Moments into Courtney Boerner’s “Love Island USA” journey, she told the other women in the villa that she was bisexual — a revelation met with ardent support.
“Oh my God, I had so much fun in there!” she tells Page Six in an exclusive interview, reflecting on her experience stepping into a traditionally heteronormative space as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.
“I got to kiss so many sexy women, so I was having a lot of fun — as well as hot guys, obviously,” she continues.
“I don’t know if girls usually kiss that much on ‘Love Island,’ but there was definitely a lot of kisses between the other women cast members and I. It was so fun. I loved it!”
The Los Angeles-based stylist is the second openly bisexual woman to star on “Love Island USA” after Season 1 castoff Kyra Green, who appeared on the reality series before it moved from CBS to Peacock.
Boerner tells Page Six that she hopes more bisexual contestants are considered for future casts.
“Incorporating more bi contestants would be really interesting,” she says. “I think that would be cool because I would have loved to have more women who were openly part of the community in there.”
The brunette beauty often dreamt about “sexy bisexual girls” infiltrating the villa to tempt her away from the men she chose to pursue.
“It was so fun, honestly, even to talk about those scenarios with the girls. So, hopefully the producers are thinking about it too,” she says.
“I feel like we would have had a lot of fun. Honestly, all my ex-girlfriends, our connections have been some of the deepest connections I’ve ever had in my life. That would have been an amazing takeaway from the show.”
Regardless, Boerner is proud to be a conduit for queer representation on “Love Island USA.”
She is aware that her seemingly shatterproof self-confidence — and noted commitment to prioritizing her self-worth in romantic partnerships — could help viewers struggling to embrace their authentic selves.
“The reason that I was able to move the way I did through the villa and did what was best for me is because I stayed true to myself,” she says, acknowledging her vocalized affections for crush-turned-BFF Zeta Morrison.
“And even with Zeta, I told her that if she was comfortable coupling up with me, I would be down to,” Boerner elaborates. “I was just very open from start to finish about my intentions and just who I was.”
The brunette beauty also points out that she “didn’t settle for the first guy” she formed a connection with.
“I just knew my worth the whole time and I knew what I was looking for,” she asserts. “So I would just say staying true to myself was just the best thing I could have done in there.”
Boerner explored relationships with Felipe Gomes, Bryce Fins and Chad Robinson before departing “Love Island USA” Friday night.
Though she didn’t find everlasting love with any of her suitors, she was grateful that the trio — namely, Fins — championed her sexual identity.
“I was open with all the boys in the villa about my sexuality. And Bryce even actually asked me, like, ‘Everyone else here besides you, we all have like seven or eight options but you have, like, 14?’” she recalls.
“And I was like, ‘Yeah, we’re having a good time over here!’”
Boerner says that several of her ex-girlfriends tuned in to the show — and were delighted to see her thrive onscreen.
“They loved it! They were supporting me the whole way,” she enthuses. “My first ex-girlfriend ever, her moms are lesbians and they were all watching me.”
Boerner says one of her ex’s parents picked up on her chemistry with Morrison.
“Her birth mom is from London, and she was like, ‘I’m not surprised that you were best friends with the Brit.’ I was like, ‘I didn’t want to be just best friends with the Brit, but that’s what’s happening!’” she shares with a laugh. “I wanted to be more than that, but I love [my] friendship [with Morrison] also.”
Boerner says she can’t wait to reunite with Morrison outside of the villa as they both live in LA.
The British model is currently coupled up with Timmy Panddolfi, a fan-favorite duo projected to win the title of “America’s Favorite Couple” and its accompanying $100,000 prize.
“We just have a really deep soul connection. I remember when I was leaving, she was like, ‘I can’t even look at you right now.’ Because we wanted to end the show together,” Boerner says of Morrison.
“She was like, ‘But I’m so excited to spend the rest of my life with you.’ And I started bawling.”
“Love Island USA” — hosted by Sarah Hyland — is available to stream on Peacock. New episodes drop Tuesday through Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.