When Cierra Ortega got kicked out of the Love Island USA villa for her past use of racial slurs, it left Nic Vansteenberghe in a weird spot. The girl he spent all of that time getting to know suddenly left. How was he supposed to move forward?
Although Nic ultimately matched up with Olandria Carthen, and they finished the season in second place, moving on from Cierra wasn’t easy. He recently revealed that he “strongly considered” leaving the villa after Cierra, and we can’t help but wonder how that would have changed the outcome of Season 7.
Nic Vansteenberghe on Cierra Ortega’s racial slur and departure from Love Island
Nic broke his silence on Cierra’s Love Island exit during an appearance on the Chicks in the Office pod. He explained what it was like learning of Cierra’s exit, and how no one in the villa knew about the racism scandal as it unfolded online.
“It was a completely normal day,” Nic recalled. “She just left.”
On the show, we saw Nic try to make sense of things. He said her departure left him feeling “lost” about his place in the villa. The producers left the cast in the dark about what Cierra actually did to get removed, adding even more confusion. Nic recalled them saying it was for a “personal reason,” but they didn’t share any further details.
That lack of information left Nic on the fence about whether or not he should leave the show as well. He explained how he was “definitely strongly considering leaving” before ultimately choosing to stay. He probably remembered that there was $100,000 on the line.
“I had to talk with myself and behind-the-scenes kind of stuff, and I also told myself, ‘If whatever is happening in the outside world is something I don’t align with, then that could be perceived as me supporting that,’” he continued. “So I did give myself the chance to stay in the villa.”
He continued, “Coming out now, seeing what it is and whether or not those values believe in what I value, now I can kind of have a better perception on it.”
Love Island USA is streaming on Peacock.
TELL US – ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT NIC CONSIDERED LEAVING THE VILLA AFTER CIERRA’S EXIT? DO YOU THINK HE AND CIERRA HAVE SPOKEN NOW THAT THE SHOW HAS ENDED?
This story originally appeared on Realitytea
