Cierra Ortega: The 'Cool Girl' or The 'Escape goat' for Nicolandria to Thrive?
Did Cierra's "Cool Girl" facade contribute to her eventual downfall, or was her exit a necessity to let the "Nicolandria" storyline blossom?
Cierra Ortega had a problem.
The 25-year-old influencer from Arizona, a devoted fan who even had a Love Island-themed birthday, clearly harbored dreams of reality TV stardom. Her wish seemingly came true: she landed on Love Island USA, her follower count skyrocketed from 32k to 900k in just five weeks, and she was quickly dubbed the "LA Cool Girl". She was captivated by fans due to her style and demeanor.
But as Amy Dunne famously quipped in Gone Girl, "Cool Girls are above all hot. Hot and understanding. Cool Girls never get angry; they only smile in a chagrined, loving manner and let their men do whatever they want." This quote perfectly encapsulates Cierra's approach in the villa – an unwavering calm, a desire to keep things "cool," even when it came at a personal cost.
Beyond her romantic pursuit, Cierra also found something unexpected on the island: friends. She bonded with Chelley, Olandria, Huda, Iris, Amaya, and Andreina – essentially, any woman not vying for Nic's attention. Her closest allies, however, were notably Chelley, Huda, Iris, and Olandria.
Her friendship with Olandria became particularly complex, intertwined with her connection to Nic.
Nicolandria has been a thing since episode one when Nic secretly kissed Olandria during the blindfold challenge, where nic never revelaed he liked Olandria or kissed her. He just kept it to himself (& Ariana Madix, the LI USA S7 Host). The Cierra came in and he got tied up in that connection, which left Belle-A getting sent home and Cierra and Nic solidfying their connection but not closing things off.
When Olandria was eliminated during Casa Amor, Cierra was visibly upset. Her tears flowed again when Nic was seemingly "sent home" during the Casa Amor return. Her joy was palpable when Ariana surprised her with Nic and Olandria, returning hand-in-hand. Cierra wasted no time getting back with Nic, seemingly ghosting Elan from Casa Amor, while Olandria hoped to rekindle things with Taylor, despite his swift move to Clarke.
Cierra offered support and advice to Olandria when she needed it most. Yet, a jarring moment arrived during an elimination when Cierra chose to stand with Nic, who was saving Taylor – the very man who had strung Olandria along for weeks. Olandria's unease was clear, leading many to question if she should feel that way.
The layers of complexity deepened when both Olandria and Nic confessed their "Soul Ties" kiss to Cierra.
She initially claimed to be fine with it. But a cutting remark from Iris – "You’ve been inside me, you freak," referring to Cierra and Nic's intimacy before and after the kiss – seemed to pierce Cierra’s "Cool Girl" facade, making her second-guess not just Nic, but also her friendship with Olandria.
The subsequent conversation in the beauty room, where Cierra explained to Olandria that she "saved Taylor because Nic would be so sad about Taylor going home," felt like a moment suspended in disbelief. One of your close friends in the villa kissed your connection, and to keep that connection happy, you save the friend of your connection, who just happens to be the same man that wasted your "friend's" time on the island. On Love Island, where "there are no friends except the ones you make along the way," Cierra’s choices certainly raised eyebrows.
As the final week approached, Cierra seemed to believe she was sailing smoothly towards victory. She had her connection, believed America adored her and Nic and through it all, believed she had maintained her cool, calm, and collected persona throughout.
However, Cierra had a problem – a colossal one. The internet and its audience are a fickle beast; one day they love you, the next they seek to expose you. And that’s precisely what happened when two screenshots surfaced: one, a story from circa 2020, and another, a photo from her Instagram page dating back ten years, both showing Cierra using an Asian slur.
Once these screenshots went viral, Ortega started losing followers, her own friends even stopped stepped in to announce their with ortegas use of the word.
Meanwhile, Love Island producers scrambled. By Sunday, July 6th, in the first 15 minutes of episode 30, Cierra Ortega was gone, leaving Nic officially single.
But Nic was notably not left vulnerable. In a swift turn of events, Olandria reappeared, and "Nicolandria" was resurrected, much to the delight of the audience. The atmosphere among the islanders also seemed to shift post-Ortega’s departure, with a noticeable uplift in mood for the remainder of the episode, though whether this was directly related to her exit remains to be seen.
One can’t help but wonder about the timing of these revelations. Whoever possessed those stories had held onto them for potentially years, only to release them into the digital ether at a critical juncture.
I have two prevailing theories regarding Cierra Ortega and the curious case of "Nicolandria":
The Delayed Release: Regardless of when the story or photo was initially posted, someone had been sitting on this information. Their motivation could have been simply to harm Cierra's reputation or image, waiting for her moment in the spotlight.
The 'Nicolandria' Fandom's Influence: It's plausible that "Nicolandria" stans, desperate to see their preferred pairing, conducted deep dives into Cierra’s social media. Upon finding the screenshots, they may have hounded the Love Island USA production team, mirroring the pressure seen in previous seasons (e.g., with Yulissa). Their motive wasn't solely about condemning racism, but also, crucially, to "complete the story" – the story of Nicolandria.
These are theories, so please take them with a grain of salt.
Regardless, Asian Hate/Any racial hate is never okay. In this day and age, we cannot forget that.
Let’s also remember that Cierra is a person to with a family and support system that loves her. She does not need any extra hate in her comments from people OR any death threats.
The final week Love Island continues tonight at 9pm EST on peacock
(8:36pm EST, ikyk)
Damn. I feel out of the loop since I don't watch Love Island but this was a really great piece. Thank you for highlighting this because I honestly feel ignorant for not knowing that it is considered a racial slur.
I'm literally shocked by how many ppl are saying they never knew that word was a slur?