz was an original member of “Love Island USA” Season 8 before getting dumped from the villa.Ben Symons\/PEACOCK<\/p>\n

But in Episode 9, Beatriz\u2019s time in the villa ended abruptly after America voted to partner Gabriel with new bombshell Jen Terry, leaving the athlete single and vulnerable. She was dumped from the island after Corbin Mims chose to couple up with Melanie and shared a tearful goodbye with Gabriel. <\/p>\n

Since then, Beatriz tells TODAY.com that she has been following all the drama that has unfolded with the islanders after her departure, and what fans have been saying about the cast on social media. <\/p>\n

Below, Beatriz opens up about her experience on the show, revealing if there is any \u201cbeef\u201d between her and Melanie after their argument and how she felt seeing Gabriel move on so quickly. She also shares her thoughts on being a representation of people with disabilities, how she thinks the islanders will behave when Casa Amor starts next week and which islander is misunderstood. <\/p>\n

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. <\/p>\n

When you learned you had been cast, what did it mean to be on \u2018Love Island USA\u2019 and be a representation for people with disabilities?<\/p>\n

It was so cool when I got cast. I was like, \u2018Oh my gosh, no way! This is insane.\u2019 They reassured me that, like, \u2018Hey, we picked you because we like you, not because you\u2019re disabled.\u2019 But these two things are amazing: I get to be on the show, and I also get to be the representation. There\u2019s a lot of stigmas around disability that I\u2019m just happy that I was there to break these stereotypes.<\/p>\n

Were you able to share what your life is like having a disability with the other islanders?<\/p>\n

I think I was able to talk a bit more with the girls about that, and they were able to ask me questions. It was really cool to share this knowledge. Then with the boys, they were so interested in the running blade. It was like a car. They were like, \u2018Oh, what is this? What does it feel like? How heavy is it?\u2019 I\u2019m sitting there, show and tell, like, \u2018Hey, do you want to hold it? Do you want to hold the prosthetic? You can.\u2019 I felt so much love from my fellow cast members and it was really cool that everybody was so supportive about it. <\/p>\n

\"LoveBeatriz with the fellow OG Islanders.PEACOCK \/ Ben Symons\/PeacockNow that you\u2019re out of the villa. Have you been keeping up with the show? Have you been following along with people\u2019s comments on social media?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been following the show. I\u2019ve been watching the current episodes. I need to go back and watch from the beginning because I want to see how I\u2019m portrayed, what was going on, all the things that were happening that I didn\u2019t particularly know about. I\u2019m curious.<\/p>\n

After seeing what fans have been discussing online, what do you think is the biggest misconception you\u2019ve seen, either about you or another islander in the villa?<\/p>\n

I think I\u2019ve been seeing everybody call Corbin AI. OK, no, he\u2019s a person. He\u2019s multifaceted. He\u2019s got different layers, and maybe we\u2019re just not seeing all of them. I think that\u2019s a misconception. I think everybody has different sides of themselves. Whether or not you\u2019re willing to show that to everybody or just maybe a select few of people, that\u2019s a different thing.<\/p>\n

You said on \u2018Aftersun\u2019 that Corbin was playing a game. So do you think he is genuine and it\u2019s not translating to the audience? <\/p>\n

I think two things can be true at once. I think he may still be playing the game. But also I do think that he\u2019s an individual who will probably have different layers, and maybe I just didn\u2019t get to know those sides of him.<\/p>\n

One of the most talked about moments so far has been your conversation with Melanie and her reaction after. You guys made up, but fans seem to think there is still drama between you two. How would you describe your relationship with her? \"BeatrizBeatriz and Melanie right before a recoupling that resulted in the athlete being dumped.Ben Symons\/Peacock<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve actually told all the girls and all the people in there, like, \u2018Hey, no matter what, when we get out of here, we\u2019re the ones that know what actually happened in here. I know that there\u2019s going to be things that we can\u2019t talk about, but we know what happened. So that\u2019s the only thing that matters.\u2019 There\u2019s no one-sided beef, there\u2019s no beef at all. I think when you have friends around you, your friends are able to tell you, \u2018Hey, I actually don\u2019t like this.\u2019 Or, \u2018I do like this.\u2019 Or, \u2018Can you help me with this? Can you help me with that?\u2019 I think that\u2019s just different levels of friendships that maybe people aren\u2019t used to seeing, or maybe they\u2019re not used to seeing that communication style. Like I said, we made up. I shared something very deep. She did as well. You continuously develop those friendships. And what makes a friendship is if you can have a discussion and be open and (say), \u2018OK, I\u2019m willing to take responsibility for this and this.\u2019 And then, OK, squash (it). We are now growing our connection as friends. That deepens the friendship.<\/p>\n

You said on \u2018Aftersun\u2019 it was challenging at first bonding with the girls but you were able to make strong connections and mentioned Trinity. When you left, would you say that you were still close friends with Melanie and had a tight bond with the other girls?<\/p>\n

I think we all have our people that we gravitate the most towards and hang out the most with. I think Melanie and I were really able to relate when we speak Spanish, what our cultural similarities are. That was something that was very deep. But then I have my friendship with Trinity (Tatum) and Kayda (Reese Bosse). We just will shoot the s— all day and make jokes. Kenzie (Annis), she\u2019s really bubbly. Aniya (Harvey), she\u2019s very wise. We each had different little types of friendships. But I would say that I\u2019m the closest with Trinity and Kayda. <\/p>\n

I want to talk about your coupling with Gabriel. On \u2018Aftersun\u2019 you said that you were still interested in him. How have you felt watching the episodes since you\u2019ve left?<\/p>\n

When I left the villa, I felt that the connection was strong. Seeing how he was emotional over me leaving, as well, I think strengthened that for me. I had said, \u2018Hey, he knows where to find me.\u2019 I think that\u2019s still true, but also seeing how he is moving in there \u2014 and yes, it\u2019s \u2018Love Island.\u2019 So I don\u2019t know if he would even come out of this single or what. But I know whatever is meant to happen is meant to happen. If he ends up with Jen, then I hope they continue to strengthen their connection, in and outside the villa. If not, then I hope he finds the person that he needs to make himself happy.<\/p>\n

You mentioned Trinity and Kayda being your close friends. In one of the episodes, they were talking about Gabriel\u2019s connection with Jen and how surprised they were by how fast he moved on. Were you thinking the same thing while watching Gabriel and Jen?\"BeatrizBeatriz calls Trinity and Kayda “real ones.”Peacock \/ Peacock<\/p>\n

Oh, my girls had my back! Oh my gosh. I figured they would say something and when they did, I was like, \u2018Oh yeah, they\u2019re real ones, for sure.\u2019 I was surprised. But, at the same time, it\u2019s like, what can you expect? It is \u2018Love Island.\u2019 You are expected to recouple. But I was like, \u2018Dang, same night that I left, you\u2019re already \u2026 you know.\u2019 It is what it is, it\u2019s not like I\u2019m mad about it. It\u2019s not anything like that.<\/p>\n

Aside from Gabriel, has anything else that\u2019s happened or any connections surprised you?<\/p>\n

I thought that Sol (Dean) and Sincere\u2019s (Rhea) connection was deeper. I wasn\u2019t sure, but I think that his connection with Melanie is very deep. So I really didn\u2019t know what to expect with that. I was on the edge of my seat (watching). I was like, \u2018I don\u2019t know what either of them are going to do right now.\u2019<\/p>\n

Casa Amor starts next week. Do you have any predictions about what you think is going to happen with the couples currently in the villa?<\/p>\n

I think what typically happens is the men explore more or that they experience some short-term memory loss a lot quicker than the girls do. They\u2019re a lot more emotionally available, quicker than the girls, but I can\u2019t really predict too much. I think Corbin will be willing to explore. I think Sincere will also be willing to explore. I think Gabriel, for sure, is exploring. Those are the top three. I think all the boys will explore. I think Zach (Georgiou), KC (Chandler) and Bryce (Dettloff), they will probably still explore, but keep their current couple in mind.<\/p>\n

Then out of the girls, I could see Kenzie exploring. It\u2019ll be really interesting. <\/p>\n

What would you say was the highlight of your time in the villa? Is there anything you would change or regret about your experience?<\/p>\n

My highlight from being in the villa was becoming friends with Trinity and Kayda. I wouldn\u2019t change anything. I think my experience was what it was and it was meant to be short-lived. It might be a blessing in disguise, who knows. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cLove Island USA\u201d Season 8 star Beatriz Hatz\u2019s time in the villa was short but meaningful. The 25-year-old…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":483186,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,111,139,69,437],"class_list":["post-483185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483185\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}