'Love Island USA' winners Trinity Tatum and Bryce Alakai address future plans, age difference, and "fake" love slams

Love Island USA's Season 8 winners Trinity Tatum and Bryce Alakai have opened up about moving in together, their age gap, and "fake love" rumors.


Trinity and Bryce became friends on Love Island USA, but their connection grew into a romantic one -- and they ended up winning Season 8.

"I didn't expect us to win, genuinely. I thought we were going to be second place and that it would be [Aniya Harvey] and [Carl Schmidt]. I was like, 'Expect disappointment so you don't get disappointed,'" Trinity, 22, told People in a joint interview with Bryce, 30, during their first photo shoot post-filming.

Bryce, 30, noted how it "felt like a dream," and he continued, "The whole thing has just been so surreal, from the way it started out so shaky to it ending with me literally saying I love her. It's crazy."

After leaving Fiji together, Trinity and Bryce admitted they're still asking themselves, "What the hell just happened?!"


"It's a completely different life now," Bryce said.

He elaborated, "I feel really lucky. I'll get 100 positive comments before one negative one, which is crazy for something like this. We'll literally sit in bed crying, re-watching the edits of us holding each other. I'll be in tears the whole night."

Trinity, for her part, had worked at Home Depot in her hometown of Newport News, VA, prior to appearing on the Peacock reality show, and her Instagram  followers increased rapidly from roughly 4,000 to more than 3 million.

"I don't know nothing about this [fame], but I'm very humbled and blessed to experience it," she shared. "I'm definitely not taking it for granted."

For now, Trinity and Bryce -- who said he worked hard as a DJ for every dollar prior to the show -- are living Los Angeles, CA, where they are trying to adjust to their new normal.


And Trinity teased that it's possible she may move to Los Angeles for good.

"It's a very high chance. I don't want to do long distance," she noted.

Bryce, an aspiring actor and model, added, "We're doing what we can to be together."

When thinking back to their time in Fiji, Bryce admitted that Trinity was "the best kisser, hands down" and he "definitely targeted" her early on.

Trinity suggested it was easy to quickly move past the couple's age difference.


"In the nicest way, he doesn't act his age. When I first met him, I thought he was 25," Trinity revealed.

"For me, when I think of a younger girl dating an older guy, I think about manipulation, stuff like that. I got to know him. I got to know his personality and how he's very articulate, and he's very fair.  My mom has always told me, 'Be with somebody who's genuine.'"

Trinity said that even with their age gap, her mother supports her relationship.

"That's my biggest yes," Trinity noted.

And Bryce shared of their age gap, "In the beginning, I told her that the age gap was the only problem I saw between us. I just wanted to make sure she could really enjoy her 20s."


But Bryce said that as he got to know Trinity, his concerns faded.

"Age became such a minimal thing because she is so mature. Even when she's yelling, she's valid," he recalled.

Trinity -- who said she had never dated a white man before her Love Island USA stint -- also gushed about how Bryce is her perfect type, physically.

"I think our biggest fear was, 'If their ideal type comes in, are they going to leave?' Genuinely, I feel like he is my ideal type. He's tall, he's handsome, he's funny," Trinity shared.

"He's got the basics. I was like, 'I can't be with nobody who's ugly. Sorry, y'all. I can't be with anybody who's not attractive and not tall. I need you to be attractive and tall. We can work on the rest.'"


Bryce confirmed that he and Trinity were "always interested in each other," although their dynamic was friendly in the beginning.

"[Friendship] honestly ended up being the reason why we were so good. I felt like the other couples didn't really build that first," Bryce recalled.

"In the 'Boss Bitch Challenge,' she voted for me as 'faking it in their couple.' It pissed me off so bad in the moment. I knew after she did that, she was going to get hot and heavy with me... I was like, 'I'm about to go so hard right now.' She was like, 'Oh yeah, he's not faking it.'"

Bryce said that's when things really "shifted" for the pair.

"We had a conversation that night, and we were straight up with each other," Trinity shared.

"I was like, 'I feel like this is very friendly. I don't like this.' And then after that, he just started to do more."


The couple then slowly discovered that they complement each other personality-wise?

Trinity called Bryce "very chill and calm," and Bryce noted how Trinity is "fiery."

"I feel like we're a really good match in that way. I saw some of the memes saying like, 'Oh, Bryce knows she's going to return that food if he doesn't like it.' She is that kind of personality," Bryce told the magazine.

"She stands up for anybody and anything she believes in. But around me, she's also so calm."

Trinity -- who was typically "very assertive" in relationships -- praised Bryce for making her feel "very calm and mellow" in their relationship.

"He changes my thought process," Trinity shared.


"I literally tell everybody he could convince me the sky is green, and he'll have actual point bullets on why. Whenever we would have heated moments [in the villa], everybody would be talking over each other. But when Bryce would talk, we would get dead silent. That says a lot."

When asked when he knew he wanted Trinity to be his official girlfriend, Bryce said it was when he returned from Casa Amor and she was there.

"I knew I was going to do it at some point that week. Then our date happened. So, when we got on the jet ski, I was like, 'Oh, this is going to be the time to do this.' Because it was so special, so intimate," Bryce explained.

"On the boat ride back, watching her hair flow in the wind, I was like, 'Damn. That's my girl right there.'"

Trinity said it was "the best date" she's ever been on.

And although the couple has been called "fake," they both insisted they "genuinely don't care" about what other people think.


"I mean, 12 guys came into Casa Amor. If I was faking it, I would've left [with one of them]," Trinity quipped, adding how there are "opportunities to get with different people."

Trinity and Bryce, however, simply chose not to.

"I can't fake anything. Honestly, I just say my intrusive thoughts. I'm happy where I'm at," Trinity said.

In addition, Trinity boasted about how her family "just clicked" with Bryce's relatives.

"My mom texts his mom. My mom told me yesterday they're planning a trip together already, we didn't get an invite. It really feels good to have a family who genuinely loves your partner and vice versa," Trinity said.

Bryce explained how he was raised by a single mom and his grandmother for a lot of his childhood, which deepened his connection with Trinity.


"Hearing that Trinity was also raised by a single mother, it was immediately like, 'I know your life.' I feel like that was a good foundation," Bryce shared.

As for how they plan to spend their $100,000 prize, Trinity revealed that it's going "straight" to her student loans.

"If there's some left over, maybe a cute little shopping spree," she noted.

Bryce agreed that he has some bills to pay, but he concluded, "I definitely want to get Trinity some special things. I want to treat my lady."

The couple told People that they intend to take their relationship "step by step" going forward.

"It'd [start with] her coming out here. Then when she gets adjusted and comfortable, eventually moving in together," Bryce explained.


"I definitely want that," Trinity chimed in. "Honestly, I really just want to be where he is."

Bryce and Trinity will be featured on Love Island USA's upcoming reunion special on Monday, August 31 at 9PM ET/PT on Peacock.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski