For the first time in “Love Island” history, Florida Atlantic University alumna Antonia ‘Toni’ Laites has officially been crowned the first American winner on the United Kingdom show. 

On Aug. 4, Laites won this season of Love Island UK alongside her partner Cacherel Mercer. This win follows that of another FAU alumnus, Nicolas Vansteenberghe, who was runner-up on “Love Island USA” Season 7 on July 13. 

Laites, one of the five known FAU alumni who’ve competed on Love Island, navigated love triangles and villa drama before swooping up 35% of the votes with her couple partner, Mercer. They beat second-place contestants Shakira Khan and Harry Cooksley, as well as third-place contestants Yasmin Pettet and Jamie Rhodes. 

According to Hulu, Love Island follows glamorous singles who live in a beautiful villa in Mallorca, Spain, under the watchful gaze of the audience at home. The audience has the power to decide who stays and who goes.

The singles search for love and compete for a £50,000 ($64,000) prize.

According to an article by Connecticut Insider, Laites, who told the viewers that she was “tired of American boys,” and hoped to find love internationally, landed a spot on Love Island UK. Before the show, Laites worked as a model and server at Fontainebleau Las Vegas after earning her bachelor’s degree in public management from FAU in 2021.

Laites entered the villa as a “bombshell,” a contestant brought in to shake up existing relationships. In the first episode of the season, Laites drummed up trouble as she stole Ben Holbrough from her soon-to-be friend Khan, before later deciding to couple up with Conor Phillips.

On day eight of the show, Toni decided to go on a date with Harrison Solomon, marking the start of her love triangle with Solomon and Lauren Wood. Laites continued to bounce between Solomon and Mercer, breaking off and coupling up with both at various times until Solomon ended the triangle by leaving the villa with Wood. 

This left Laites single and free to fully explore her connection with Mercer.

In Episode 46, she officially decided to repair her relationship and couple up with Mercer. Laites and Mercer’s journey ended on a high note after Laites came second in the vote for the “Favourite Girl” title in the public vote towards the end of the season. The couple had their final date in the villa and then, just a week later, were crowned winners of Love Island UK’s 12th season.

In an article by Heart Radio, Laites shared her plans after the win. She entertained the idea of staying in the U.K., as everything she knows is located there. 

“I don’t think I’ll be spending much time in America anymore. Cach is here. I have a lot of opportunities coming up. My friends are here. So I see no reason to be in America anymore,” Laites said.

Kaii Thompson is the Culture Reporter for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email kaiiliburdthompson@gmail.com.