Love Island USA Season 7 featured fan-favorite reality star Paige DeSorbo, but she mysteriously left the show early. The newest season of CBS's beloved reality series, yet again, follows a group of contestants who are forced to couple up for a cash prize. However, like past seasons, various guest stars have appeared throughout the season, including former Summer House stable Paige DeSorbo.
Based on the British reality series of the same name, Love Island began its seventh season on CBS and Peacock on June 3, introducing audiences to a new cast of singles competing for a $100,000 cash prize. Each week, cast members are put through various challenges, both as a couple with another player or alone, with those not in a couple at the end of each week voted off the island.
What Happened to Paige on Love Island
Fans were giddy to see Summer House alum Paige DeSorbo pop up on Love Island USA Season 7, Episode 12 (which aired on Sunday, June 15). However, their excitement just as quickly turned to disappointment as the fan-favorite reality star disappeared mere moments after getting introduced.
DeSorbo, who has been outspoken about her passion for the Love Island franchise in recent years, appeared on the series as a guest host, helping facilitate what was known as the "Got Wood?" challenge (a lumberjack-themed series of coquettish physical challenges).
Introducing herself to the Love Island audience, DeSorbo explained, "I'm Paige DeSorbo from Bravo's Summer House, and I am so excited to be here" (as transcribed by Soap Central):
"I'm Paige DeSorbo from Bravo's 'Summer House,' and I am so excited to be here. I'm a huge Love Island fan and you guys have been killing it all summer. You all look amazing. You're definitely the sexiest lumberjacks I've ever seen. Not that I've seen a lot, but. Are you guys excited?"
After this brief introduction, DeSorbo mysteriously disappeared from the show with no explanation. The only reference to her absence comes around the 35-minute mark in the episode, as narrator Ian Stirling states, "Paige has stepped aside, so I'll take over from here."
Stirling then picked up with announcing contestants' names, adding to the bizarre nature of DeSorbo's absence. It looked as though she only had a couple more minutes of footage to film had she stayed and seen the event through.
Why Did Paige DeSorbo Leave Love Island Early?
The episode itself did not provide an explanation for Paige DeSorbo leaving Love Island USA, and the network (or DeSorbo herself) has not commented on the situation either.
Fans have been ravenous for information, though, flooding comment sections on DeSorbo's various social channels to ask what exactly happened.
Despite no word from the former Summer House star, some have started to speculate what could have led to her disappearing from the series shortly after being introduced.
The most popular theory suggests that DeSorbo's departure could have been related to what she wore on the Love Island set.
The Love Island guest host appeared in the series in a thick turtleneck dress, leading some to believe she may have overheated. Seeing as the show is primarily filmed in sun-soaked Fiji, heat exhaustion/overheating is a constant threat to its cast and crew.
Another hypothesis, stemming from a viral TikTok comment on the subject, is that some of the challenge had to be reshot, as contestant Hannah was reportedly hurt during the event:
"I read on TikTok that Hannah got hurt on the log so they had to reshoot parts of that challenge."
This could mean DeSorbo may not have been available for the rest of the reshot sequence, but that specific note remains mere speculation as of this writing.
