How Love Island USA's Leo became public enemy number one
Most of the women in the villa continue to put him on blast with viewers piling on.
Leonardo Dionicio’s journey on Love Island USA season 5 hasn't been a smooth one. He's one of the youngest islanders in the villa and his castmates have often called into question his maturity in the way he deals with women in the game.
Prior to the infamous Casa Amor stage of the reality show, Leo first coupled up with Kassy. However, once Anna expressed his interest in him, he quickly turned his attention to her and recoupled with her, which left Kassy slightly bothered. Since it was early on in the season, Leo's decision didn't incite much outrage.
Then Leo and Kassy found that their connection with each other was stronger than his connection with Anna and the former couple decided to continue on in their romance. Considering Leo and Kassy had conversations about possibly recoupling within earshot of Anna, the situation didn't go over well. Anna felt disrespected and was further annoyed knowing Leo and Kassy were smooching around the island.
When Anna finally had enough of the Love Island experience and exited the show, she left Leo and Kassy to fully explore their connection and it was smooth sailing for the pair. To fans, they looked like a strong couple that could find their way into the finals. The two even professed they were falling for each other. But then came Casa Amor.
Once Kassy and the rest of the women went to the Casa Amor Villa, Leo and the guys were left behind in the main villa with a new crop of women islanders. Despite Leo's strong feelings for Kassy, it appeared Leo followed the mantra "out of sight out of mind," as he explored an attraction to new islander Johnnie. He not only initiated their first kiss but also invited her to his bed. To be fair, Kassy kissed Matia and shared a bed with him in the Casa Amor Villa.
However, what Kassy didn't do is have sex with Matia. While she stopped herself out of what she described as respect of her connection with Leo, he was in the main villa and had sex with Johnnie. That decision has completely rocked the show to its core.
Once the original women islanders reunited with the rest of the Love Island USA season 5 cast in the main villa, it didn't take long for Leo's not-so-hidden secret to come out. He had recoupled with Johnnie and Kassy recoupled with Matia, but Kassy was nonetheless enraged to find out what Leo did, calling him a number of expletives that were once reserved for premium cable. Here's a censored clip of some of the confrontation.
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The villa would only get more chaotic as the other women rallied behind a heartbroken Kassy and took Leo to task. No one has been more vocal about their recent disdain for Leo than Carmen. She even took it upon herself to confront Leo, claiming he didn't seem to be "a prize worth winning" and imploring him for the future never to treat women like he did Kassy and even Johnnie.
Then Leo felt the wrath of Destiny when he butted into a conversation she was having with Mike that had nothing to do with Leo. Destiny was attempting to gain clarity on some of Mike's Casa Amor actions when Leo asserted it really wasn't Destiny's business. That prompted Destinty to rip into him about being the last person to have an opinion about someone else's business given his current predicament. She followed that up by claiming no one cared to hear from him further (FYI, Kassy looked on smirking).
Up next in the women's pile-on were Kassy and Johnnie, who teamed up to get straight answers from Leo about his feelings. Unfortunately for him, the more he stammered and danced around their questions, the more upset they became, along with the entire villa. Leo may find himself in the frying pan for the foreseeable future in his Love Island journey.
Love Island USA fans share their thoughts on Leo
Love Islands USA viewers also have plenty to say about Leo these days, and while there are a few sympathetic voices, most people are squarely on team Kassy, Carmen, Destiny and the rest of the women. Check out a few tweets that we found.
“You don’t really seem like a prize worth winning & I feel bad for whatever girl ends up with you because I pray you don’t do this to them again” Carmen just dragged Leo to filth with such grace. #LoveIslandUSA pic.twitter.com/LNO1kn6DbZAugust 16, 2023
I generally like Leo… but also get ‘em Destiny!! #LoveIslandUSA pic.twitter.com/4A1EtsXZDUAugust 15, 2023
leo was telling johnnie his connection w her was way better than his w kassy but when he was talking to kassy he said “deep down she’s not you”???? this man need to be studied bc wtf #loveislandusa pic.twitter.com/d1vEv8OOC2August 16, 2023
Kassy AND Johnnie tag teaming Leo is just music to my ears #LoveIslandUSApic.twitter.com/MSe4TGFqodAugust 16, 2023
does carmen think she’s the spokesperson of the villa? what do you need to talk to leo for #LoveIslandUSA pic.twitter.com/Y13wC6QPMcAugust 16, 2023
“leo you are the wrong person to give advice” “leo no one listening to you” no but destiny is gonna kill me fr #LoveIslandUSA pic.twitter.com/lMTByu689xAugust 16, 2023
DESTINY ATE LEO AND MIKE RIGHT UP #LoveIslandUSA pic.twitter.com/loOLKFWCEdAugust 16, 2023
“leo you are the wrong person to give advice” “leo no one is listening to you” DESTINY CLEAREDD #loveislandusa pic.twitter.com/EaiyBMrCxAAugust 16, 2023
Love Island USA season 5 continues to air new episodes on Peacock.
Terrell Smith has a diverse writing background having penned material for a wide array of clients including the federal government and Bravo television personalities. When he’s not writing as Terrell, he’s writing under his pseudonym Tavion Scott, creating scripts for his audio drama podcasts. Terrell is a huge fan of great storytelling when it comes to television and film. Some of his favorite shows include The Crown, WandaVision, Abbot Elementary and Godfather of Harlem. And a fun fact is he's completely dialed into the TLC 90 Day Fiancé universe.