Spoiler alert: Spoilers for Love Island USA Season 8 follow. Love Island USA Season 8 is coming to a close, and while some Islanders are preparing to leave the villa with a new relationship status (which, for most, means the coveted “boyfriend and girlfriend” label), for others, it’s complicated. ICYMI, Zach and Kayda decided to take their relationship to the next level, but they decided to be “exclusive” rather than “BF and GF” for the time being. But does this mean that Zach and Kayda are in a situationship? I asked an expert for their take.
Zach and Kayda have been coupled up on Love Island since Day 3, but it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows. The couple has had their fair share of disagreements — especially when Zach explored another connection in Casa Amor. While he did come back single, he didn’t tell Kayda that his other connection, Alannah, had left the villa — leaving him without a connection to explore in Casa Amor. Zach did tell Kayda he would’ve chosen her regardless, but Kayda’s trust was bruised after finding out from another Islander what really went down. Yikes.
The two ended up reconciling, and eventually, Zach asked Kayda to be “exclusive” with him. The two had a chat about what that meant, with Zach saying he wasn’t ready to use the “boyfriend and girlfriend” label since they’ve only known each other for a few weeks, and also the fact that they live in completely different countries. Kayda happily agreed, but when she told the other women in the villa, things got… messy.
When Kayda shared that she and Zach were “exclusive,” the other Islanders were quick to call the relationship a “situationship” since they chose to forgo labels. And while there are some differences between being “exclusive” and being in a labeled, locked-down relationship, it doesn’t quite mean Zach and Kayda are in a situationship — well, at least not to relationships expert Callie Sorensen. “People use words like ‘situationship,’ ‘exclusive, and ‘boyfriend/girlfriend’ as if everyone has the same definition… but they do not,” she says. “The label matters less than whether both people have clearly talked about what they are feeling, what they need, and what the agreement actually means.”
So, what is the difference? “A situationship is usually a romantic or sexual connection that lacks clear labels, commitment, or a clear understanding of where things are going,” Sorenson says. “There may be chemistry, sex, friendship, or even a sense that the connection could become something more — but the relationship itself is still undefined.”
Exclusivity, however, is a step beyond that. “It’s at least one agreement: ‘We are not pursuing other people,'” Sorenson says. “Two people may not have an official label yet, but still have care, honesty, respect, and clear communication.”
While the two don’t have a clear-cut label, it doesn’t mean that they’re trapped in situationship purgatory — but they’re not exactly out of the woods either. “I would say they are one step out of a situationship, but they are not fully in a clearly defined relationship yet,” Sorenson says. “I think they both seem to want to be chosen by each other, and they both seem hurt when the other person explores someone else. So emotionally, there does seem to be an attachment there — but they still seem a little afraid to fully claim it in clear words like, ‘We are together. We are choosing each other. This is what this means.'”
And, at the end of the day, that’s OK. “Love Island is such a unique environment because everything is sped up — it is like dating on a bullet train,” Sorenson says. “You do not have the normal space to see how someone moves in real life, how they handle stress, how they communicate in real-life situations, or whether the connection actually works beyond the show.”
So, if Zach and Kayda want to see where things go IRL before putting a label on it, who are we to judge? They do live on completely different continents, after all.