Andreina Santos Shares Hopes To Reconnect With ‘Love Island USA’s Jeremiah Brown After ‘Love Island Games’ Betrayal: “I Can’t Wait To See Him Again”

Andreina Santos has spent the last few months of her life swept up in the chaos of the Love Island franchise. After making her debut on Love Island USA Season 7 last summer, she went on to appear in Season 2 of Love Island Games, where she formed partnerships and connections with Love Island UK Season 10 star Tyrique Hyde and Love Island USA Season 2 star Johnny Middlebrooks, who, in a shocking turn of events, cost her her spot in the villa.

Just after being crowned the villa’s power couple, Johnny turned the tides of the game when he decided to leave their stable partnership and explore things with a new bombshell, leaving Andreina vulnerable to America’s vote. But before she lost her duel to Garbi Denteh and got sent home from the villa, Andreina made sure to let Johnny know what he was missing by parading her hot bod around in an itty-bitty red bikini.

“I was so happy when I went downstairs because all the guys were like, ‘Oh, my God, that bikini is so fire.’ I was like, ‘You see, Johnny? You see?’” Andreina told Decider in a recent interview. “Then when we had our conversation, we were sitting next to each other and he was kind of looking down. And I was like, ‘I know, I know.’”

Andreina made it clear on both Love Island USA and Love Island Games that she was looking for love over money. While her time as a bombshell on Love Island USA Season 7 only lasted 10 days, she was able to form a short-lived connection with OG star Jeremiah Brown, who was dumped from the villa two days after her arrival. According to Andreina, she wouldn’t have even entertained the other guys in the Love Island Games villa had Jeremiah been there.

“If Jeremiah would have been in the villa, I would have been like, ‘Bye, Tyrique. Bye, Johnny. This is my favorite Love Island boy,’” Andreina said, noting that she “can’t wait” to see Jeremiah again.

When Decider caught up with Andreina after she was sent home from Love Island Games, she spoke more about Johnny’s betrayal, which guys she wished she explored a connection with, and what she thinks about Season 7 star Iris Kendall getting back together with her bombshell brother TJ Palma. Check out the full interview below.

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DECIDER: I was so excited to see that you were going to get another shot on Love Island Games. What was your reaction when you were asked to return to Fiji?

ANDREINA SANTOS: I feel like I wasn’t expecting the call. I was like, “Perfect. This is my opportunity for me to go back to the villa and show a little more of my personality.” And that’s what I tried to do. 

It’s interesting because in Love Island, you want to lead with your heart instead of strategy, whereas in Love Island Games, you want to lead with strategy over heart. Since it’s been so soon since you left Love Island, did you find it difficult to make that mental switch?

Yes, for sure. I did Love Island Games right after Love Island [USA] and I feel like I still had the Love Island mentality. Also, I feel like from the beginning, everybody was asking, “Are you here for love or for money?” I thought from the beginning that I was always looking more for love than winning the competition. So I feel like it is okay to just look for love when you’re doing Love Island Games. At the end of the day, it’s still Love Island Games. I don’t really regret just focusing on love. At the same time, I realized too late that if I wanted to stay in the villa, I had to fight. But it is what it is. 

I think there’s nothing wrong with leading with your heart! In fact, a lot of fans were calling on producers to bring Jeremiah in for you. How do you think that would’ve gone down? 

Well, it’s really funny and interesting because even when I got my phone back, half of the messages and DMs were like, “Finally, you left single! Go get Jeremiah!” I mean, if Jeremiah would have been in the villa, I would have been like, “Bye, Tyrique. Bye, Johnny. This is my favorite Love Island boy.”

Do you see you two ever rekindling a romance after your short-lived time in the villa together in Season 7?

Hmmm. I think so. Maybe.

He seems way nicer than these other guys on Games.

He is. He is actually a really, really nice person. He’s just a nice human being and I can’t wait to see him again, actually. 

What happened to you on Love Island Games might go down as one of the biggest betrayals in Love Island history. Did you ever expect that Johnny would switch up on you like that?

No, I never, ever expected that, even though I know Johnny’s history. The last time he did Love Island Games, I think he switched partners like four times. All the girls said the same thing, like, “You blindsided me. You were really affectionate last night, and now you’re saying all of this.” Even though he had a history, I tried to ignore it and judge him on what he was doing with me. It was all love. It was all kisses. I watched the episodes and it was a shock to me seeing how he was talking about me with the guys. And then he would come to bed and kiss me and be all over me. So yeah, I wasn’t expecting that mainly because we knew each other from before. We had a connection from before. Since the moment we met, it just felt like he was all over me. I never thought he was going to do the same thing to me. So that was definitely a big shock. 

I have to say that revenge bikini was everything! You must’ve felt like such a boss parading that thing in front of Johnny. Tell me a bit about that moment.

I woke up after sleeping in my single bed. I was like, “Today I’m going to wear the sexiest bikini, and I’m going to show this man that I don’t care. He can do whatever he wants to do because I don’t want him in my life. I’m good without him.” So, I went to the dressing room and I was like, “Who has a tiny bikini?” And Justine gave me that red bikini and I was like, “Oh, my God, this is perfect.” I was so happy when I went downstairs because all the guys were like, “Oh, my God, that bikini is so fire.” I was like, “You see, Johnny? You see?” Then when we had our conversation, we were sitting next to each other and he was kind of looking down. And I was like, “I know, I know.” 

I couldn’t believe Johnny was sitting there giving you a pep talk before the duel, and I was even more shocked when he sort of offered you a chance to couple up with him again if you won. Were you as flabbergasted by that offer as I was? Can you speak a bit to that? 

I couldn’t believe what he was saying. You saw my face. I was like, “What? What are you talking about? Are you okay?” I feel like the audacity was insane. The fact that he basically wanted to leave the door open after what he did to me? I’m like, “You really think that I will go back to you after you betrayed me, you made me vulnerable, you were talking behind my back? You are crazy. You are crazy for that.” But I think that’s who Johnny is. Again, I think a lot of things that he did and said were crazy. But at the end of the day, I wasn’t really surprised because he is who everybody says he is. Even when I met him before [we went on] Love Island Games, I told my friend, “Oh, this guy is really cute.” She was like, “Girl, don’t look that way. He is a player. He’s so bad. He has blindsided every single girl.”

During the duel, Johnny was saying how his stomach hurt, he was so nervous, he felt so bad. Do you think that was because he genuinely realized what position he put you in or because he had a feeling the public would be siding with you?

I think everything Johnny does is very calculated, which was fine. This is Love Island Games, at the end of the day. But my problem is when you do things with bad intentions and when you hurt people along the way. It’s okay if you do things for you, but just think about other people. Just think, “Okay, I’m doing this for me, but I might affect other people.” That was my main problem. He knows that Love Island has a huge fan base. I feel like he knew people weren’t going to like him because of it. I think he already experienced it when he did Love Island Games Season 1. We actually talked about it. I also feel like he didn’t want to seem like the bad guy in front of the other people. I think that more than anything, he was feeling guilty and he was trying to improve his bad boy image. But there’s nothing you can do at this point. We know who he is. 

Looking back, is there anyone else you wish you had explored a partnership with in Love Island Games?

I feel like at the beginning, I was attracted to Mert. I mean, he’s a beautiful man. But I had a lot going on. I had a Tyrique and then Johnny came. I was like, “Okay, what’s happening with Tyrique now?” It was a lot. At some point, I felt like me and Johnny were basically locked in. I wasn’t really thinking, “Oh, my God, who else do I like? Who else do I find attractive?” But I will say the other two guys that were always in my mind [as] second and third options were Mert and Isaiah. 

Your co-star, Lucinda, is on her third round of Love Island. Would you be open to returning to the franchise again if given the opportunity?

It’s so funny because I got asked that by a fan yesterday. Basically, all I’ve done this summer was Love Island. I did Love Island Games right after Love Island, so I feel like for now I just need a little break. But who knows? I feel like if they present the opportunity to come back and it makes sense when that happens, why not? I’m not closing that door. 

Third time could be the charm!

Oh, my God. If I do it a third time and I also leave single, I’m going to be pissed!

I’d love to squeeze in a quick question or two about Love Island USA Season 7, since that was all the talk last summer. As we know, Iris and Pepe broke up right before the reunion aired. What do you think about Iris getting back together with your bombshell brother, TJ?

I love it, love it, love it. When I got my phone back and I saw they were together, I was so, so happy. I actually spoke to her on FaceTime. I can’t wait to go to L.A. and meet up with her and catch up. That’s my girl. I love Iris. She’s such a nice person. TJ, too. I’m really, really happy because I was there in the villa when they were together and I saw the chemistry. To me, they just make sense. So I’m really happy to see that they’re together. 

This was the first reunion that was co-hosted by both Ariana Madix and Andy Cohen. You got to spend the summer watching Ariana do her thing. What was it like getting to watch Andy live in action?

It was good. I love Ariana. I feel like I definitely had the opportunity to talk to her more now that I did Games. She was great because when bad things happened to me, I feel like she always looked at me kind of like, “I’m sorry,” when Johnny betrayed me. She definitely grew on me this season. To be honest, I didn’t know much about Andy before, but he was very respectful and I loved how he handled all the questions and it was just fun watching the reunion after we filmed it, because they made it fun.

There was drama, but you could definitely tell everyone was having fun and happy to be there. You guys sort of became one big family after that experience, I imagine.

Yes. I feel like not even people from the same season. When you leave, you connect with people from other seasons and it’s just a huge Love Island family. So it’s really nice and it’s really cool.I feel like everybody has such a great personality. It’s just amazing seeing people from different places, cities, and countries connect. I feel like that’s what Love Island does, mainly Love Island Games, because everybody’s from different countries. 

Are there any misconceptions about yourself that you want to clear up? 

I feel like there are a lot of things from Season 7, but I’m trying to just turn the page. Now that I did Love Island Games, I’m really happy with the way that I was presented. I think now people know that I’m actually really sweet and I’m such a lover girl. I think that was so clear. I tried my best to find a new connection. I’m really happy with the way I was shown this time. That’s why I came back, because I feel like Season 7 didn’t really show who I was. I honestly haven’t even seen bad comments. The only thing has been that I wasn’t really putting my head in the game. I do agree, but again, I feel like when you do Love Island Games, you can also choose to focus on love, and that’s what I did, so I don’t feel any type of way about it. That’s just how I decided to do my experience. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Love Island Games airs every night (besides Wednesdays) at 9/8c on Peacock.