A source confirms to PEOPLE that the fan-favorite couple has broken up
Olandria Carthen and Nic Vansteenberghe have gone their separate ways.
The fan-favorite Love Island USA season 7 couple has broken up, a source confirms to PEOPLE exclusively, adding that they “decided to part ways” just over a year after they departed the Fiji villa together.
“The distance between them and their busy schedules made it challenging to maintain their connection,” says the source. “They still remain close friends. They share a deep love and respect for each other and will always support one another whenever possible.”
Their relationship on the hit Peacock series began during a surprise Casa Amor twist that gave them both second chances at finding love. But Carthen previously told PEOPLE she “didn’t allow myself to feel that spark” at first, out of respect for Cierra Ortega, who had been coupled up with Vansteenberghe since early on.
It was only after Ortega was removed from the villa that Carthen, 28, was able to “make my own selfish decision” and give in to her chemistry with Vansteenberghe, 25.
She called coupling up with the DJ, 25, the “best decision I could have ever made,” and said it “made my whole experience way better.”
Vansteenberghe, meanwhile, described himself as Carthen’s “secret admirer from day one.”
They made things official after leaving the villa but started keeping their relationship more private soon after.
“Mentally, we were both just drained,” Carthen told Glamour in December. “I’m like, ‘Okay, maybe if we share less, that’s better.’ But even then, discourse starts because we don’t share enough. I’m like, I don’t know how to find a happy medium in this life now.”
It felt like they were “damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” Vansteenberghe told the outlet.
“Being in the social media space now, people want to be let in, and the more you let in, the monetary gain is nice. So finding that balance of, ‘Okay, this is our work now, but it’s also our life,’ was kind of hard in the beginning,” he said. “But now I feel like we’ve got a better grip on it.”
In June, Carthen told Cosmopolitan that the unending interest in her relationship — and the scrutiny because of how private they were — “kind of creeps me out.”
“I’m never that invested in someone’s relationship, and I’m not living for the internet. I don’t always post what people want me to or always do what people want me to do,” she said. “Why does it matter if me and Nic are together? Even when we were at Coachella, people in the comments were like, ‘Oh, I just needed proof that they saw each other this week.’ Why are you so invested in people that don’t know you?”
“We don’t monetize our relationship or put it on display. If you genuinely like spending quality time with somebody, it shouldn’t involve a camera every two seconds,” she added. “We enjoy each other’s presence and do what normal people do: go out, have fun, and get to know each other.”
