‘Love Island USA’ Star Nic Vansteenberghe Claps Back at Cierra Ortega’s Posts About Him originally appeared on Parade.
Love Island USA contestant Nic Vansteenberghe is breaking his silence on Cierra Ortega‘s viral social media posts about their relationship.
Vansteenberghe and Ortega were a couple on the show until Ortega was unexpectedly sent home after racist posts of hers resurfaced online. Following her removal, Vansteenberghe partnered up with Olandria Carthen, and the two placed second during the season finale on July 13. Vansteenberghe and Carthen are still together today.
Shortly after the season ended, Ortega shared a video to TikTok of herself doing the “you look happier” trend, where she claimed she was happier after she, “booked a flight to mykonos after surviving the villain edit on reality tv and I didn’t end up with the guy who never actually liked me and wanted my friend the entire time.”
On the Tuesday, August 19 episode of the Baby, This is Keke Palmer podcast, Vansteenberghe finally shared his reaction to Ortega’s unsavory post about him.
“Yeah, I saw that,” he said. “I was taking my time to process things, and that video just was so off-putting for me. Especially the way I spoke — I still speak so positively about her after she posted that — and I spoke so positively about our relationship before that. I never once bashed her. I never once told her that I wasn’t interested in her.”
Vansteenberghe, who claims he hasn’t spoken to Ortega since she left the villa, continued, “Through her leaving the villa and then exploring Olandria, which is what Love Island‘s about, I found this great connection, amazing connection with Olandria, and then she’s bashing me for that. So to me, I was like, ‘All right. I’m going to take that on the chin. That’s fine if you feel that way, but I’m going to keep moving on.'”
RELATED: ‘Love Island USA’s’ Huda Mustafa Slams Cierra Ortega as the ‘Fakest’ Person in the Villa
When asked what would’ve happened had Ortega hadn’t left the villa, Vansteenberghe admitted he doesn’t think about the possibilities.
“Things were how they went,” he explained. “When you’re going through being in the villa for two months and then going into this new world of like, you have like paparazzi following you everywhere, you have meetings from morning ‘till night, you have a new relationship to focus on, and then you see a post like that. It’s like, why? It just made me feel uncomfortable.”
“I’m happy where I’m at, and I don’t need to indulge in the online negativity,” he added.
Love Island USA‘s season 7 reunion will premiere on Peacock on Monday, August 25, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
‘Love Island USA’ Star Nic Vansteenberghe Claps Back at Cierra Ortega’s Posts About Him first appeared on Parade on Aug 19, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 19, 2025, where it first appeared.
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