Trinity Tatum wears T-Shirt Miss Dechet. Shorts Little Shop. Shoes from Wild West Social House.
Trinity Tatum’s honeyed Virginian accent echoes down the phone line as she settles into the glam chair ahead of her Interview photo shoot. As a contestant on Season 8 of Love Island USA, the Southern belle stole our hearts week after week with her doe-like beauty, endearing off-the-cuff humor, and novella-esque romance with fellow contestant Bryce Alakai. But Tatum never expected her life to change this rapidly post villa.
Following her Love Island win, she’s spent the month making L.A. her bitch, from dinners at Hollywood hotspots and brand deals with Verizon and Maybelline, to becoming the city’s number one booth baddie for her DJ boyfriend and fellow winner. At just 22, she’s achieved what most people spend their whole lives chasing: fame, fortune, and, most importantly, true love. But the villa sweetheart isn’t looking for world domination quite yet, she’s just trying to take it all in. Before the highly anticipated season reunion tonight, I chatted with Tatum last week about fan fiction, colorism, and what it’s like being half of America’s reality TV power couple.
THURSDAY 3:00 PM AUGUST 27, 2026 L.A.
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ARY RUSSELL: Is this Miss Trinity?
TRINITY TATUM: Yes, it is.
RUSSELL: How are you?
TATUM: I’m good. How are you?
RUSSELL: I’m sad I can’t see your beautiful face, but we can make it work. What stage of glam are you in right now?
TATUM: I just started.
RUSSELL: I saw the creative mood board for the photoshoot, and it made me think of asking who your role models are.
TATUM: My role model would definitely be my mom, seeing what she’s overcome and how it made her a better person. She’s always put everybody before her.
RUSSELL: What part of her personality do you think you took with you to the villa?
TATUM: Accountability. There were times in the villa where I said things or acted out, and I didn’t like how it was said. I can easily take accountability and apologize.
RUSSELL: I was stalking your TikTok, and I love all of your reposts about staying up until 3 AM reading Wattpad fics when you were younger because I was the exact same way.
TATUM: I love that. [Laughs]
RUSSELL: What kind of fics were you reading on Wattpad?
TATUM: Oh my gosh, it’s embarrassing.
RUSSELL: Safe space.
TATUM: When I was younger, I really loved fantasy stuff. I was obsessed with Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and the Maze Runner.
RUSSELL: Were you a Draco girl?
TATUM: I was on DracoTok in 2020.
RUSSELL: See, I was more of a Tom Riddle girl.
TATUM: I was a Tom Riddle girl too, but he was Voldemort so I don’t like that outcome.
RUSSELL: They already started writing fan fiction about you.
TATUM: Oh my god! That’s insane. I might have to look.
RUSSELL: Prior to Love Island, what kind of girl were you in a relationship?
TATUM: I was a lover girl down, but I also didn’t take shit. At the same time, there would be times where I would be a dumb lover girl. I would get treated not the best, and I would still stick around.
RUSSELL: What were red flags that you ignored?
Dress Tankair.
TATUM: Sometimes I would lowkey ignore if I was getting talked to crazy in an argument, and you apologize to me, but then you do it again. It would get to a point where once you do it too many times, that’s when I draw the line because I’m very big on respect. Bryce [Alakai] does everything to make sure that I feel wanted and get that reassurance. I never have to constantly repeat the same thing. It’s so perfect.
RUSSELL: What do you think it was about you that made the producers choose you for the show?
TATUM: I was very outspoken. At the same time, I’m a normal girl. I like to have fun. I say intrusive thoughts. I wonder the same thing about why I was picked.
RUSSELL: I’m gonna say, for the record, that after the first week I came back to the office and was like “Guys, she’s the breakout.” And everyone was like, “It’s too soon.” I said, “I don’t want to hear it. She’s the one. It’s gonna be Brinity.” I’m happy I trusted my gut.
TATUM: Thank you for keeping the faith. [Laughs]
RUSSELL: So, obviously with Love Island, while you’re there to find love, it is a competition show. What percentage of the show are you focused on falling in love versus winning?
TATUM: I was focused on falling in love. I’m 22 years old and I don’t think I really had anything to lose. I’m not in a rush to get to the top of the world. Even when Bryce and I finally became boyfriend and girlfriend, I told him, “I’m ready to leave whenever you’re ready to leave.” You don’t even think about the money.
RUSSELL: Those eliminations are the reminders. [Laughs]
TATUM: Honestly, my thing was once it came to a point with eliminations, I was like, “Bryce, if I get eliminated, are you leaving with me?” And he was like, “Yeah.”
RUSSELL: I’m literally gonna cry right now. That’s so sweet.
TATUM: Literally.
RUSSELL: Have you had a chance to watch the show back yet?
TATUM: I watched the beginning. I watched the episodes where Zach [Georgiou] was talking about me, but I’m still not moved. I don’t think I need to watch the show when I’ve literally lived it in real time.
RUSSELL: Are there any moments when you watched that you look at differently?
TATUM: The only thing I would change differently was how I reacted when Corbin [Mims] came in because it definitely had Bryce feel a certain type of way, which was not okay. If he would’ve done that, I would’ve felt some type of way.
RUSSELL: Bryce felt a certain type of way?
TATUM: Yeah, because he was just like, “Oh, you never had those reactions with me when I came in.” I didn’t notice it, and that was literally the same day that me and him were talking about building our relationship. I felt really bad.
Tank Top and Jeans Tankair.
RUSSELL: It comes back to accountability. One of the things I was most obsessed with was your villa glam. How long are you taking on your glam each morning?
TATUM: So, towards the end, I actually wasn’t really wearing makeup because in the Fiji heat, I sweat really bad on my face, and it was breaking me out. I would only wear it at nighttime. It would take me about, like, 20 minutes to get ready during the day, and then at night about an hour, maybe 45 minutes.
RUSSELL: What are your favorite Holy Grail makeup products?
TATUM: Because I sweat a lot, the One/Size Secure the Sweat primer. I literally live by it and I love the setting spray. I would use the Born This Way concealer, Fenty foundation, and then I would switch between E.L.F. primer, Milk primer, and Smashbox.
RUSSELL: You were wearing wigs throughout the show, right?
TATUM: Yeah, I had different wigs that I brought in to switch them out because even in challenges they would get slimed and stuff. So while I’d be washing one wig and letting it dry, certain days I’ll put on a different one and then go back.
RUSSELL: Where do you get your wigs? I’m a huge wig wearer, and so I love asking girls where they’re getting theirs.
TATUM: I get my wigs from anywhere. I will go to the TikTok shop because they have a lot of vendors that often sell really good brands. I would also go on Amazon.
RUSSELL: It’s been so lovely to see so many former Islanders like Serena [Page] and Leah [Kateb] take you under their wing. But you’ve also received some comparisons between you and other contestants. How do you respond to those comparisons?
TATUM: When it’s positive, I love it. When it’s negative, like, I don’t like it because everybody on the show is their own person. I’ve been compared to Serena in a positive light, and I think that we have so many similarities. But being compared to other people isn’t fair to their journey, and it’s not fair to mine.
RUSSELL: You guys become the victim of the stan wars.
TATUM: And they create a lot of false narratives because I don’t have an issue with anyone on my season, or past seasons. I hate that some people will try to make comparisons because I look up to a lot of the past girls in the past seasons.
RUSSELL: I wanted to jump into the reunion because it’s airing on Monday. Have you had time and space to reflect on everything that happened?
TATUM: Yeah, I did, but I didn’t really think about it too much because when you keep thinking about something, you’re gonna get in your head about a lot of things.
RUSSELL: I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring up Sol [Mýa] because that was a really big moment, and I’m sure it’ll be something that’s discussed at the reunion. Looking back, did you have any inkling while she was in the villa that she had these negative feelings towards you or your relationship?
TATUM: No, because I never had a negative conversation with Sol, or was even a part of her storyline. So when she came out and said the things she said, it threw me off because you can have your opinion on certain people in relationships. But it’s [another] thing to express it out loud, especially if it’s for a TikTok Live. It’s not even a proper interview. She could’ve easily gone past those comments.
RUSSELL: A lot of people were saying it had very colorist undertones, this idea that if you and Bryce were walking past each other in the street, he wouldn’t even look your way. But, like, why wouldn’t he? What is it about Trinity that he wouldn’t find attractive?
TATUM: I agree with this. This is nothing against them, and I said this in the reunion, everybody knows that Corbin was not Kenzie [Annis]’s type. She wanted a cowboy country man, and Corbin is not any of that. I’ve never heard any of that discourse, even in previous seasons when there were other girls that were fair-skinned with different races. So I do feel like it probably was some type of colorist comment. I honestly don’t know where her head was at, but she could’ve just kept it to herself.
RUSSELL: But you got the last laugh. Do you think there’d ever be room for reconciliation?
TATUM: I mean, I don’t have an issue with her. I just don’t care for her because what she said is very unprovoked. How can I be friends with somebody who’s undermining my beauty? I just don’t think that we would be good friends, and there’s nothing wrong with that. You’re not obligated to be friends with anyone.
RUSSELL: You’re on your side, she’s on hers. Your side is much brighter, but that’s just my opinion. [Laughs]
TATUM: I don’t really keep up with her, but I haven’t seen anything negative. Wish her the best.
RUSSELL: That’s very diplomatic of you. Love that media training.
TATUM: Right. [Laughs]
RUSSELL: I wanted to jump to Bryce because I saw the vision when no one else did. White boy of the year right here. How’s your relationship going post villa?
TATUM: It is amazing. This is the best relationship I’ve ever been in.
Bra Little Shop. Bracelet Stylist’s Own.
RUSSELL: Prior to Bryce, how many relationships had you been in?
TATUM: I’ve only been in one real relationship, and then the rest have always been like talking stages or situationships. The last real relationship was 2023, but we were off and on.
RUSSELL: Yeah, I saw his little tweets or whatever. Toxic.
TATUM: That’s not my ex-boyfriend. I hate when people say that. That was never my man. We were talking, but we never dated. If that was my boyfriend, why would I go on Love Island?
RUSSELL: Setting the record straight. We saw the progression of your relationship with Bryce in the villa, but what was the moment you knew you fell for him?
TATUM: It was a couple days after the first challenge. I just had a feeling like, “Wait, I really like this guy. He is so sweet. He’s funny. He’s corny. I like his style.” It was a flip of a switch.
RUSSELL: The moment that I noticed was when Bryce said he was going to pull Kayda [Bosse], and you were like, “I’m not fucking with it.”
TATUM: But I’ve always told him to have conversations with anyone. Even with me saying that, I was joking around. In the end, I wanted him to explore it, but then I was hearing more stuff that got in my head. It was just as much his experience as it was mine, so I couldn’t really fault him for playing. Kayda’s my close friend, but this is Love Island. Nobody is off limits.
RUSSELL: I was protective. You can’t hurt my lover girl, Trinity. I was like, “Bryce, you’re flopping.” Have you guys had your first fight yet?
TATUM: Well, we had a small fight because I literally had nowhere to put my clothes, and I was like, “Can I please have this big closet?” He was like, “No, I like this closet. I’m not gonna move all my stuff. You have this other closet.” Then I was upset because I wanted to get a vanity, and he was like, “That’s gonna ruin the aesthetic of the house.” I hate that I have to ask somebody permission for a vanity. I haven’t had to ask that for years.
RUSSELL: No, he’s got you tight, girl.
TATUM: We’re just happy that is what we fight over.
RUSSELL: Did you get the vanity?
TATUM: We’re working on it, but I did get the closet, so that’s all that matters. I’ll literally be like, “Okay, well, I’m just gonna find somewhere else to go right now.” He’s like, “Why do you want to go away? That’s not gonna solve anything.”
RUSSELL: He’s not letting you go.
TATUM: He’s not.
RUSSELL: What was your reaction when you found out he was Tumblr famous?
TATUM: I gagged. I was not expecting that. He was so humble about it in the villa. He never really talked about his modeling or his connections.
RUSSELL: He was the cover of all these Wattpad stories. Of course this 2016 princess is gonna get her Tumblr boy.
TATUM: But when I came out and I was like, “Whoa, you know a lot of people.”
RUSSELL: Bryce runs L.A.
TATUM: That’s what the streets are saying.
RUSSELL: I saw your comment on TikTok about how people assume that you don’t like Bryce’s music because it’s house music. Why do you think people assume that you wouldn’t like Bryce’s interests?
TATUM: Because I’m Black. My gosh, it’s so stereotypical. Yes, I do love hip hop, but at the same time, I like house music as well. The thing that irks me is that house music was originated by Black people in Chicago. So people saying, “She doesn’t like house,” are so ignorant to me. I only like Bryce’s house music. I’ll listen to some other house music, but Bryce knows the vibe of what people want to hear.
Jacket Stylist’s Own. Bra Fancì Club. Jeans Tankair.
RUSSELL: Do you like being in the booth with him when he’s performing?
TATUM: Yes, I love being a booth baddie, which I didn’t know was the name until I went to Splash House.
RUSSELL: Knowing that your relationship with Bryce is now a part of your brand, how do you guys make sure that you still keep what you two have sacred?
TATUM: We’re not very internet. People have their opinions on us, and we genuinely don’t care because, at the end of the day, we’re here for our own relationship, not to make anybody else happy. We have such a good line of communication, which has been shown even in the villa. I don’t think it will ever change. If we have a verbal disagreement, we don’t go to sleep upset at each other.
RUSSELL: Oh, I saw. That pillow was his last straw.
TATUM: And he’s the same way even now.
RUSSELL: You basically have the world at your fingertips with so many things to explore. What avenue do you want to go down?
TATUM: I love fashion, and I really want to do something giving back. Growing up, I was fortunate to live the life that my mom provided, but also there’ve been times we’ve been close to being homeless, so I really want to give back to families that struggle.
RUSSELL: What advice would you give to someone who’s going on the show next season?
TATUM: Always be yourself. It’s hard to keep up a persona when you’re in there for such a long time. You have to be very mentally strong because you might be used to being the most liked girl or guy in your city, and when you go in there, nobody might really be liking you. Everybody’s attractive there, so you have to bring more to the table than just looks. Have fun, make the best out of it, and make friendships. I know it’s not “Friendship Island,” but ultimately it is.
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Hair: Davontae Washington at Opus Beauty.
Makeup: Alexx Mayo.
Nails: Ginger Lopez at Opus Beauty.
Styling Assistant: Janet Shackleton.
Production Director: Alexandra Weiss.
Photo Producer: Georgia Ford.
On-Set Producer: Dara Danenberg.
