Nurses Are Back in the ‘Love Island’ Villa — Meet Kenzie, KC and Angelista

Image sources: @kenzieannis, @angiex._

Nursing school is hard. Anyone who has made it through four years of clinical rotations, pharmacology exams, and 12-hour training shifts knows exactly what Kenzie Annis meant when she posted, “Thank you, KSU, for some of the hardest, but best years of my life!” What she did next — fly to Fiji to film Love Island USA Season 8 days later — is either a brilliant victory lap or the most chaotic post-graduation plan we’ve ever heard. Possibly both.

And this summer, nurses aren’t just showing up on one show — they’re on two continents and both genders are represented. Love Island USA Season 8 alone has a brand-new BSN graduate and a nursing assistant in the cast. Across the Atlantic, Love Island UK Season 13 launched June 1 with Angelista Gunda. Three healthcare workers, two villas, one very good summer for the profession. 

And if this feels like a pattern — it is. Last summer, cardiac nurse Amaya Espinal won Love Island USA Season 7 outright. Nurses keep showing up, and they keep thriving. Let’s meet the class of 2026.

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Meet Kenzie Annis, BSN — Love Island USA Season 8

Mackenzie “Kenzie” Annis is 24 years old, from Powder Springs, Georgia, and one of 12 original cast members on Season 8. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Kennesaw State University’s Wellstar School of Nursing in May 2026 — a program that trains students across clinical sites including Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and the Atlanta VA Medical Center. Days after walking across that stage, she was on a plane to Fiji.

On Instagram, she marked the milestone with the kind of energy only a new grad can summon:

Before the show, she worked as a nanny while completing her degree — a combination that tells you a lot: academically driven, caregiving at her core, and perfectly comfortable managing multiple demands at once. She’s also a former competitive dancer who still starts every morning with stretches. As she put it in her cast interview: “I used to be a competitive dancer, so every morning I wake up do my split. It gets rid of so much stress if you just express that groin and lay, you will feel amazing.”

On the subject of love, she’s equally direct. “I really do feel like I’m this big lovergirl inside,” she said ahead of the premiere. “My parents are still in love, and it’s beautiful how their marriage has grown. It’s been 30 years. I want that kind of love.” She’s also been open about wanting a large family someday — reportedly somewhere in the range of 5 to 10 children. For now, though, she’s focused on finding the right partner. One step at a time.

(Spoiler Alert) Episode 1: A Rough Start — But Nurses Know How to Triage

The premiere wasted no time putting Kenzie through it. After the initial coupling ceremony, she was paired with Zach Georgiou — who privately admitted he wasn’t attracted to her. When the first twist of the season arrived, giving islanders the choice between a green dot (stay coupled) or a red dot (go single), Kenzie chose green. Zach chose red.

By the end of the episode, Kenzie was in tears and effectively without a partner before the season had really begun. Two bombshells — Gabriel and Kayda — arrived to shake things up further.

Rough night. But any nurse who has survived a short-staffed shift knows how to keep going when things go sideways. More episodes ahead.

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Meet KC Chandler — Also Love Island USA Season 8

KC Chandler, a 24-year-old nursing assistant from Fresno, California, is one of the six original male cast members on Season 8. He also hosts his own run club, which may be the most wholesome detail in this entire cast bio.

His official cast bio notes that working in healthcare has taught him the value of compassion, patience, and putting others first. He’s also clearly not shy about the professional upside. “Women love men in healthcare,” he said ahead of the premiere, elaborating: “If you’re a man and you have scrubs, your muscles showing a little bit, they are going for that every time.”

Fair point. And refreshingly self-aware.

In Episode 1, KC ended up as one of only two couples to survive the opening twist, staying paired with Aniya — a considerably smoother debut than his fellow healthcare worker Kenzie had down the beach. Whether it holds is another matter entirely.

Meet Angelista Gunda — Love Island UK Season 13

Across the pond, Angelista Gunda is 24, a nurse from Staffordshire, and one of the original islanders in the UK villa this season. She arrived with a clear philosophy: she’s here for a real connection, not for drama.

“Finding love is my goal. I’m not here for drama, I’m non-confrontational. It’s entertaining to watch from the sidelines, I just don’t want to be involved in it!” she told ITV ahead of the launch.

She knows what she wants in a partner too: “A quietly confident man with nice teeth. Someone that is attentive, someone that is a listener and a doer. You can’t just be listening and not doing!”

Nurses spend their careers reading rooms, advocating for patients, and staying calm when everything around them is chaotic. Angelista sounds like she’s bringing exactly that energy into the villa. She’s also made her dealbreaker crystal clear: “Someone who wants to be in everyone’s face all the time, centre of attention all the time, that’s an ick.” She added, for good measure, that she finds it tiresome when men use her job as a pickup line and ask her to “look after them.” Occupational hazard, it seems, extends beyond the hospital floor.

In case anyone needed a reminder: cardiac nurse Amaya Espinal won Love Island USA Season 7 last summer, taking home the $100,000 prize alongside partner Bryan Arenales. She entered as a bombshell on Day 5 and made it to the finale on genuine connection, emotional honesty, and the kind of steady composure you build working in a cardiac unit.

Love Island USA Season 8 streams exclusively on Peacock with new episodes airing Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at 9 p.m. ET, with the season running approximately six weeks. Love Island UK Season 13 is available in the US on Hulu and through the Hulu on Disney+ bundle, with new episodes dropping on a three-day delay from their UK airdate.

🤔 Are you watching Love Island this summer? What do you think about nurses representing the profession on reality TV? Drop your take in the comments.