“Love Island USA” Stars Olandria Carthen & Nic Vansteenberghe Call It Quits After 1 Year

“Love Island USA” Stars Olandria Carthen & Nic Vansteenberghe Call It Quits After 1 Year

Sad news for #Nicolandria fans.

#Olandria Carthen and Nic Vansteenberghe have called it quits, a source tells PEOPLE, just over a year after the two left the #LoveIslandUSA season 7 villa together. The source says busy schedules and distance made it hard to stay connected, but the pair “remain close friends” who “share a deep love and respect for each other.”

Their romance began during a #CasaAmor twist — Olandria, 28, initially held back out of respect for islander Cierra Ortega, who’d been paired with Nic, 25, but pursued the connection once Cierra was booted out of the villa for using a racial slur outside of the show. After their season wrapped, Olandria and Nic pulled back from sharing much of their relationship online, telling Glamour in December that the constant scrutiny left them mentally drained and struggling to find a balance between their public and private lives.