A Denver guy got dumped from ‘Love Island USA,’ came back, and almost won the whole thing
Jul 16, 2026, 4:43 PM
In a state that’s produced Super Bowl champions, ‘South Park,’ and Chipotle, Colorado can now add another claim to fame: We almost won “Love Island USA.”
Carl Schmidt, a 28-year-old fitness instructor and therapist aide from Denver, finished as the season 8 runner-up alongside partner Aniya Harvey on the Peacock reality dating show, which wrapped its finale this past weekend. The season was hosted by Ariana Madix and streamed to millions — and Schmidt’s underdog journey from Casa Amor bombshell to second-place finisher was one of the wildest rides of the season.
Here’s where it gets very Carl. Schmidt entered the villa in episode 18 as a Casa Amor bombshell — meaning he wasn’t even on the show for the first three weeks. He connected with Aniya during Casa, but she stayed loyal to her original partner, KC, and Carl was sent home in episode 21. Most contestants would’ve gone back to Denver, hit the gym and moved on. Carl came back. He returned to the villa in episode 23 and this time won Aniya over for good. Their fairy-tale finale date helped them earn second place behind winners Bryce Dettloff and Trinity Tatum, who split the $100,000 grand prize.
The reunion special, co-hosted by Andy Cohen, is scheduled to air Aug. 31 on Peacock. Whether Carl and Aniya make it in the real world remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure — Denver hasn’t had a reality TV run this entertaining since the city’s own “Real World” season back in 2006. And that one didn’t have a fairy-tale date on the ocean.
