BILFPOD - She Was TV's "Villain" Then America Fell in Love With Her | Andrea Carmona Tells All Love Island's

Episode Date: August 6, 2026

She got voted off Love Island, painted as the villain, and cyberbullied by kids who should've been in bed then came back on Love Island Games and won America over completely. In this episode of BilfPod, Mara sits down with Andrea Carmona singer-songwriter, fitness influencer, and two-time Love Island franchise star to talk about what actually happens behind the scenes of reality TV. Andrea breaks down how editing shapes a "villain" narrative, the flood of hate she received (including from bots and literal children), how she almost lost herself trying to defend her image online, and the moment she decided to stop caring what strangers think. They get into cyberbullying, body image pressure, why "bad publicity is still publicity," what it's really like losing phone access for six weeks in the villa, and Andrea's advice for anyone getting torn apart online right now. 

I walked in there very confident, like, and I remember asking my friends, I was like, when I went into the show, like, how was the reaction? They're like, from the second you walked in, people were already hating you. Like, before you even open your mouth. Yeah. Because we're bullying you. And even like them bullying me that bothered me, it was just the amount of comments back. But it was like, it was to the point where it was like bots, like fake, like hundreds of fake accounts telling me to like off myself, telling me that like I shouldn't be here. Just because someone doesn't see your value, it doesn't take away it.

You can walk into a Louie store and there's a million bags of you. You walk and you're like, ill, like, I don't like that bag. That doesn't take away the value of the bag. That bag is still $5,000, $10,000. It doesn't take away your value. You're just not those people's cup of tea, and that's okay. What did your parents think about you doing a show like this? Never in a million years, my man would allow me to go on TV and kiss a bunch of guys and still be like, oh, come home.

If you had to leave a legacy behind, right? What do you want the world to know about you? And I have never in my life would I imagine all the comments, all the attention I was getting and hate. You know, they're going to a hole. and just delete social media and never talk again, or you can go on the internet and just crash out, which is what I did. I was just like so angry, I guess, at the fact that the media painted me to be this person that I wasn't, and I was trying so hard to like prove myself.

Welcome back to the Bill Fod where authenticity trumps authority here on the Bill's pod. We love to highlight bosses in their own right, from women in the boardroom to rock stars, pop stars to scientists to reality stars and today's guest well she does not need an intro this chick is bad she's a singer-songwriter huge into fitness love island star miss andrea carmona welcome to the bill fly girl thank you wow what an introduction i think i mean it's pretty impressive thank you thank you yeah the singer songwriting i need to i need to put out some stuff it's been a while everyone's like Where's your music? I'm like, working on it. It's coming. It's coming. You know, the best thing. You got to save the best for last. Exactly. Exactly. So we're just going to dive in.

Okay. We're just going to dive into it. I already admitted that I've never watched Love Island. I will watch it. I will eventually. But, you know, like what I'm really interested in is the Andrea after Love Island. So first we'll start at Love Island. How does one get on Love Island? My experience was very, like, different. I actually applied for Love Island. I want to say around season four, and it was just an Instagram. I had it came up on Instagram and it was like this link sign up for Love Island reality TV. And I was just like, oh, I've always wanted to do like reality TV.

This would be cool. This was like in the hype obviously two of like the Kardashian air. So I was like that would be sick. So I remember filling it out and it was like a hundred questions. And I was like, okay, I don't like this is getting annoying. So I didn't end up going back to it. And I went back to the link like two days later and it was still half filled out. I was like, oh, we just finish it.

Did it, went through the process, did a few, like, interviews. They loved me. But at the time, I was talking to somebody, not worth it. But I was just like, oh, like, maybe I shouldn't do this because I have this thing going on. So I ended up, like, ghosting them and just ignored all their calls. They kept calling me to, like, follow up, did an answer. And then two years later, going into season six, the producer called me. She was just like, hey, like, we're going through old tapes.

We loved you. Like, would you want to read, like, apply? Wow. And I was like, you know what? Like, hell yeah, I'm single. I have nothing to lose. At the time, I was like half creator, half like waitress. I was like, I don't want to do this anymore. So I said yes and I went through with it. And that's like the timing of everything because had I done season four versus six, it would have been a way different reaction or I guess outcome for me. For sure. Now, have you ever like prior to that? Did you ever have any experience with reality TV or no? Never. No. I did social media since I was like 16. My first deal. was with Fashion Nova when I was like 16 and I didn't make money. I was just getting free clothes when I thought it was like so cool. That is cool.

Yeah. And that's how I started. So I started very, very young into that. I started getting like fitness sponsors. I was working with Bang for a long time. Like so if you're from Miami, like you've probably worked with Bing at one point in your life. But I was just doing a bunch of stuff like that. And I loved like the creative space and networking and going to these fun influencer events.

And then all of a sudden love island comes and you go on the show. Yeah. And from what I read, it was like not the greatest experience. So you came on as like a bombshell. Yeah. And then you were voted off. And then the media like kind of painted you as the villain. Yeah.

Now just talking to you because your energy is so good. I like, and you're so cute. I have like a real problem with this that you were even painted like this. So do you think it was like the show painting you as a villain or what do you think is like the biggest misconception? I think definitely editing comes into a huge play. and every show needs a villain, right? For sure. My friends, when they were watching the show,

because at first I was like, was something I said was something I did. And definitely, like, I was, I guess, overly confident is the word at times. But I just grew up, like, Latina. Like, I was just born and raised. Like, you're confident yourself. Like, you're that bitch. Like, you're hot.

Like, that's just how we were raised. Like, just to have that confidence. And, like, I walked in there very confident. Like, oh, like, I want this person. Like, I'm going to go after him. And, like, I hope I get him type of thing. And I remember asking my friends, I was like, when I went to my friends, I was like,

When I went into the show, like, how was the reaction? They're like, from the second you walked in, people were already hating you. Like, before you even opened your mouth. So I was like, okay, I didn't really have a shot records of what I had to say or didn't say. And that was like the main thing that I dealt with. And there was definitely moments where editing comes into play because I remember, like, after. So when the recoupling happened, they like showed my face smiling. And it looked like I was smiling at the person that I kind of like broke up the couple with.

And in that moment, I wasn't smiling at the situation. Like, in awkward moments, I get, like, I want to laugh. And there was other girls there making, like, slight comments at the guy. So I was laughing at the girls making the slight comments, but it looked like I was laughing at the girl and, like, her sadness in the moment. And then even after that, I pulled her for a chat and I was like, hey, like, you know, I hope you don't think this person. Like, I have no issues with you.

Like, I just really like this person and I wanted to go for him or whatever. And she was like, no, like, I get it. Like, I'm not mad at you. It's him. We hugged. And everything. everything didn't show that conversation. Of course.

I mean, it's made for TV too, so you have to get, I mean, they also have to get abused. For sure. But it's stuff like that that I'm like, damn, like when I got off the show and I was like, what is this reaction? Like I definitely think there was like vow that people had an issue with, but I definitely think it was just like an overreaction of people's stuff to it. Of course. And after the show, it's like where people had even more an issue because I get off the

show and I have never in my life would I imagine all the comments, all the attention I was getting and hate. And you have two options. You can either go into a hole and just delete social media and never talk again. Or you can go on the internet and over explain yourself and try to prove yourself and just crash out, which is what I did. And I definitely was like overly posting and overly saying things. But I was just like so angry, I guess, at the fact that the media painted me to be this

person that I wasn't. And I was trying so hard to like prove myself. And now I'm like, for what? Like these people's opinion don't matter. But at the time, I was just like trying so hard. And like anything I said would just bite me and like shoot me in the head again. Like anything highlight like, right? They bits and pieces put it together.

It was like I couldn't win. It was like, it was a lot. That's a lot of pressure to handle. So were there ever moments where you were just like, you were just at your lowest point from this from people just saying terrible things? Yeah. I definitely thank God. I didn't have like any like thoughts to the point of like ending my life.

And I always say like I'm so blessed. that out of everyone in the show, I was chosen to get like the shit end of the sick in that situation because I definitely think like anyone else, if they had any weaker mentality to a little bit, it would have driven them to a very bad place. And my whole life, like, when I got social media, I kind of like started getting attention to media in high school. And I've been bullied since high school for like my singing and just like posting and just doing things that I love. So I was always used to it. Definitely not to that extreme.

but I kind of had somewhat a thick skin and I had my mom and my grandma going to church like every week praying for me. I had my godmother and her Bible study praying for me. So I had all these people like strong people in my corner and I have the most amazing friends. But yeah, I think that's literally the only reason why I was able to kind of push past it and not get into a dark place. It was definitely hard at times. But yeah, those were like my warriors. What was the biggest lesson you learned from all of it? Definitely to just not care of people thing.

I think no matter what, you're never going to satisfy people. You're never going to make everyone like you. And so much of us growing up, especially women, I feel like, want to make everyone like you. And if someone isn't like you, you need to like them like you. And you're just so obsessed with everyone liking you. And I think that was definitely something that opened my eyes. Like, damn, like at the end of the day, however people paint me like, I know who I am. My friends know who I am.

And that's all that matters. And whoever doesn't like that, welcome. It's the truth. Look, nobody really knows you except for the people like your family and your closest friends. And even, you know, your inner circle, sometimes you have to be weary about them too. Did that ever happen to? Like, people that you thought were like your role dogs all of a sudden, they kind of, they kind of crashed out or they weren't as true. They were supposed to be.

Thank God, no. I have the most amazing girlfriends. And they were like my backbone in this like situation. I remember the first person, not even my mom. The first person I called was my best friend when I caught the show. And I was like, oh, my God. Like I haven't talked to you. So I was like, whatever you do, don't open your Instagram.

I was like, what? She was like, don't open it. Just ignore it. I'm like, you know I'm going to open it. Wow. It was that bad. It was so bad. Like, and at the time.

What was the worst? I have to ask you, the worst comment that somebody said to you that you were like, what the fuck? It's not even the worst. It's just like all kids. So the issue with my season was it was so, it blew up so fast to a larger audience. So high school kids, middle school kids, kids that probably should be watching. Yeah.

Because we're bullying you, like, well kids. And it wasn't even like them bullying me that bothered me. It was just the amount of comments backed by it. It was like, it was to the point where it was like bots, like, like hundreds of fake accounts just calling me a home record, a snake telling me to like off myself telling me that like I shouldn't be here and just all these crazy things. And it's like, you should have been like little Johnny go to bed. I was like, it's past your bedtime.

But it was just so much that doesn't matter even if I replied or said something. It was just there was too many people to fight. Like people were just like, oh, like you only pay it into the bad and not the good. There was no good. Like the people that likes me or supported me were too scared to vocally say it online because people would hate on them for liking me. That's crazy. Yeah.

Like even though reality, would you, I don't know, you can tell me. I don't know if you can say it or not. Is reality TV really reality? It's not. Like the problem with like these shows is that you are yourself, right? They can't force you to say anything. So like what you say is what you say. say, but it's the way they put it in.

And also, they can, like, no, they can't force you to do anything, but they'll give you a little, a little nudge sometimes behind the scene. So, like, pull it out of you. Yeah. And just kind of, like, manipulate the situation to make it seem worse. Yeah, like, maybe you have something on your mind that you want to, like, talk about. You're like, you're like, you know, like, you know what? Like, it's not worth it.

And they'll be like, oh, like, maybe you should talk about this thing, you know? And you're like, yeah, you know what? You're right. I should go talk about this thing. And it's kind of like things like that. You're like, okay. And then all of a sudden it comes down. at all. There was, there was, I saw this viral video of when you were voted off. And I know there was

like some backlash. People were like, all right, she was a little dramatic. Yeah. I mean, what was that like? You were blindsided by it. Were you like, yeah. That whole situation was just so crazy because at the end of the day, like no one deserves to call home, right? Everyone has, has like the right to be there. It was just at the time, like, I had just, I had just met the person that I was with and we were going like strong. So I think we were like four days in. Um, And everything moves faster. So like it could be four days, but it feels like two weeks when you're there. And everything was going good.

Like we had something good going on and everybody saw it. So I thought like when it came down to the dumping, they weren't going to like dump someone that had a connection in there. They would dump someone that maybe has no. Like the most sense to me was like maybe let go with somebody doesn't have a connection in here and keep the people that have a partner in here like to keep it going. But I ended up being chosen because I wasn't exploring enough is what they're, their reasoning was. But I can dive into that and the people and it's just going to cause more issues. I'm not going to get into that. But like at the end of the day, you know, everyone has their pain and their reasons why they did it. And I'm happy that that happened because I generally think me and

that person would have never worked out. So it was like a blessing in disguise. And I met my boyfriend literally six weeks after that. So I'm happily, I was happily dumped. I didn't see at the moment. But, you know, looking back and like, thank God that happens. When one door closes, another one opens wide open. Another one opens, yeah. Are there any of the cast members that you ended up staying in touch with or no? From my season specifically, from season six, I don't talk to her much, but we've stayed friends, Nicole. She was the bombshell that I came in with.

And then the cost of girls, which I didn't meet on the show, we, like, met after. And it was more of like a trauma bond because we all got a lot of hate. So we all like trauma bonded all the class of girls. So like Sierra, Daniela. Who is the other one? There is another one now. She's pregnant. But yeah, we still all follow each other.

Like I follow like all the classic girls and they're amazing. They're all super sweet. No shade towards the main cast. We just never stayed in touch. Now after the show, which was crazy, I don't know how you did that. You get all this hate, but you went back again for a reality show again on the what is it Love Island Games. Is that what it is? Love Island Games. Yeah. So you go back on and you already have this like persona of being whatever they painted you, but then you kind of stole America's heart.

Yeah. So how does like that is that's crazy. So you went from like one end to the other. What was that like? I took that with a grain of salt because I see how fast the internet switches up on people and you see it throughout the season like love you for example now, love Island starts. They love someone one week, the next week they hate them. And then they do like, They make one comment. They're like, oh, we love them again. So it's like, I don't trust the internet. Like, it's like, I'm just at this point, I built the skin that if they hate me tomorrow,

like, I'll be okay. But it definitely was, I definitely didn't expect it because I went in there like thinking like, you know what? Like, when I got offered through the show, they can't promise you that you're going to be an OG, like that you're going to start the show. But the way they kind of like talk to me about it was just like, oh, like you'll most likely start the show. And at the time, that was three weeks after me and my boyfriend had broken up for some

time like I did a backtrack because everyone thinks we like fake broke up for me to do the show never in a million years my man would allow me to go on TV and kiss a bunch of guys and still come be like oh come home you know what I mean yeah and me either like that would mean that I would have to let him do whatever he wants and like ain't no way I'm sharing somebody like that but for me it was like while we were dating in the summer they kept calling me like hey we're we're casting for love other than gays i was like i have a boyfriend like i can't and they're like Well, we're trying to find ways that we can have people that are on, like, their relationships do it. And obviously, and never done working out for them to do that because I think they wanted other people that were in relationships that were like really popular from the show to do it, like to figure out where they can do it.

But it's love island. There has to be dating and kissing and whatever. So then we ended up breaking up. And at the time, like I was crushed. Like I did not want like that to end. But it was just something that needed to happen. There was just like a lot of friction and just stuff that we both personally had to work on. And yeah, three weeks later, Love Island, like, one of the group just called and she's like, hey, like, we noticed you guys aren't really posting together.

Like, it was my birthday and we weren't together on my birthday. So, like, she peeped that. And she was like, are you still in a relationship? And I was just like, no, actually, like, we just broke up, like, not so long ago. And she's like, well, we're filming games next week. Would you want to do it? And I was just like, I didn't even think like this was still a thing. And she was just like, yeah, but you'd have to, like, fill out the forms, like do the blood work, all the stuff.

Like now. And I was like, you know what? maybe this is a sign from God. Like I didn't know at the time why we broke up, but I was like more than this reason, obviously there was other reasons. But like I thought that this was like the sign like, okay, this is, I need to do this thing for myself and like to maybe have another shot like showing the world who I truly am. And I was like, you know what?

Like fuck it. Like let's do it. And I did it not expecting anything. Like I was like, it can't get worse than what it already was. Yeah, right. You're already at the bottom. Yeah. Go up from here.

So I was like, there's really nowhere else. I can't go lower. So I'm like, I'll honestly take whatever I can. And I know going in now, if like God willing, I was able to start the show, I would, you know, be able to connect with people better versus just coming in later. It's just, it's never easy coming in as a bombshell or in casa because relationships, friendships, connections are already established. You're like the new kid.

No one really wants to like talk to you when you're new. But so all the reaction is pretty much, it's not filtered. This is like when you're walking on, everyone's reaction is like, oh my God, who is this? Yeah. Yeah. So you already start out kind of, and I'm sure the producers love it. Yeah. It's like they throw a wrench in the whole thing.

And then a lot of controversy, people love controversy. Yeah. How many weeks is it, like between the Love Island segment and then doing the Love Island games? So Love Island, the normal season, depending on when you get casted, this and that, they typically have you fly out two weeks before filming. But you could be waiting in the hotel for God knows how long if they even put you on the show. Like, they can fly you out, but it's not guaranteed you're getting on the show because they manipulate it's like a game for them right it's i explain it like the hunger games they have the

five girls the five guys they start the show they see who's connecting with two and they're like hmm this relationship is strong let's see who we can throw in for this guy like who's this guy's type they'll look at the the hotel see who they have that kind of is his type okay let's send her in and let's see if she can you know maneuver or like break up this this relationship yeah so you don't know when you're being sent in it's really a matter of how the show plays out and if if you're not starting it's a waiting game to see when they put you in so how long is the time period that you're there so filming the actual show is six weeks for love island normally for love island games it's only three weeks so it's half the time thank god because i don't i don't think i could have done another six

and you're not communicating with anybody at this point no one they take your cell phones so you have absolutely like you can't even call your mom and if you're like hey mom i'm good no some people like like cheated the system and we have the hotel room phone so people were calling their parents or like their friends off the hotel room phone but it's so expensive I think it's like a dollar, a dollar a minute or something like that. So you can imagine like people racked up like hundreds of dollars because they didn't know that it was that much money like they were just calling. I remember like one of the people, I think it was after games. He ended up selling like $1,200 off of phone calls.

Wow. Yeah. What's the craziest? I asked Nick the same question. Like what's the craziest thing? You don't have to use names. So what's the craziest thing that you experienced? I don't know.

There's nothing really crazy. I generally loved the fact that they took away our phones. At first I was like, well, this is weird. But I think it was such a like a stress reliever. And you realize like how less anxiety you have when you don't check your phone every day and every two seconds. At first it was hard because I would wake up and like reach my phone. I'm like, oh, I don't have a phone. But after like three days, I was waking up.

I was like reading. I was praying. I was meditating. I'm like, wow. Like who is she? Because you have nothing better to do. So you just like appreciate things more. I was like coloring.

You don't have anything besides. the TV, which is like Netflix only that you watch. They don't let you have peacock because they don't want you watching like other stuff. And then you only are allowed to leave your room like once or twice a day with somebody will escort you to like the gym or the pool for like an hour because they want to make sure no one runs into each other. They want the surprise on the show. Wow.

Yeah. That's really, wow. That's insane. Did you see anybody like totally lose their shit like they couldn't handle it? Because that's a lot. Yeah. When you go from a life where you're constantly engaged to where you're basically isolated. Yeah.

The thing is, it's like when you're isolated like that, I don't know anyone that went crazy when they were isolated. But I think like that is why on the show you forget that you don't have your phone because now you're so focused on the people there. And you were so isolated without connection for the time being that when you're thrown into the bill, like you're just like craving interaction, craving conversation. So that's why it's like you forget about your phone at that point. You don't even care anywhere. Like, oh, I'm here. Like this is cool. I don't have no bills to pay.

I have no worries besides. the person that I'm talking to and my friends that I have here and that's it. That is the crazy. I just couldn't even imagine a life where you just kind of isolate for six weeks and another three weeks and you have no interaction. What did your parents think about you doing a show like this? My mom at first was super excited, super supportive. She was obviously nervous because she was like, what?

Like you won't have your phone. Like any mother's going to be like, what do you mean I can't talk to you? I'm like, there's going to be producers that you can be in contact with. You're going to see me live every night. You know exactly where I am at all times. You'll be watching me. So she was all for it. Obviously, when I came off the show the first time,

she was just devastated and was just praying and just felt so bad because no one wants to see the world saying these things about your daughter when you know who your daughter is. So the second time I wanted to do it when I was offered game, she was just like, let me feel like, are you sure you want to do this again? Like really think about this. And I was like, Mom, I think this is just like God giving me like another shot at this. And she was like, you know what?

Like, you know, I'm going to be praying about it. And we're just going to, like, trust him and see what happened. See, I'm a crazy mom. And I'm a petty mom. I don't know. I just can see. I could just see me just flying out to, like, tell me where she's at. And I'm not going to tell you.

Tell me where the fuck my daughter is at. I want to know. I'm so petty. I'd probably just start fights with everybody. I just, I'm, when it comes to my kid, like, it's over. For sure. I am definitely that mom. That's coming up, like, figuring out how I'm going to see my kid.

But that's a lot for your parents. It's a lot. Yeah. I know my, it was definitely, my dad didn't watch the show. My brothers didn't watch the show because it was like, you know, a little too much for them to watch. But yeah, my family was supporting me as much as they could. I'm sure. Do you think that a lot of the fuel that was fired kind of started from the producers that kind of lit that flame? I don't know, truthfully. I think it's like, I don't think they start a flame. I think they like ignite the flame. Yeah, make sense. Like if they see something boiling, they're like, all right, let's. keep this going. Like this is perfect. Like we have our, our person. And like, they always say, like, I remember like I got in trouble. I was like on TikTok when I first got the show. I was just like, well, production made me the villain. And then they call me like, you can't say that we made you. We didn't make you the villain. Like that's not because there's contracts. And there's a bunch of legal stuff that goes on. For sure. Technically speaking, no, they can't make you

the villain. You are who you are. Right. Not that you are the villain. But like you said what you said. The reaction of the crowd is what it is. So like they'll, you know, they'll milk things a little bit. to like, but they don't make you something that the crowd or like the audience will view you a certain way and they're like, okay, perfect. She's, she's our villain. And they'll just run with it. Yeah. But you were already starting to build your brand at this point.

How when every, like, when all this controversy started, were you like ever scared like, oh shit, I have to protect my brand. Like what's my next move? What am I going to do business wise? Yeah. For me, it was more of like, I definitely took like two weeks off social media because it was a lot. And I was like, I literally couldn't post anything without someone saying anything negative. It could be like my food.

food and there'll be like there's people in Africa starving where are you posting for just people were just hating on anything they put like the most insane thing ever but um so I needed like a break and then eventually um I kind of started posting it and I was like okay like regardless of what it is like bad publicity is still publicity so I was like I'm gonna keep posting and being myself and like this was when I was basically crashing out online and just posting like crazy and just like talking and kind of defending myself for explaining things over explaining and And then I ended up meeting my boyfriend. And he's very like straight off the shit.

He's like, I don't give a focal people say like I'll be in the comments and fight and this and that. Like he had my back from the jump. Like even when the world hated me, like he was there for me. And he was kind of like a big reason why I was able to also push through at the time when I met him. And he kind of kept me very like goal orientated and focused on what I was doing. And there was a lot of things at the time that I wanted to do. But I was so scared to pursue them or come out with things because I knew. people would just have something negative to say.

So I definitely took a lot of time before I pursued anything like really major. I was like working on music behind the scenes. He makes music so he was kind of helping me like on the production side. I was like I want to learn how to produce and all these things. So I was doing that. And I was planning like I was planning some things that failed. Like I started I wanted to start like an app and I started the app and I wasn't in love with it.

And it was a lot of back and forth. And so that failed. And I was okay, maybe down the road I'll get back to that. But then I was just like, okay, like I'm a creator. I want to be the best creator. And so I really dialed in on like my brand and my niche and really focusing on creating something that people wanted to work with me. And that's the point where I got out now where now I am working on something that I want to put out that I'm confident in.

But I also have now this brand that over the years I've built that people trust me on like my, my reviews on like skincare or beauty or anything health and fitness related. People value my opinion because I'm very open and honest. And you're so beautiful. So they're so beautiful and in shape. Why wouldn't anybody trust what you're saying? But were you a little intimidated, like, to go to the brands and be like after all this happened? Yeah.

I mean, you had a second shot. So I feel like everybody probably was after you. Yeah. The second time around definitely was better. The first time around, brands surprisingly still want to work with me because they understand how things go. People hate you one day. Love you next.

And they're like publicity. It's still publicity. So who cares. They could have made it seem like how they could have spun it however. So I feel like it wouldn't have really mattered anyways. It wasn't too bad. The only issue was like if certain brands worked with other people from the show, then they weren't keen to working with me because it was like a conflict of interest.

So that happened quite a few times. But other than that, like I never really dealt with much issue or fear. It was just the only fear was again, if they were already working from someone from my season, then it was kind of like, okay, like they probably won't want to work with me because they already have this person or whatever. So yeah, that was the only thing I ran into. What I think people don't realize is, you know, We say words, you know, sticks and stones, but words really do hurt. Yeah.

They really hurt and they get you in a place where you start second-guessing who you are. But did anybody ever say shit to your face? No. And that was ever out. Like when you're out, ever, never. Never. Never. It's always these weird hacker people behind them.

Yeah. So weird. Or like the funny thing was is that there was so many people that would come up to me like later on and be like, I love you so much like I was defending you online. And like, it's funny because my boyfriend would be like, were they, were they really? Like, so many people will come up to you. you say those thing just to like you know be nice to you I appreciate all the love and all the warriors that I have but it does make me think sometimes like I was getting I never saw any really love so I was like were you really online defending me like yeah you're like I don't know

are you little Johnny making shitty comment yeah who are you really one of the fake accounts but it makes you I mean now you're like really focused on body imaging and as far as bullying and whatnot so I think then you really do have a lot to say about it and and the price and repercussions of people saying stuff because not everybody is as thick skins. Yeah. And with social media now, I mean, that's the main thing that even like I put into example all the time like Haley Bieber, for example, she's talked about this before, but she was getting endless and thousands and just crazy amount of hate under all her posts, under all her

stuff to the point where she used to when she was younger, happily posts on social media, share her world, share her stuff and just be free and like loved posting. And then now she's like scared to post. She's scared to do anything because people. will just flip it or like have something bad to say. And it's like that's such a horrible way to live that you feel so. And like you're Haley Beaver. Like you're married to Justin Bieber.

You have a kid with him. Like you're set. Like you're living a lot of little girls dreams right now. And this and that just goes to feel like it doesn't matter who you are or what you have or where you come from. Like that that stuff hurts and like it gets to people eventually like it's just just think about like one comment multiplied by a million under every single one. And that's all you're seeing every single day.

It's hard. I don't care who you are. You know, we're all, look, at the end of the day, we all bleed red blood. You know, we're all born and we all died. Like, that's, and we all have emotions and feelings. And I don't care how, how resilient you are. If you're reading constant hate, I mean, it gets to you. Yeah. You know, they say, you know, good publicity or any publicity is good.

But still, people are constantly at you and picking at you. And you're already a confident person. I'm sure it eats at some insecurities that you could, that could happen. Yeah. It's a shitty feeling. Yeah. It sucks. But if they ain't talking about you, look, if they ain't talking about you, then you're not doing something right.

No, that's what they say. Do you ever feel like any of the cast members were kind of fake to you? And like at the end of the day, they kind of smiled in your face, but we're like, I don't know. I don't think fake. I think at the end of the day, it's kind of just like everyone want, you're living together, right? So it's like you want peace in the place. But are you like bunked with them or you're in your own room? No, everyone's least in the same room.

And all the girls share the makeup room. everything like that. Like everything is just shared. It's a communal space. You're eating with these people. You're sleeping with these people. You're, yeah, everything. You're hanging out with people.

Everything in a day. You have nowhere else to go besides the confines of the villa. Like, that's it. So at the end of the day, like, I will never truly know if people were like fake to me or not. But I think at the end of the day, everyone there is nice to each other. Even if you don't like vibe with them, you're still going to be nice to them because you're in the same space every day. So you don't want to like cause problems or just have bad energy because you're sharing. same space. Would you ever do another reality show? I don't know. I think I'm at a point.

Definitely obviously not dating, but I'm like, I don't do the fake breakups, guys. That was real. But I would definitely, I would definitely not do anything dating wise. I would be open to more like challenge based up like the challenge. They reached out to me last year and I sent the tape in and nothing ever happened with that, I guess. But I was open to that. I think anything that's like physical and like competition based, I would love. I think that's cool. Even traders. I saw that was interesting. I never watched it, but I saw clips of it. My manager was like, oh, this is like, I feel like you would like do good at this.

Like, you know, it's just basically acting. But yeah, I'd be down to stuff like that. But in the day, like, I always like pray about things. And if like maybe, you know, that's not the path. And maybe that chapter is closed. I don't know. But yeah. What about acting like television going into like not reality.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. That's something I've been, I used to act. So when I was younger, I did musical theater from like, I did my first. play, I think, when I was like seven or eight. So I was, I've been doing musical theater since I was a kid and I loved but yeah, that was something that I kind of just, as I got older, I did commercials. I was assigned with an agency, but it was also and I just never like, it just never like stuck. Yeah. And I wasn't really booking anything. So I kind of like gave up on on that dream per se. But yeah, still open to that.

I think acting is is such a such a really hard thing to do and you really have to dial it in and get your craft. I actually just saw it when I went to high school. with on a show I was watching on Apple TV. I was like, oh, shoot, like he made it. He's on this show. That's so cool. But he's been doing it for years. Yeah. It's another. If you're, you're, you kind of have to start from zero when you get into that space. It's a lot. Do you feel like being on in the spotlight really kind of puts pressure on you to being perfect? The need for perfection. Did you ever feel like that like after or maybe even before the show, but do you, I would assume that being in the spotlight really kind of puts this emphasis that everything

has to look good at all times. Your hair, your nails, like you have to be on point. Yeah, it definitely feels like even before a TV, right? Like every girl is just like, don't post that. Like, it's on my good side or I look fat here. You know what I mean? Like, people always have something like that they're like insecure. I don't want to post.

And definitely that escalated when I got off the show. But I've also got to the point where I want to be real and I want to be relatable to people and people just to connect with me. So I'm not so perfect on the stuff I post and like my friends will post things of me or like my boyfriend. and like I may not love it. I mean, like, I look crazy. And I'm like, you know what, whatever.

Like, you don't look perfect 24-7. Like, everyone has a bad day. He actually posted a video the other day at the house for like one of his songs. And I was sending to my friends, I was like, guys, like, I look crazy here. And they're just like, no, like, you're natural at home. Like, everyone's like that at one point. I was like, you're right. You're right.

So, yeah, I think it's just a matter just like understanding that you can't, unless you're a Kardashian who has a makeup team, photography team, editors and everything at all times, you can't always be perfect. And if you're so obsessed with how you look, I mean, I meet fans all the time and take pictures of them. I can't care about what I look like in that picture. They're going to post it regardless. So you just have to get used to it and just like steps like you're not always perfect all the time. Was there a time like especially when you left the show that you couldn't walk outside without people knowing who you were? Yeah, it happened from the moment I landed back in Miami at the airport. I got stopped to the airport. I went back home. Obviously, I didn't want to leave my house

for like two weeks because I was just like overwhelmed with everything. But when I would go to the grocery store, when I would go to like the mall, anywhere I went. I was getting stopped. I went to New York. I was walking with my friends in the street and like a cop car just like blew their siren and we like scared us. And I was like, what just happened? And the cop gets out the car and she's like, I'm a big fan. Like I would love to take a picture with you. That's cute. Yeah. That's like a good story. Yeah. That is so cute. I definitely got a lot. I definitely got a lot. a lot of love in person after the show. Like all they hate online was horrible.

But in person in real life, I got stopped and it was always like love. So it made me, that's what started making me feel more open to post and go back to like, normal ways because I was like, okay, like not everyone hates me. And like I would go to my boyfriend shows and like at the show like so many fans with like hold up signs for me. You're like, want to like say hi to me after. So that made me feel very loved. And I always like thank those people just for giving me that because that's what kind of like

got me back in my groove again. What's the best advice you would give somebody that's being cyber bullied? I would say surround yourself by the people you love, by the people that care about you. And remember that your value and your worth is not determined on what people have to say by you or think about you. It's how you feel about yourself. And you just have to build your own self-love and confidence. And I heard this girl on a podcast today talk about how like this is more about kind of like, I guess more relationship coded, but it also comes down to like self-love.

But at the end of the day, like, just because someone doesn't see your value or people don't see your value doesn't take away it, you can walk into a Louie store and there's a million bags of 5,000, 10,000, whatever dollars, you walk in you're like, ill, like, I don't like that bag. That doesn't take away the value of the bag. That bag is still $5,000, $10,000. Yeah. And so that's kind of how to wait to look at life.

And the same thing, if a guy doesn't want to be with you or this girl doesn't like you or these people don't like you. It doesn't take away your value. You're just not those people's cup of tea and that's okay. Yeah. It took me a long time. I mean, I'm so happy that you realize it now. You know, it took me until, I'm not going to tell you old as I am. But it took me a long time to realize that it's okay if you're not everybody's cup of tea. That is absolutely okay. And if people don't like you for who you are, then talk them. I mean, it is what it is. You know, not everybody is going to like you. Not everybody's going to like your style. Not everybody's everybody is going to be your biggest fan.

And that's absolutely okay. Yeah. And there comes a point in your life where you're just not going to give a shit. I'm just happy and happy for you. Like now you're probably like whatever. It definitely comes in ways, right? Like I'm not perfect. There's kind of just like, oh, it's like what?

And you let it get to you for a little bit. And then you remind yourself like, okay, like this doesn't matter. It's not important. And as you get older, how you said, like they always say my mom. She's like, when you're my, you're not going to care about anything. Like you're more confident, the older you get because you care less. For sure. More seasoned.

Yeah. And the more seizing you. It's life experience. Like you begin to realize that people put their own insecurities on you. That's all it is. And people are projecting. And people that write shit, they'll never say it to your face. Never.

Never. They wouldn't have the boss to say it to your face. And these are just people that get, first of all, what I don't understand, this makes no sense. I go, I'm like, I get on the internet too and I look and I'm scrolling. I would never, ever take the time to write something shitty. Even if I didn't like the person, I would just never do it. How do these people have so much time on their hands? I say it.

Yeah. I say it all the time. I'm like, you have to truthfully be like a very miserable and sad and lonely person to not only go online and say this thing, but to create a fake account just to go back and say something negative because that makes them feel better for like 30 seconds. Like,

I'm just going to say this thing because it's going to make me feel good and they're going to see it and feel bad. But it's like in reality, it's like no, like maybe that comment might bother that person for two seconds. But then they're going to go back to their life. that they're living that that person is probably just envious of and they want to make themselves feel better.

And if you think about it that way for like people that deal with cyberliances all the time, like that person is taking time out of their day to hate on you, means that you're doing something that they wish they could be doing. Yeah. That's 100% what it is. And who has time to do that? Like, what a fucking loser that you would go on, comment, make a fake account, comment some more.

Yeah. I just, if I don't like something, no, you just keep scrolling. Yeah. Why could you even take the time or energy to me? make a comment. It makes no sense. Yeah. What advice?

So this season, I just know from listening to like my daughter and her friends, this season has been crazy. So what advice would you give to this season's cast on Love Island? The same thing. I remember I got asked this a while back from season seven. They asked because Huda at the time was getting a lot of hate. She's getting a lot of hate and a lot of love. So she had like a little balance there.

But I basically just said the same thing. Like just stay true to you and remember who you are. people, their opinions don't matter. And at the end of the day, like, they're going to love you one day, hate you the next, or hate you one day and love you the next. So you just kind of have to take everything on the grain of salt, whether you're getting hate or love. Like, you know, enjoy the love if you're getting the love and just know the hate doesn't last long.

People get over it eventually. Nobody cares. I always say that. Like, it doesn't fucking matter. What happens today, nobody remembers tomorrow. Yeah. Because something else is going to happen. So you spend so much time getting upset.

I tell this to my insurance agent, I'm like, nobody gives a shit. Nobody, nobody. And I'm always like, no. Nobody knows. Nobody knows. Nobody cares. Yeah. They really don't. They don't. The way they feel today is never the way they feel tomorrow.

And then something else happens. So who really gives this shit about that? Yeah. So what is next for you? You have reality TV under your belt. What's your next step? So I'm working something now. I don't want to see it yet because I'm very into like doing things and then talking about it.

But I have a project that I've been working on now that I've been dreaming of and wanting to do for so long. So I'm finally doing it, which I'm very happy about. And then on the back end, just like, like creating like building my brand more. I think I want to do more stuff vocally about cyber bullying and this and that. So that's another side project I want I'm working on. And then outside of that, just like music, I, it's like it's a passion, but it's also just like a hobby. And being around my boyfriend on the time, it inspires me to like actually put in the work to do it. And not more than just like singing songwriting, but actually learning the production side. I think

that's so cool and fascinating. So yeah, that's just I have too many passions. So I have something like. So I'm kind of all over the place. But the main thing that I'm working on now, I'm really going to put, you know, most of my effort in because that's something that I really see longevity in the future and something that I think will help people. So yeah.

That's, you'll do amazing things. And that's great to have so many passions. For you, though, like if you had to leave a legacy behind, right? What do you want the world to know about you? I would say love yourself, treat people with kindness. And you are who you. you surround yourself with. And that's the main thing for me because I would not be who I am today without the people in my life. And you know, you are who you are, but those people ground you and

remind you who you are when you forget sometimes. That's that. I love that. And then lastly, what advice would you give to your younger self? To my younger self, I would say stop caring what people think. For sure, right? I know. Stop fucking caring. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. doesn't matter. It won't matter. Five, ten years now, even 30 minutes from now, it won't matter. It's never. If people want to find you, where would they find you? Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, all the same username. It's at Andrea Carmona with an extra A at the end. Yeah, and don't put shit on her page because you all get on your page and talk shit. Yeah. Little Johnny, go to bed. Nobody cares about you.

Go to bed, Johnny. Yeah, just goodbye. Today's episode was absolutely amazing. I mean, being a reality TV star is one thing, but overcoming the type of hate that was executed towards Andrea is something else. I think today, if the one thing we walked away with is that, you know, love yourself first. It doesn't matter what everybody else thinks about you. What matters most is what you think about yourself. Girl, thank you.

You are amazing. So cute. You know what, fuck those haters. Yeah, fuck them. Fuck those haters. Yeah. So if you like today's episode. watch out for more episodes to come, but also like, subscribe, leave a comment.

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