The premise of “Love Island” is simple — put a bunch of attractive people on a remote island in Fiji where they have no communication with the outside world, are filmed 24/7 and endure silly (and often gross) challenges with the ultimate goal of coupling up with another islander.
Like many dating shows, “Love Island” (which now has U.S., U.K. and Australia versions, among many others) doesn’t actually yield that many enduring romances. Instead, the friendships that form can often define the show. The bromance playing out between Aaron Evans and Rob Rausch on the current season of “Love Island U.S.A.” is a prime example.
Viewers have seen both of them pursue romantic relationships — Evans with Kaylor Martin and Rausch with a handful of different islanders. But just as often as they were schmoozing and canoodling with women, they were sitting at the end of the villa’s dock shedding tears, laughing or talking about their feelings. This set off a range of comments online — some viewers celebrated their friendship with TikTok edits of their best moments, while others implied (or said outright) that they both wanted to be more than friends. Their displays of affection were startling to some viewers, as male friendships on TV are rarely cast in that light. The pair’s bond has been one of the major reasons this season of “Love Island” has become a breakout hit, topping most-watched charts during its summer run and finally matching up to the original U.K. version in the eyes of many fans.
Over a Zoom call — where Evans was in a lodge in Britain that was shaking thanks to a rambunctious washing machine and a shirtless Rausch was in and out of bed in a house in Los Angeles — we discussed the response to their friendship and the portrayal of men’s vulnerability onscreen.
When Evans (from the coastal area of southwest England) and Rausch (a self-described “snake wrangler” from Alabama) met, it was not friendship at first sight. They bonded when Evans offered Rausch a cigarette, but Rausch thought that Evans was too wild.
Inside the villa, they grew closer.
“We were playing Ping-Pong one day — well, we played Ping-Pong every day — but one of the days he was talking about, like, what’s important to him in life and what he really cares about,” Rausch said. “And it was just really similar to, like, my values in life. I was like, well, this is a good person to be friends with.”
Both men were surprised and confused at the big splash their friendship has made online.
Evans noted that in Europe, being affectionate and touchy-feely with your male friends is the norm, so the response from U.S. watchers felt outsized.
“I lived in Spain and I lived in U.K., and it’s very, very, very accepted to be like that,” he said. “So, coming off the show, I didn’t expect to receive the sort of feedback that we did because I thought it was very normal.”
Rausch was puzzled, too.
“When you’re really close to your friends, like, I don’t know, we’re just bros,” he said. “I don’t see where that side of this comes from, to be honest.”
They were also both confused about why people were focusing only on the two of them.
“I was like that with every single guy and every single girl, every single producer, every single cleaner, every single person that made the food,” Evans said. “That’s just me as a person.”
“This is who you are, you’re just extremely affectionate guy,” Rausch added.
One of this season’s defining moments came during an episode when Rausch threatened to leave the show after the woman he was coupled up with was voted off by their fellow islanders. The entire cast became emotional and Evans was moved to tears — partially at the idea of Rausch leaving the show and also out of anger at the idea that the women in the villa had prioritized their friendships with each other instead of Rausch’s romantic connection. “This is ‘Love Island,’ not friendship island,” Evans declared as tears streamed down his face.
Despite what Evans said on that fateful episode, in hindsight he sees the other side.
“I do agree it is also friendship island, it’s not just ‘Love Island,’” Evans conceded. “Looking back on it now, obviously it’s the relationships that you build on the way.”
For Rausch the answer to “is it ‘Love Island’ or friendship island?” was easy.
“For me, I mean, obviously friendship, like, I’m single,” he said with a laugh.
What are Rausch and Evans up to next? After the reunion that will air on Monday, Evans is planning to head to Asia for a couple of months to clear his head and get off social media. Rausch is set to join him for the Vietnam leg of the trip where they look forward to riding motorcycles off into the sunset (and across the country) together.
Rausch invited me to join, but I think I’ll let them enjoy their valuable friend time.
The post When ‘Love Island’ Turns Into Friendship Island appeared first on New York Times.
