‘Love Island USA’ Season 5 Winners Hannah & Marco Give Update on Their Relationship
After 37 episodes, viewers chose the winners of Love Island USA Season 5 on Sunday, August 27, on Peacock. Their winning couple was Hannah Wright and Marco Donatelli, who were quick to get together after Hannah entered the villa in Episode 2.
TV Insider connected with Hannah and Marco to see what’s next for the pair, plus how they were cast in the reality dating show in the first place.
How do you feel now that you are the winners of Season 5?
Hannah Wright: Oh my goodness. It feels great coming out the villa with all the support that we’ve had and all the love from fans. We were at Disneyland yesterday, and one thing that we were all saying is the diverse demographic of all the people who watch this show. It’s just so cool. We’ve heard so many good stories about how the show’s been an escape for them and for people who’ve been going through hard things. And I think that’s what’s great about reality TV. We were all very relatable this season, too. So yeah, it’s just been a great whirlwind and coming out [of the villa], it’s just been amazing.
Marco Donatelli: Yeah, I have the agree. Coming out, it was probably the most surreal feeling. I didn’t even know what the show was that I was going on. I kind of just answered a DM and went with it. I had no idea what I was getting into, didn’t know there was prize money, didn’t know how the prize money even worked, didn’t think about winning. I love competing, so when I found out it was a competition, I think bringing the best out of each other throughout that whole process was very important. But when we got into the real world, the demographic was insane.
From a 9-year-old girl watching every night with her mom to husbands watching it — we took an all-boy picture with a couple husbands [in Disneyland] — and then a girl tearing up to see us after having a bad week. Some family issues were going on and she said her escape route was watching Love Island, and she saw us at Disney and just started tearing up. I’m like, wow. It’s so surreal that people look at us like that. So it’s been amazing so far.
Sara Mally/PEACOCK
It sounds like something really nice to be part of, to know that you helped people feel good.
Hannah: Yeah, absolutely. We were just having fun being ourselves.
What I like about Love Island compared to other reality dating shows is that you get to have fun celebrating everybody falling in love. We know that men aren’t always encouraged to show their emotions and really be tender with their friends. Marco, was it a memorable experience to connect with these guys and gas each other up?
Marco: Yeah! I’ve been part of a lot of teams, a lot of winning teams, a lot of programs. But we have a different sort of bond here in the Love Island villa. We saw every aspect of each other. We’re all here to open up our hearts. As men, it’s often not taken into account that we have to open up just as hard as the women. We can be broken just as easily, and sometimes it doesn’t feel like we’re seen like that. For all of us guys to be on the same page — especially in the final when we’re all asking them to be our girlfriends, we’re saying we love them — it was just a beautiful thing. And it wasn’t a domino effect. We all had our own opinion on it. I was ready [to say “I love you” to Hannah] two weeks before, but I was holding it off for the greatest, [most] special moment I could.
Leo was ready as soon as he made that mistake. He knew that he had true love for [Kassy]. Kenzo knew [he loved Carmen] from first sight. We were all over the place on how we found out, but our boys chats [made us] able to bro it down and show how much we care about these girls.
One thing I did tell the boys, and I always told the boys: our first thing in life is to serve women. It’s always our goal to serve them and make them happy. If they want a protein bar late at night, we better get up and go get it. They want the water bottle filled, I told them we better go get it, so I was just being the kind of leader of that group. It was an honor to be able to see all my friends open up and show love in many ways.
Sara Mally/PEACOCK
Hannah, Marco said he was cast on the show by replying to a DM. What was your casting experience?
Hannah: I saw a post from a casting director, so I messaged and I said, “Oh, I’m interested!” And then she sent me the application and then, yeah, that’s how I got cast. [The same woman] that cast me also cast Kassy.
Why do a reality dating show? Whether you found love or not, did you just think you might have a good time?
Marco: Yeah. For me, I have extremely high standards when it comes to women that I want to build a relationship with. I ended up striking out over and over and over again, whether I wasn’t able to open up, I couldn’t find a connection in Florida. My mother was sick for 10 years, but definitely very bad for three years. I was trying to find a girl who was worth being able to meet my mom, and I just couldn’t find it. So I really took care of her for a good two to three years, and then when I got to Florida, I was moving, I just needed to be able to cement my feet, get a house. So I never had time [to date].
What I did have time for was to work on myself. And when I started losing weight, I had a weight loss journey, I just started feeling more confident. And I happened to post some pictures and I got a DM [from one] and I’m like, you know what? I have no luck here. Why not try this? I didn’t even know what it was. I didn’t know if it was a televised event. I mean, honestly, I didn’t even Google it, so I really had no idea. But man, I’m so happy I did it.
That’s a great outcome for replying to a DM.
Marco: The best you could ever have.
Hannah, what was the appeal for you?
Hannah: I wasn’t working during summer, so I was like, what better way to focus on dating than to be secluded and dating? I was the type of person [who would] do dating apps. I’d go on dates here and there, but if I had one little thing that I didn’t like, I would just ghost the person, never talk to them again. So I was like, OK, this will be a situation where I’m forced to work through issues and find a connection. We’re with each other all day. We really get to know each other. And I feel like that’s what I needed. It was just a plus that I found a true, genuine connection.
I feel like we’re just so similar and we have different backgrounds, but we have similar morals. It’s just so crazy. I feel like we wouldn’t have met [in the real world], honestly. I definitely would’ve saw him and been attracted to him, but he’s in Florida, I’m in Palm Springs. Who knows if our path would’ve crossed?
Marco: It’s crazy. That’s kind of the question that Sarah [Hyland] asked at a bonfire. We happened to not get [asked that question]. If I saw Hannah in public, would I go up to her? She wouldn’t be able to get another breath out before I got up to her. I would’ve blitzed her full storm.
Hannah: He was saying that blitz!
Marco: [She’s] my type on paper. The smile, the hair, the tan skin, just so gorgeous. And I could just tell she was kindhearted and everything.
Sara Mally/Peacock
It sounds like you both were looking for some adventure, and you got it. So what’s your relationship status now? And what are your plans for the future and the prize money?
Hannah: So relationship status: things are going great. It’s so nice having a boyfriend, just saying that he’s my boyfriend now [feels good]. Plans for the future: potentially moving to Florida. I’m very open to do that. I talked about that. We’re going to go this Friday to Boca [Raton], so I’m excited to see where he lives, see his life there.
What to do with the prize money? We have a lot of plans for that. Definitely want to give back to the students in my area in Desert Hot Springs. That’s where I work; I’m from Palm Springs. But yeah, a lot of my students, they have hard lives, so I definitely want to donate to them.
Marco: Yeah, she kind of touched base on a lot of it. Having her move out to Florida would be amazing. Building our relationship together, her supporting me through finishing school. It was a promise that I always made my mom. I’m able to provide for myself outside of schooling and a degree, but it’s very important for me to get this [degree] in pre-physical therapy and on the chiropractic route. I know she’ll help me get there. She’ll push me, and I need push in that aspect. I really do. [Filming Love Island] has made it harder to keep going in the scholastic route, so I definitely plan to finish college this year with her help, have her come see me as much as possible.
With the prize money, I come from a very, very, very, poor city. So I’m going to be able to give back to the football team that developed me into the man that I am today. I donate every year, but I’m definitely going to donate a scholarship lump sum of money, probably try to fix the scoreboard, a couple of light bulbs around the scoreboard. And then we’re going to invest in some Roth IRA accounts together. We’re going to try to set aside some money for our future. My uncle’s very good at that type of stuff, so we’re going to have a couple of business calls here once things settled down in a couple months to get our financial situation understood.
Love Island USA, Season 5 Streaming Now, Peacock
