“Love Island USA” Season 7 contestant Huda Mustafa achieved a franchise first after choosing to end her connection with Chris Seeley in the finale.
Moments before finding out who America had voted for as their favorite couple — Amaya Espinal and Bryan Arenales — Mustafa and Seely attended a candlelit dinner as their final date. In what was supposed to be a conversation to resolve their ongoing issues, it turned into the most unconventional breakup of the season.
Huda was a part of the original group of contestants who entered the villa at the start of the show. From day one, she was drawn to her fellow islander, Jeremiah Brown, as they formed an instant connection during their first interaction. Fans quickly became fascinated by their passionate relationship, but it soon turned toxic. Then, Hurricane Huda appeared.
After America voted to pair Brown with the new bombshell, Iris Kendall, Mustafa erupted into a tantrum that involved crying, screaming across the villa and calling Brown derogatory names. Her behavior prompted many viewers to call for her removal from the show. Despite being at risk of being dumped from the island twice, her fellow islanders saved her. She ultimately recoupled with Seeley and finished the show in third place.
Mustafa’s time on “Love Island USA” led to several of the most-talked about moments. From revealing she was a single mother to the viral “mamacita” exchange with Nicolas Vansteenberghe and creating tension among the women with her recoupling and game decisions, she had many of the most-talked-about moments of the season. Her exchange with Nic when she surprised him by telling him she’s a mother has been memed by IHOP, Justin Bieber and Taylor Frankie Paul from “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”
You made “Love Island USA” history by breaking up with Chris moments before the finale ended. From the viewer’s perspective, it seemed like he wanted you to end things. What’s your perspective on how your dinner played out?
He would always make things my decision. Even before that, everything was like, “You pick. Whatever you want to do. You decide.” At first, I thought it was great. He’s letting me pick, and it was for small things at first. Then it was this decision. I’m like, “Are you trying to make yourself look better? Are you trying to play victim here? I don’t think you’re fully a victim.” I don’t like that he made himself look like a victim in that moment. However, many factors influenced my decision that weren’t captured on camera.
What were those factors, and what wasn’t shown on camera?
Several factors contributed to that. It wasn’t just cuddling. I like a man who gives meaningful compliments. I tell him how I like to be complimented multiple times. He goes, “Sheesh.” “Damn.” That’s not OK. There were times, especially off camera, he would make comments about women that you don’t want to hear from a man you’re in a couple with. He also had a wandering eye. There are things that I would ask him multiple times, like, “Do you mind complimenting this way? Do you mind doing this?” He wouldn’t do them. I would walk into a room, and he wouldn’t even look up at me. Who wants a man not to acknowledge them, but he’s looking at every other woman and focusing on everyone but his partner? That doesn’t feel good. All those factors played into my decision at the end because we weren’t a good match. There are still good things about Chris. But those are all things that are non-negotiable for me.
The night before the finale, viewers saw your disagreement with Chris and the countdown moment on the night cam. What has been your reaction to the responses about that moment?
We went through every possible option until I got to that point. I was like, “You want to ignore me like a child. I’m going to speak to you like one. Dude, you keep telling me you want me to do more things and be cuddly, but you’re not even doing that.” I had that conversation with him about cuddling. At the beginning of our couple, he would always cuddle me. Then he slowly stopped doing that. He was switching up on me, and I didn’t like it. Anyone would get triggered by that. You’re a “man” and you can’t have a conversation about it. I don’t care how tired you are. I’m upset. You smacked me in the face with a pillow. I had a nose job three or four months ago. I’m in fucking pain. You say, “Sorry.” Cuddle your pillow and roll your eyes at me. Like damn. Anyone would be upset. I resorted to that. Was it probably the most mature thing to do? No. I could have done it differently. I tried the possible mature option, and it wasn’t working.
Telling Jeremiah that you were a mom was another big moment. After sharing that, did you feel that the information changed the dynamic between the two of you?
I do. I noticed the shift. I’m very attuned to people and how they react to things. Whenever they act differently, it triggers me because I am highly attuned and empathetic. Did I want to believe his shift? No. But I would try to let him know that he didn’t have to stay with me because I had already ruined my options by being so closed off in the beginning. It sucks it didn’t work out, but I was trying everything to make it work. Even though he kept saying it was not a problem and it’s more attractive, his actions showed otherwise.
Your reveal to Nic that you’re a mom — “I’m a mommy”/”Mamacita” — is still going viral. How does it feel to have that moment become the sound of the summer?
It’s so funny to me, because I would never in my million years think that that would be a sound. It was a normal conversation between me and Nic. That’s how we talk. It was us being us. It’s hilarious that it’s everywhere. Every time I scroll, I hear about it. There are remixes made about it. It’s iconic.
Your relationship with Jeremiah quickly turned toxic. When do you think things started to go downhill between the two of you?
When I became intimate with him and told him I was a mother.
What were your expectations of him when it came to challenges and exploring other people, since you two were so close?
We might have been a little possessive. We both were locked in and telling each other, “I don’t want anyone else. I only want to focus on you, but I’m willing to talk to other people. But, I only want you.” We had a thing where we would look at each other in challenges to behave. It wasn’t just me wanting him to behave in challenges. He would expect things from me as well. It was a mutual thing where we both felt the same about it.
Have you reached out to him since leaving the villa?
Nope.
Do you plan on reaching out to him?
Nope. I saw many interviews where people would rudely talk about me, and he would smirk or laugh. That’s highly disrespectful. I would never want someone like that in my circle.
You and the other women emphasized the importance of sisterhood throughout this experience. Did you find that difficult to uphold when it came to exploring male connections?
I was trying to navigate the sisterhood thing while doing challenges. Everyone’s telling me “it’s just a challenge.” People are kissing other people outside of challenges, and everyone’s OK with it. I’m doing challenges, and they’re giving me side-eye looks and making faces at me. I felt like I was bullied in there 1000%. I felt like I was bullied in the villa. I’d mentioned this so many times, and we never talked about it. Now out of the villa, I wasn’t crazy. I was right about being bullied. I navigated that whole sisterhood thing as best I could regarding people giving permission in challenges. Before the Heart Rate challenge, everyone had given their consent. We made that clear at the very beginning. We had full consent to do whatever we wanted. It didn’t matter if it’s a bombshell or your friend. You’re telling someone, “Hey, you should be OK with this being done to your man.” In the Heart Rate challenge, I’m cheering while they’re kissing Chris. That’s just how I am. I know it’s just a challenge, and I had that switch in my brain. I relaxed a lot in challenges and wasn’t freaking the fuck out about things anymore. I changed towards the end of the season. I knew in my brain that these were my friends. I knew that there were no feelings outside of these challenges. So, I wasn’t tripping and was expecting the same from them. They would always tell me, “There’s no feelings between me and Jeremiah.” People would say that to me, so I expected the same.
You said you felt bullied in the villa. Who did you feel you were bullied by?
I feel like a lot of people played a part in bullying me. But, there was a lot of forgiveness that did happen. I’m the type of person who gives second chances. I had certain faults with the women. We had faults with one another. But I choose to forgive or be cordial. Many people should respect my decision. No one deserves hate, especially if I’m not giving it to them. A lot of people bullied me at some point. It is what it is. I talked shit. Everybody fucks up. As long as you learn from your mistakes, that’s what matters.
You have a passionate fan base, but some comments online, especially toward Olandria and Chelley, have crossed the line into negativity and even racist microaggressions. Have you considered how you might address this or encourage your supporters to be more respectful?
I already have a plan of exactly what I’m going to do. I 100% plan on addressing it. As soon as I got out of the villa and saw it, I already knew to address this because no one deserves any type of hate or bullying. I do not condone that at all. I was bullied growing up. People’s safety is at risk. That’s too extreme. I truly love the support and that people care about me so much. At the same time, there’s a line that was crossed. I’ve been catching up over the past few days and processing everything that has happened. I’m making sure everything is OK in my family life and taking it all in because it’s a lot and overwhelming, but in a good way.
The reunion is coming up. Is there any situation or person that you’re looking forward to addressing at the reunion?
I’m preparing to get the bash of a lifetime. I don’t give a fuck though. Honestly, I’m like, “Say what you want, your feelings are valid.” Depending on who’s there, I’m open to hearing people out and seeing what they’re going to say. Every person in there deserves to be addressed in some type of way, shape or form. I don’t think anybody is perfect. I haven’t processed everything enough to know exactly what I’m addressing. I haven’t watched or looked at enough information. However, I plan on saying something at the reunion.
This interview has been edited and condensed.