3 Philly-area contestants have entered the 'Love Island USA' with hopes of finding love and winning $100,000
Published in Entertainment News
PHILADELPHIA — On Tuesday night, a North Philly native, Jersey Shore track and field star, and Lehigh Valley police officer entered a neon pink and orange villa on an island in Fiji to find love — and win $100,000.
"Love Island USA" is back for its eighth season. Peacock’s hit reality show invites hot singles to enter a six-week dating competition, where contestants’ onscreen romance, heartbreak, and chaos compel viewers to pick favorites and vote for a winning couple.
This summer, there are three Philly area singles vying for the prize.
Self-described “Philly girl” Melanie Moreno is a 24-year-old manager at a bikini store. She lives in Los Angeles, but grew up in North Philly.
“I love my Philly people,” she said on the show Tuesday. “I’m always gonna be an East Coast girl.”
Moreno describes her dating life like the bikinis in the “damaged bin” of her store, meaning that she always picks the wrong guy, the one that’s not looking for a future. But on "Love Island," she’s searching for someone who wants to get married and have kids, aka “an actual relationship,” she said.
“I’m sorry a Philly girl — we’re so real, we’re so blunt,” Moreno said in her show intro. “But we’re so fun. We’re fun as f—."
Then, there’s former Division I track and field standout and NCAA All-American hurdler Sincere Rhea. The 25-year-old hails from Cape May, and loves to make cheesy puns with his first name.
“I often end my emails or letters — I’ll be like ‘Sincerely, Sincere,’” he said during the show intro.
Raised by his mom and grandmother, Rhea knows how to “live the right way” and be there for people during the tough times. Track and field is his sport, but he’s a bookworm too. And he’s “100%” ready to spread the love.
“Don’t let this pretty face fool you — I’m smart,” Rhea joked in his intro. “I’m not gonna find my wife at a nightclub. I might find my wife at a run club or at a museum.”
The two islanders coupled up in the first episode, bonding over the Eagles and living on the East Coast.
“Literally cut me and I’ll bleed green,” Morena said.
And lastly, there’s Sean Reifel of Easton who, until May 20, was a police officer for the Bethlehem Police Department.
“I’m not a model, not an actor. I’m a police officer, actually,” he said in the show’s trailer. “You could be having the worst day of your life and I’ll just help you sift through that.”
“We are disappointed when we invest in an individual with our time, our money, our resources and the opportunity cost to hire somebody else, and then they leave after [nine] months,” Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds, who swore Reifel in last August, told the publication, the Morning Call.
But the 29-year-old islander has his eyes set on finding love. In the first episode, he coupled up with Beatriz Hatz, a San Diego native and Paralympic bronze medalist.
The three Philly-area islanders began their "Love Island" journeys Tuesday night with two dramatic games and lots of fireworks. You can catch the rest of the season on Peacock, six days a week with just one break on Wednesdays.
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