Editor’s note: This article contains spoilers for the show.

Florida Atlantic University alumnus Nicolas “Nic” Vansteenberghe, a finalist on the seventh season of the reality TV show “Love Island USA,” was a runner-up in the competition as viewers crowned the winning couple Sunday night. 

Vansteenberghe is one of five known FAU alums who appeared on the Love Island show. He has gained popularity throughout the summer for his personality and relationships with other “Islanders.” After Amaya Espinal and Bryan Arenales took the throne, Vansteenberghe and Olandria Carthen, with whom he was coupled, left the villa alongside two other finalist couples after more than a month of filming.

According to Peacock, the show’s streaming service, this trending dating show follows a group of contestants who are single in a tropical villa in Fiji for the summer. They search for love and couple up while facing competitions to test their connection. In the season finale, viewers voted for their favorite couple for a $100,000 prize.

This season attracted various fans worldwide, tuning in as new episodes drop and sharing their opinions on the steamy drama across social media platforms. This season is currently the most viewed series on mobile devices on Peacock, according to an article from NBC Universal.

Vansteenberghe’s viral moments on the show range from his “Mommy? Mamacita” reaction to Huda Mustafa revealing she is a mother to him. To his recoupling with Carthen, a pairing fans have dubbed “Nicolandria” for their romantic chemistry.

After entering the villa in the first episode of the season, Vansteenberghe initially coupled up with Isabelle-Anne Walker before pairing with Cierra Ortega. During Casa Amor, a dramatic twist on the show that splits the original Islanders into separate villas, one for men and one for women, to connect with a new batch of contestants.

Vansteenberghe, coupled with Clarke Carraway during Casa Amor, who later switched to couple up with Taylor Williams once they returned. As a result, Vansteenberghe was dumped from the island in Episode 20. In a plot twist in the show, he was paired with Carthen, who was also dumped from Casa Amor. The pair were allowed to either couple up or leave the island.

By Episode 21, the two returned to the villa, coupled up as a surprise to the other Islanders. Later, Vansteenberghe reconnected with Ortega, and they were the first couple to “close off,” which means not to explore any other connection with other islands. But producers abruptly removed Ortega from the show on Episode 30 due to resurfaced anti-Asian slur comments.

Following her departure, Vansteenberghe and Carthen rekindled their connection and continued on the show together, where they became finalists due to viewers’ supporting votes.

Gallery • 3 Photos

Photo courtesy of Henry Halverson.

Vansteenberghe was a nursing student at FAU before entering the villa. He graduated in the spring semester of 2023. At FAU, he was also an active Delta Tau Delta fraternity member. 

Henry Halverson, his fraternity brother and former college roommate, told the University Press while watching his friend on television that he portrayed his authentic self. Halverson said he is the type of person who defends those around him and achieves goals without being prideful.

“I genuinely really do think that the show has painted the picture as it should,” Halverson said. “Everything that I’ve seen on there has been completely Nic, and it’s really cool to see that he didn’t switch up.”

Outside of the villa, Vansteenberghe is a registered nurse and does modeling on the side. For example, he has modeled for the Guess clothing brand and traveled worldwide for photoshoots. Still, Halverson said his friend remains humble. 

The University Press contacted one of his modeling agencies, DT Model Management, where he is signed. However, they could not comment in time for the season finale.

Additionally, Love Island contestants cannot connect with people outside the villa until they leave. Throughout the experience, Halverson remarked that Vansteenberghe probably doesn’t realize how popular he is becoming.

Halverson has access to Vansteenberghe’s social media accounts while he is away filming in Fiji. He says over 75 million users have viewed Vansteenberghe’s Instagram page since the show premiered in early June. 

“He’s just going to lose his mind when he gets out of the villa,” Halverson said.

When Vansteenberghe receives his phone after the show with almost 700,000 followers on Instagram, Halverson said he’s confident this popularity won’t change him.

“I genuinely know he’s not going to be any different than who he is now, he said.

Sephora Charles is the News Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email Charles at sephoracharl2024@fau.edu