After multiple recouplings and a few dejected contestants, two lovebirds got the axe on Monday's emotional elimination.
The drama is getting real on this season of Love Island. After Sunday's surprising announcement that one couple would be sent home, Monday's dramatic new episode revealed which Islanders would be packing their bags.
On Sunday's Love Island, host (and harbinger of impending doom for islanders) Arielle Vandenberg arrived unexpectedly and dropped a bombshell.
"America has been voting for who they think is the most compatible couple," Arielle explained to the frightened Islanders, before revealing the couples who are safe -- starting with Justine and Caleb. The other two couples who were safe this week -- the couples America apparently likes -- were Moira and Calvin as well as Johnny and Cely.
This left three couples in jeopardy -- Connor and Mackenzie, Lauren and Tre, and Kierstan and Carrington. It was clearly a painful blow to Connor and Mackenzie, considering that they were the only ones who were actually still a couple by the end of Sunday's episode.
Arielle then revealed the second surprising twist: the safe couples would have to collectively vote on which of the three pairs to save, and that was Sunday's cliffhanger.
Monday's episode started off in the heat of the action, as the islanders huddled together to figure out which of the others deserved a chance to continue pursing their relationship. After a tense chat, they chose Connor and Mackenzie -- which is really only fair, considering the other two "couples" essentially told each other they weren't right for one another on Sunday.
The elimination only got rougher for the islanders when Arielle threw yet another surprise their way and revealed that it would be up to the safe islanders to throw a "lifeline" out to two other contestants. This meant the guys had to all get together and choose to save either Kierstan or Lauren, while the girls all had to decide on saving Carrington or Tre.
Considering how close everyone has gotten in the villa -- with the most crying coming from the non-eliminated islanders after every recoupling ceremony -- this appeared to be an incredibly painful and difficult decision for absolutely everyone.
Somberly, Caleb revealed that the guys had decided to save Kierstan -- which clearly came as a huge shock to her. She and Lauren hugged, and Kierstan took a seat on the bench with her fellow islanders.
Then it was Cely's turn to tearfully reveal that the girls had all decided to save Carrington -- who was no less shocked to be saved the Kierstan. Carrington embraced Tre in a meaningful hug before returning to the bench with the others who were saved.
Tre shared some parting words of advice and told his fellow Islanders to "always keep it real with yourselves" and wished everyone luck in finding love.
Meanwhile, Lauren went out swinging. In the 30 minutes that they were given to pack up and say their goodbyes, Lauren managed to make as many enemies as possible, telling the other ladies, "I'm sorry I was honest, I should have faked it like some of hos."
She then burst into the guy's area and called them all "fake" for not giving her any time to make connects or an impact.
As the remaining Islanders finally waved them off, Kierstan quipped, "She knows how to make an entrance and an exit."
With the massive shakeup happening at the very start of Monday's episode, it felt like love and long-term relationships were suddenly on everyone's mind as the episode progressed. The challenge was wedding themed, and the couple who've been strongest for almost the entire show, Johnny and Cely, ended up winning bragging rights.
Almost getting eliminated also seemed to bring Carrington and Kierstan closer together after breaking up the night before, and as the episode came to a close, all four couples were in a good place in their relationships.
So, obviously the show decided to throw all that harmony into chaos with "the biggest shakeup ever" -- Casa Amor! A secret, second villa with five new girls and five new guys. The couples that exist currently will be split up, and introduced to a total of 10 new potential suitors, which could change everything for everyone.
Love Island airs nightly at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS with highlight episodes airing Saturdays.
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