Chelley Bissainthe and Ace Greene may not have made it all the way to the Love Island USA Season 7 finale, but they left the show with the real prize: a loving relationship. Right before the couple was voted off ahead of the finale, they made their intentions for one another known, promising that they would not see other people in the real world. And after largely avoiding the spotlight for the several weeks since leaving Fiji, Ace and Chelley finally revealed where their relationship has gone in the real world.
While Chelley did make some podcast appearances ahead of the Season 7 reunion on Aug. 25, Ace chose to keep his cards close to his chest until the Peacock special. So, fans were eagerly waiting for the L.A.-based dancer to open up about how his connection with Chelley had progressed since the villa. During the reunion, the couple said that they have not become boyfriend and girlfriend just yet.
“We’re still exclusive,” Chelley said. “He’s big on romantic gestures, and I love stuff like that. So just waiting for the perfect moment to be official.”
Ace confirmed that he’s planning on taking that step — making her his first “and last” girlfriend. “I got something cooking up my sleeve,” Ace explained, adding that he is “in love” with Chelley.
Upon leaving Love Island, Ace and Chelley had agreed to become exclusive, with Ace telling Variety that he was explicit about that word choice. “I hated the term ‘closed off’ — they get closed off in the villa, go outside, and now they’re free to roam. I’m very intentional,” Ace said in his exit interview. “‘Exclusive’ means exclusive to only each other. That’s not just in the villa. That’s in the outside world too. And I’m excited to translate that over.”
In the time between the show and reunion, fans noticed that Chelley’s lock screen on her phone was a romantic pic of Ace, further confirming just how much the couple had fallen for one another outside the villa.
Shortly before the reunion, Chelley clarified that she and Ace had not yet reached boyfriend/girlfriend status. “I’m not fully in a relationship yet because I’m like, ‘Look [Ace], you told me you want to be exclusive, I said, Yes. But until you ask, Will you be my girlfriend? I am not your girlfriend, okay?’” Chelley told Teen Vogue on Aug. 21. “And if anyone knows anything about Ace, he’s going to do it in the most romantic, grandest gesture ever. So I’m excited for that because he knows I’m extra too.”
While they didn’t win the show’s grand prize, it’s clear Ace and Chelley feel like winners nonetheless.
