For Love Island USA fans who have been missing their favorite girl group, PPG (Powerpuff Girls), worry no longer: Leah Kateb, Serena Page and JaNa Craig are back together in Peacock spinoff Love Island: Beyond the Villa.
The trio skyrocketed to fame during season six of Love Island USA last year, which became a cultural sensation thanks to plenty of iconic moments between the Islanders in the Villa as they all searched for love. Kateb, Page and Craig found just what they were looking for — they’re all still together with the men they met on the show, Miguel Harichi, Kordell Beckham and Kenny Rodriguez, respectively — and more, as the trio also formed a close-knit bond as friends that America also became obsessed with.
Now, fans are getting a closer look at their lives outside of the Villa as they navigate new careers, evolving friendships, newfound fame and complex relationships in Los Angeles in Beyond the Villa, which premiered on Sunday. Craig describes season one of the spinoff as a “beautiful roller coaster,” adding, “It’s gonna be so much fun. There’s a lot of vulnerable moments. You get to see more and more of our personal lives.”
Beyond the Villa also features season six Islanders Aaron Evans, Kaylor Martin, Connor Newsum, Liv Walker and Kendall Washington, as well as appearances from other former Islanders.
Below, Kateb, Page and Craig open up to The Hollywood Reporter about how they maintain their close friendship, navigating their relationships a year later and what Love Island USA fans can expect from the rest of season one of Beyond the Villa.
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How do you navigate keeping a close bond between you three while also having your own lives and relationships?
CRAIG Thank God for group chat.
PAGE Right, group chats, and it’s like any other adult long distance, not even long distance because she’s [JaNa] basically 45 minutes away. So it’s like any like adult relationship you would navigate. You text, you catch up when y’alls schedules align, y’all go to dinner. It’s like any regular like friendship. But we actually probably spend a hell of a lot of time together.
CRAIG We have dinner after this.
Serena, you mentioned in episode one of Beyond the Villa that you have some separation anxiety with Kordell when he travels for work. How do you balance growing your relationship while also each chasing your personal goals?
PAGE Actual separation anxiety was a stretch and a bit dramatic (Laughs). We’ve been away from each other all of two weeks total, so let’s just put that into perspective. I was being dramatic. But it’s weird to have him not around. We both feel weird because we’ll both have a full day of work, but we usually come to one of our houses by the end of the night. So it’s weird when we’re in different states, but it’s work. I’ve done a long-distance relationship before; communication is key.
Can you all tease what viewers are in for during the rest of this season of Beyond the Villa?
CRAIG A beautiful roller coaster. It’s gonna be so much fun. There’s a lot of vulnerable moments. You get to see more and more of our personal lives. It’s a lot, you’ll see.
A year after leaving the Love Island USA Villa, what do you make of how far you all have come as friends as well as in your individual relationships? And what do you hope for the future?
PAGE Going forward, we each have such amazing opportunities and aspirations, so honestly just being each other’s biggest cheerleaders. Same goes with our men and vice versa, and just rooting for each other and taking it day by day, because you never know what the next week will bring. There will probably be something in a few days that one of us has to announce.
What’s your favorite part about showing a new side of your lives in Beyond the Villa?
KATEB It’s been really fun being able to see us in different ways and honestly different clothes even (Laughs). We get to wear jeans, a lot more casual. It’s still the same us but it’s in a different setting, so you still feel that familiar feeling with us, but it’s all different. We’re doing different things like it’s really fun.
Are there any moments this season that you’re most excited for fans to see?
PAGE Malibu Wines.
KATEB It was a PPG day and that was really fun. My favorite days of filming. We got to drink.
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Love Island: Beyond the Villa is currently streaming on Peacock, with new episodes dropping every Thursday.