The “Love Island” fandom has basically taken over social media. Once you got your phone back, what was the most surprising about what fans were saying online?

Oh my gosh, getting my phone back was crazy. When I opened the apps, they crashed because I was just getting so many notifications. The craziest thing to see was was probably what my friend told me. She was like, ‘Yo, people think that you’re gay, and I was like, ‘Oh, well, I’ll take it as a compliment, it’s not a bad thing, but I just am not?’

Ahead of the Season 8 cast reveal, “Love Island” put out a statement asking to be respectful. Did you feel like people respected that in terms of what they were saying about you?

I don’t know, because honestly, people are gonna do what they want to do. Just because you put out an anti-bullying post doesn’t mean people aren’t gonna bully. I’ve gotten messages about “We want you and your one leg out of the villa,” or random stuff like that. Okay, be more creative if you’re gonna make fun of me.

So it doesn’t bother you.

No, I don’t really care, because at the end of the day, people are going to have an opinion, whether it’s good or bad. There’s always going to be an opinion about you, especially when you’re in this type of like space. So people can have their opinions about me, but they don’t know me, and the only opinions that matter are the ones of the people closest to me.

You had a tense interaction with Melanie earlier in the season that fans have been quick to dissect. What is your relationship with her truly like?

I think our relationship is fine; it’s a friendship. Friends go through their own little discussions or quarrels, but at the end of day, we squash it. I think people aren’t used to seeing friends communicate and tell their friends, “Hey, I didn’t like that,” or, “Hey, I don’t think we should be doing this.” I think people just aren’t used to stuff like that, and I’ve learned that maybe my direct communication style is not for everybody. Being outside of this athlete space was something that I had to quickly learn: “OK, I need to still be direct, but also maybe learn how to be direct in a little bit more of a gentle way.” So that’s something that I learned in my time in the villa.

Were there off-screen moments between you that the viewers didn’t see at home?

There were plenty of off-screen moments, I mean, we’re filmed 24/7 but the show is only an hour long each episode, so there’s there’s plenty of chats, conversations, funny moments — maybe like deep emotional connections that we’re not always seeing.

Were you surprised that America voted for Gabriel to be with Jen? Why do you think they voted that way?

No, I wasn’t surprised. Once I saw what was going on, it was pretty clear. I was like, “All right, I’m going home.”

So you kind of had a feeling that it was going to go that way. Did you also know that Corbin was going to pick Melanie?

I absolutely knew Corbin was going to pick Melanie for sure. They had other chats, and he and I didn’t really mesh well like that. We didn’t have that same vibe for him to pick me as his connection, so I think that was a pretty like straightforward answer. I know it was probably very difficult though, at the end of the day you are sending somebody home, but it wasn’t surprising. You have to pick your actual connection.

Going back to Gabriel, what’s your perspective on his behavior since you left the villa?

I mean, at the end of the day, men are gonna do what they want — or anybody’s gonna do what they want. I’m just glad that I went in there and behaved myself in a way that when I come out I don’t have people saying “Oh, what did you do in there?” [Hatz demonstates a wink and nudge]. I think everybody’s moving in their own way. I’m not particularly mad, I get it. We’re in the villa, we’re on island time, so you got to be with your couple, but I think I did expect maybe — well, I didn’t really have any expectations — but it did catch me off guard when he was like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna ask you to like respect this time’ [to Terry, after Hatz was dumped]. I thought he would at least mean for the rest of the night! But good for him for not holding back.

What do you think of his and Jen’s connection overall and how quickly it seems to be moving?

I don’t really know what to think of their connection, because I’m not in it. If it’s deep to them, then I guess it’s deep, but I guess anybody could form an opinion outside looking in. I don’t really care to hate on it. I don’t really care to support it.

Sean, who you were initially coupled up with, left right before you did. What was it like watching his scenes talking about you? Did you ever regret picking Gabriel over him?

I haven’t fully watched the episodes back quite yet, so I’m not sure what Sean was saying. I don’t know if I could say I fully regret it, I think I do regret a little bit. I didn’t have a full understanding of the challenge. I didn’t think that me standing on the red was gonna be, “Hey, you’re out of your couple now,” but I’ve had lots of little conversations with Sean about it, and we have this understanding. And he’s a great guy, amazing guy.

Did you have a connection with anyone else that you wish you had explored?

I think I had a connection with Caleb, we had just a couple chats. I mean, he was fairly new in the villa, and then I got dumped from the island fairly soon after. But the chats I did have with him, and our two kisses in the challenge, I just think that he was such a genuine guy that I wish I would have explored him more, or had the opportunity to explore him more as well.

What did you two connect about?

I think it was really easy to open up to him about my disability. I didn’t really tell too many islanders anything super deep. The girls kind of asked questions and I’d tell them, but as for the guys, I think they were very interested in the running blade and how it works, and that was cool to talk to them about. But I was able to quickly open up to Caleb about, “I struggled with this and this,” and during my childhood I had these many surgeries and all these things, and I think he opened up as well with me. He’s just very genuine.

There was a bit of a cast shake up before the season even came out. Vasana Montgomery was dismissed for using the n-word, and the OG crew went from eight islanders to six. Did you only find out that there were originally supposed to be eight of you after you left the villa? Were you told while you were still in there?

I found out after we left the villa — that was kind of crazy.

Who were you closest to in the villa? Have you see Trinity and Kayda discussing how to feel about Jen and Gabriel?

Yes! Oh my gosh, Trinity and Kayda are my girls. I cannot wait till they come out. Those were my two closest friends in the villa, and I definitely was more sad about leaving them than, “Oh, I’m not on the show anymore.” It’s like, “OK, I don’t care. I miss my friends!”

Looking back, is there anything you would have done anything differently?

I don’t think I would have done anything different, because there’s nothing I can really do different anymore: it is what it is. I think what was supposed to happen, happened. My time in the villa was just enough. I don’t know if I needed to be there any longer, and I think I made the friends and the connections that I needed to, and I wouldn’t have encountered these people otherwise.

From everyone currently in the villa, who has the most genuine connection in your opinion?

I think Bryce and Trinity have the most genuine connection. I literally love them, and they were a slow burn! They started out as like little besties, and now just seeing them and their relationship develop. I was there too, and so seeing that live time was cool and hearing Trinity talk about it was cool and it was just great.

This interview has been edited and condensed.