“I’ve Been Texting Her Mom”: A Love Island Debrief With Fan-Favorites JaNa Craig and Kenny Rodriguez

The sixth season of Love Island USA was the most streamed reality show in the US this summer, and Kenny Rodriguez and JaNa Craig were one of its standout couples. Craig, who entered the Villa on day one, had almost given up hope after a series of unfulfilling connections. “The night before [Kenny] came in, I had a heart-to-heart with Serena,” she reveals. “We were over it, we wanted to go home. However, when all 6+ feet of Kenny entered the Villa two weeks in as a bombshell, everything changed. “I was so in shock,” she gushes. Clearly, the feeling was mutual. “I’m just staring at her and smiling,” Rodriguez recalls of meeting Craig. Despite a rough patch post-Casa Amor (Kenny brought Casa girl Catherine back to the Villa), their connection has endured beyond Fiji. After a heartfelt re-coupling in episode 24, the fan-favorite couple came in third and have since left the island, migrating back to their respective homes in L.A. and Dallas, where they’ve been putting in the hours on FaceTime and making plans to hit the Texas State Fair in the fall. During their first week apart, we caught up with the pair on Zoom to talk age gaps, manifesting love, and why no one better come for them at the Love Island reunion on August 19th.

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JULIETTE JEFFERS: First of all, where are you guys both right now?

JANA CRAIG: I’m in L.A.

KENNY RODRIGUEZ: I’m in Dallas.

JEFFERS: You’ve been living in Dallas?

RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, I moved out here about a year ago.

JEFFERS: Cool. Where are you from, JaNa?

CRAIG: Oh, I am from Hawaii, but I live in Vegas.

JEFFERS: What was it like growing up in Hawaii?

CRAIG: It’s one of those places that I unfortunately took for granted, but it’s just an island, so you go to the beach on the weekends. School’s very easy, mellow. I was prom queen, so I got along with everyone.

JEFFERS: You’re such a prom queen. Our high school did not have a prom king and queen.

CRAIG: You guys didn’t have that at your high school? 

JEFFERS: Do you want to explain what our high school was like?

RODRIGUEZ: JaNa, I did mention it was A Quaker School. I recall saying that. And how we had meeting for worship and we would sit in silence. I guess because Quakers are really into equality, there was no prom king and queen because it was like, “Everyone’s equal.” And we called all our teachers by their first name.

CRAIG: That’s weird, No offense. My mom would tell me if I called an elder by their first name.

JEFFERS: Kenny, obviously you had a high school sweetheart. Do you think there’s anything about high school that informed how you approached Love Island?

RODRIGUEZ: I think in high school, that’s when I found my voice and confidence. I was in a lot of leadership positions. I was a part of Knitting Club. I was a tour guide. I played varsity basketball, baseball, and football. I had to be very aware of my emotions. On the show, I think I was very aware of how I could make others feel, and especially JaNa, how I can make her feel and the impact and consequences that my decisions would have.

CRAIG: That was a really good answer.

JEFFERS: Both of you showed so much emotional vulnerability on Love Island. There were really rocky moments, but you came back together at the end. Your letters to each other were one of the more moving moments of the show. Do you think that vulnerability was one of the reasons why so many people connected with your relationship?

CRAIG: Yeah, a hundred percent. I’ve heard from people that they’re so appreciative of how open we were and how we were just able to just be true to ourselves and really express how we felt verbally. I’m really proud of us both. I didn’t cry as much as others, but when I cried, it was because I was genuinely hurt in that moment. I think before Love Island, when I was upset or heartbroken, I would just do my best to mask my emotions. But when you’re stuck in the villa with a bunch of other Islanders, you literally have no choice but to express yourself so that people can understand you more. Kenny did a really good job of taking those risks and it allowed us to make it to the end.

RODRIGUEZ: In the real world, when you first meet someone, there’s barriers that you put up automatically. But in the villa, you have to be yourself. They’re going to see you when you’re hanging out with the guys. They’re going to see you in all these different settings, so they’re going to find out who you really are regardless of if you show them. I was also coming into a situation where there’s bonds already set, so I didn’t really want to put my pressure on anyone. I think it took me a bit to open up, but I definitely got to a point where I was just being Kenny. I was just being me.

JEFFERS: Totally. What were your first impressions of each other? Obviously, Kenny came into the Villa later.

CRAIG: The night before he came in, I had a heart-to-heart with Serena. We were over it, we wanted to go home. We didn’t understand why our person didn’t come. And so she’s like, “Let’s just manifest.” And I’m like, “You know what? I want tall, handsome, specifically from New York. I love my Latino men. That would be great.” And literally within 24 hours, Kenny walked in and I was so in shock because I was like, “He looks Latino and taller than 6’1. I just need to make sure he’s from New York and I’m sold.” He was just so much more handsome than I daydreamed in my head. When he sat down, we were staring at each other. I didn’t mean to stare at him, I was just in shock. I was like, “No way my person just walked in and I just talked about him last night.” And the second he told me he’s from the Bronx, I looked at Serena like, “No way that just worked. No way we just manifested this.” It was insane. I was over the moon. I’m actually really good at manifesting dreams. I’m starting to realize it’s really not that hard. 

JEFFERS: Kenny, our high school group chat went off when we found out that you were a bombshell.

RODRIGUEZ: I’ve only started watching the episodes now. 

JEFFERS: You’ve been watching yourself. Is that hard?

RODRIGUEZ: Yes, it is hard because half the time I’m there just staring at her and smiling just like… “Can you say something? 

CRAIG: That’s so cute. I haven’t seen it yet, but a lot of the Twitter comments are saying, “Wow, I want a man that looks at me the way Kenny looks at JaNa.” And I’m like, “I remember him always looking at me, but I talked for days.” I’m just talking, talking, talking and Kenny’s just looking at me.

JEFFERS: That’s accurate. I found that dynamic very charming. How long have you been off the island?

CRAIG: About seven days.

JEFFERS: Who did you text when you got your phones back?

CRAIG: Who did you text, Kenny?

RODRIGUEZ: My family. I automatically got onto FaceTime with everyone. There were nine people on the call. We took a screenshot. Everyone’s like, “You made us proud.” I was like, “Oh my gosh, what did they show?” We went to the Hideaway. There was the whole “heart rate challenge” and I’m having my grandma tell me she’s proud of me.

JEFFERS: Your grandma was like, “I love the episode when you went to the Hideaway.”

RODRIGUEZ: She probably skipped a few episodes.

CRAIG: I FaceTimed my mom and my brother. My sister was sleeping. Then my mom got to meet Kenny and then I got to meet Kenny’s family. 

JEFFERS: How did that go?

CRAIG: I was actually nervous at first because we didn’t get the meet the families video chat in the villa. But his mom wrote a letter. My mom wrote a letter. She was like, “Can’t wait to meet me and we can all go dancing together.” We still haven’t met each other’s parents in person, just on FaceTime. His family is so welcoming. He has a lot of female cousins. I was so nervous. I’m like, “If they don’t like me, I’m done.” So it felt really good for them to just be all smiles.

RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, I’ve been texting her mom and she’s been texting me here and there. I’d say things are going well. Still a little nervous to meet them in person, if I’m going to be honest.

CRAIG: You have nothing to worry about, but I’m nervous too.

JEFFERS: You definitely shouldn’t worry about the female cousins because I feel like you’re an immediate girl’s girl. There was a real sense of female camaraderie this season. The girls really were looking out for each other. And you have a reunion on the 19th.

CRAIG: We really did the girl thing. In between the reunion, we’ll definitely see each other. But I want to give him his space because I’m so obsessed with Kenny, I don’t want to smother him. We’re going to the Texas State Fair in the early fall. He wants to do the gun range. I want to bring him to Vegas, he’s never been. But as of now, because we’re in different cities, we’re just FaceTiming a lot and texting. Whenever I’m out with PPG, there will be fans that are like, “Can we please talk to Kenny?” I’ll FaceTime him and he always answers and just says, “Hey.” We have a lot of plans, but nothing too crazy. We’re just going to take it day by day.

RODRIGUEZ: We went to L.A. and we did some press conferences and got to spend some time together. This is our first week apart. I’ve been thinking about her a lot and missing her.

CRAIG: Kenny.

RODRIGUEZ: It has been a little difficult. It was a month-and-a-half that we were together. I was a bit worried about the distance, but I think we’re on top of it. We’ve been communicating.

JEFFERS: What was the most intense part of transitioning from being in the villa to being back in the real world? Is there anything you wish people had told you before you went on the show?

RODRIGUEZ: I’d say just the magnitude of the publicity. I do have a nine to five. 

JEFFERS: What’s your nine to five?

RODRIGUEZ: I work in tech sales for an automation company. But even yesterday, I just went to Chipotle and there’s people running out to say hi. I know I probably seem like an introvert on the show, but the following and the fan base that we have is incredible to see. I’m sometimes just scrolling through Twitter and seeing things. That’s neat as well. 

CRAIG: Same. You’re in this villa with no background noise, no cell phones, no nothing. I felt like a caveman for a whole second. Then you come back into the real world and it’s just like you’re trying to go to the store. Like me, Serena and Leah, we were at the mall yesterday and the amount of people that came up to us—it was really cute, and then it got very overwhelming. But I’m very appreciative of Kenny. We’re doing it together, so I’m not alone. I have Kenny with me, I have my PPG, so it makes it way less nerve-wracking.

RODRIGUEZ: Kendall and Cordell, they live here in Dallas and we went out for the first time yesterday.

CRAIG: How was it?

RODRIGUEZ: Amazing, like we were back in the villa. That experience was so unique. It’s a blessing to have them and to have other lifelong friends. We ponder what we did in the Villa, things we might have done wrong, whatever it may be. 

JEFFERS: Do you have any predictions for the reunion?

CRAIG: There’s always something happening. So I wouldn’t be surprised if at the reunion things will pop up, only because now we can see it from another point of view. There’s moments in the Villa and conversations that I didn’t know were happening, so I’ll be able to watch that and be like, “Oh, that’s what she said.” But the thing about me, if anyone comes for Kenny, you’re coming for me, and you’re not about to come for Kenny. So that’s a bad idea. And if anyone comes for PPG, that’s a problem. There’s apparently some things with Leah that aren’t adding up. There’s people saying things about Serena that are false. So I feel like A, if you come for one of my girls, you get all three of us. I’m not worried about me, I’m worried about my peoples because I don’t play about my peoples. But for the most part, a lot of us would call it “Friendship Island” because of the way we ride for each other. Protect Liv at all costs, because inside the villa, she had my back the most, other than PPG and Kenny. I don’t think it’s going to be too crazy. But the Islanders that came in for a short time should just watch their mouth because we’re all firecrackers. I’m going to be very, very good, I promise. But I just ride or die for my loved ones and I don’t play about them. We’ll see.

JEFFERS: You’re on the defense. 

RODRIGUEZ: There’s also the Leah-Rob-Miguel triangle, just a lot of tidbits and chit-chats about that. Like, Miguel unfollowing Rob on Instagram and things like that.

CRAIG: Oh, did he?

RODRIGUEZ: That’s what I’m hearing.

JEFFERS: Me too.

CRAIG: Well, let’s check, shall we? [Checks phone] Rob still follows Miguel. That’s what I love about Miguel. Miguel is such an honest, stand-up straight-up person. He stands on business and I respect it.

JEFFERS: Totally.

RODRIGUEZ: Now that everyone’s had the chance to see the show, like Serena and Kayla, they’re definitely seeing more clips of how everyone was acting in Casa, and maybe that gives them more context or more bullets to shoot. 

JEFFERS: I’ll be tuning in.

CRAIG: We’ll be there. I love that you guys knew each other from high school.

JEFFERS: Yeah, I was older by a grade maybe. 

CRAIG: Wait, you were in the class of 20…

JEFFERS: 18.

RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, I’m 2019.

CRAIG: Oh my gosh. I’m not even going to say my class. You want to know something funny? Me and Kenny were having a conversation one day and he was like, “Yeah, I started college in 2020.” And I was like, “I graduated college in 2020.” But anyway…

JEFFERS: Four years is a good age gap, honestly. It keeps it interesting. 

CRAIG: Thank you. I was very insecure and depressed when he told me his age. And I was telling the girls, I’m like, “Dang it, that would’ve been such a good one. He seems amazing.” And then one day I kept on mentioning it and Kenny tells me, “I don’t want a girl. I want a woman.” The second he said that I was like, “Whoo, let’s go. Green light.”

JEFFERS: Love that.

CRAIG: It’s insane how mature Kenny is. His emotional intelligence is very high. I love the way he just analyzes every conversation. Everything about him doesn’t scream 24. It’s more like 32, 33.

JEFFERS: That’s Quaker school.

RODRIGUEZ: Mm-hmm.