‘Love Island USA’ Winners Serena And Kordell React To ‘Kordena’ And The Dock Scene Going Viral: ‘Felt Like A Tyler Perry Movie’

After a thrilling sixth season of Love Island USA, the gaggiest and most popular season of the U.S. version of the reality franchise yet, there could be only one winning couple in the eyes of fans, and rightfully so, Serena Page and Kordell Beckham were crowned.

Shortly after finding out they won, Page and Beckham spoke to Blavity’s Shadow and Act about their journey on the show, what they’ve been up to in the immediate aftermath of their win, why Kordell thought it would be great to bring both Serena and Daia McGhee breakfast at the same time and more.

They also answer hot, burning fan questions, such as what happened in the mysterious ring exchange we didn’t see and how Serena maintained her luxurious braids throughout her time in the villa.

Watch the full interview above. A select conversation transcript below has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Serena, Black women especially have showered you and JaNa with love this season. They talked about the importance of seeing Black women in the final and being loved. So many times, reality dating shows can get into tropes surrounding Black women, and it could have easily been a situation where it could have become a stereotype, and it didn’t. Kordell, you were instrumental in that because you also made space for her feelings. People have these takeaways from this season, and your romance has made them feel some way; what does that mean for you regarding the impact you’ve made?

SP : It’s actually insane, and it makes me feel really, really good. And honestly, I’m glad that I had Kordell in there because I do feel like my experience would’ve been a lot different without him validating my feelings or not making me feel like — I don’t think it was like many microaggression comments or anything like that — but Black women do have it a little bit harder, especially when we are loud and proud and very expressive of our emotions, whether it’s good or bad. I am not a quiet girl. I’m not a girl that’s shy or anything like that. So I definitely think that will look a lot different on me versus a Kaylor.

I’m so glad that it was taken well and that people loved it. And I’m glad that my man loved it. And he was always defending me. You couldn’t tell him s**t [laughs].

KB: Nobody can tell me nothing that about mine. You hear me? I’ma stick by thin and through it. I’m Black, obviously [laughs].

SP: You don’t say? [laughs]

KB: [Laughs] But I’ve been raised around a lot of women and my pops and everybody; I’ve been raised right. And I know these things, and I just know how to — I wouldn’t say deal with it. It sounds bad saying deal with it, but I know how to reciprocate those feelings. And I know how it is when a woman is expressing themselves, especially just from my mama alone. And I know it’s not just what people may see as taking it as aggression and just a lot of yelling. It’s more of emotion and passion.

That’s what I took from what was going on between her situation because I know the conversation that we had before going to Casa and then coming back to Casa, and I know how she was feeling, and she was feeling hurt, and I’ve seen that, and she felt she was obligated to feel how she felt. And I know where I went wrong, and I wanted her to express that. And I was there to listen to it and work my way through it and fight for her and let her know, “Hey, this happened. I messed up and I want to make this right.” So, didn’t stop me from really fighting for her at all, and I’m just appreciative of her in general, meeting her. I couldn’t have asked for a better person to lay my eyes on at the villa on Day 1, just seeing her. So it was just amazing.

Many people want to know — because we didn’t see this until Casa —the fact that you both exchanged rings. We didn’t see when they were exchanged in the villa. So, many fans want to know the backstory behind this.

SP: Honestly, I don’t even remember when we did it…

KB: We did it after, when she was sitting there [at the first coupling], and I had to choose. It was her and Hannah standing there. And that’s when it all started. That’s when it all started. That’s when everything just got more deep, more passionate between us. We was just sitting there at the fire pit. I had my ring on, and she had her rings on, and I seenone, and I was like, “Hey, that looks cool.” And I said, “I got one, and I want to exchange it with you meaningfully.” I always joke around, but I want it to be a special moment between the two of us to know, “Hey, I’m really feeling you. I like you, and I want you to have a piece of me, and I have a piece of you.”

SP: And we both love jewelry…fashion and stuff like that. So I thought that was really cute. And we would somehow always kind of incorporate it into our outfits. And then, Casa, I was like, “I have to wear this the whole time.” Obviously, I took that thing off [laughs].

Kordell, one of the only times I talked back to the TV during the season was when you decided to take two breakfast plates upstairs. What was your logic then, and why did you think this would be a good idea?

KB : It’s funny. I did think it was a good idea. Miguel, he was like, “Don’t do that. That’s not a good idea.” And I was like, “Well, I’ve been making breakfast for Serena.” I’ve always made breakfast for her since Day 1, every day. And I decided to make breakfast for Daia, too, and they happened to be in the same room. So I was like, “Well, let me go bring them both breakfast.” Not as good as I thought.

SP : My comment when I was like, “If he’s making another girl breakfast, I’m going to throw his little ass in the fire pit.” So I’m like, “There’s no way he’s making her breakfast and about to bring it to her in front of me.” And I was about to tell him. I was like, “Nope, don’t bring that over here. Nope. Nope.”

You were so confident, too.

KB: I don’t know what I was thinking. Don’t know how I did that at all. But you know, live and you learn,

Many people think this season worked because the women on the show were fiercely loyal to each other, especially PPG of course, with you, Leah and JaNa, but also bonds with the other women like Liv and Nicole. And in the Casa recoupling scene, it was like y’all were tagging each other to get in the ring. Did you expect such close friendships this season, and did that enhance the experience?

SP: 100 percent. And especially because I would watch Love Island , and it’s not really often where you see all of the girls get along like that and there really not be any big beef. Obviously, we’re in a house; it’s a bunch of women. You’re going to have little moments where you bicker, but we resolved it so fast, and it was always like we went right back to where we were.

So I didn’t expect me to love everybody so much or create a bond like PPG, so that was just amazing. And it definitely made my experience even better. I probably would’ve gone home without PPG. I would’ve been like, “I don’t know; I can’t take this.”

After one of the public votes, you both were surprised to be named one of America’s top couples. Kordell, I think you said something along the lines of “America still rocks with us” or something like that. And it surprised viewers because in our minds, despite Casa and all of that, you were the frontrunners, and viewers still gravitated toward you all. So what were you all thinking in these moments, and what was the sentiment in the house where there was even an environment for you to think America wasn’t vibing with you?

SP : We’ve had our ups and downs. I feel like we didn’t have a smooth sailing journey as some of the other islanders. So it’s either like, you hate it or you love it. And we just didn’t know which it was. And we were a little crazy. I was a little dramatic. I didn’t even know how the dock scene was going to be taken. After I did it, I’m like, “Damn, that felt like a Tyler Perry movie.” I was like, “Oh no, they’re going to eat me alive.” So I was like, “They probably don’t like this.” And then we got back together, and I’m like, “We’re probably doing way too much for America.” But it’s exactly how it would be on the outside.

KB : They probably thought we was going bust out singing or something [laughs].