Ever since Nick Vansteenbergh left the Love Island USA villa he has been on the move.
There was “baekation” with fellow runner-up Olandria Karten and, most recently, a trip to Miami alongside Season 6's Rob Rausch and Kendall Washington. During the breaks, he prepared for his next big step: running the New York City Marathon on November 2.
“Ironically, this week has turned out to be the busiest week since I left the villa,” Nick told TODAY.com. “I have a marathon to train for, so of course this week will be the busiest.”
Nick, who will be running the marathon with the Strava team, says he only decided to run the race a few months ago, “which I know was a little late in the training process,” he admits with a laugh. The registered nurse already has two marathons under her belt, one of which was part of an Ironman race.
“I hope it won't be too difficult,” he says of the New York race.
Even if that's the case, Nick says he'll have plenty of support. Fans can track his race through the New York Road Runners app and “hopefully meet me every mile of the way,” he says.
“I think potential fan involvement is what will get me across the finish line,” he adds.
Plus, one of his best friends is heading to New York to cheer him on throughout the race. He also plans to invite another special person there: Olandria.
“She's flying on marathon day, so hopefully she'll catch me at the finish line,” he says.
Nick and Olandria gained fame in pop culture thanks to contestants of the seventh season of “Love Island USA”, Which premiered in June 2025. After their kiss in the first episode, they each moved into different alliances until fate – or more accurately, Casa Amor – intervened.
Both Nick and Olandria were eliminated from the show during Casa, but turn the getaway car took them away on a date where they were given the opportunity to return to the villa If they connected. They decided to try the romantic Soul Ties kiss, which was heard around the world, much to their delight loyal legion of fans of “Nikolandria” who say they saw their chemistry on the first day.
Their union was finally cemented in the final week of the show, and Nick and Olandria were took second place in season 7right after Amaya Espinal and Brian Arenales.
Since leaving the villa, they have enjoyed a whirlwind of events, interviews, sponsorship opportunities and more.
“I feel like it’s been a year in the last four months how things are going,” Nick says. “You can only get about one break a week, so those breaks a week are helpful and I think that's how I stay here.”
A little over a week before the marathon, Nick was in Miami for a party hosted by Celsius. There he met with Rob and Kendall from the show's breakthrough season 6. Because they shared the same “lore”, as Nick put it, they didn't talk much about what happened during their time in the Love Island villa.
“I specifically asked Rob how he was doing after this,” Nick says. “I think asking people from the last cast is very helpful because they literally went through the same thing.”
His biggest epiphany?
“I noticed that Rob and Kendall seem to be the same people they are online. And so I think the biggest takeaway is just be who you are, and if people can't accept that, then they're not the one for you,” he says.
When it came to balancing marathon training with all of his options, Nick says making time to run helped calm all the “noise.”
“They don't go hand in hand,” he says of his busy schedule and training. “But after an evening of activities, it’s nice to wake up early in the morning and go for a run. It's definitely a way to clear your mind.”
Nick has run his last two marathons in about five hours and 20 minutes, “so I'm hoping it'll be pretty easy to beat,” he says.
“That’s the goal… it would be great if it was less than five hours,” he adds.
After the race and until November, he and Olandria will have “a lot more downtime,” he said.
“I think at the moment we're looking for a breath of fresh air from all this hustle and bustle,” he says.
“I've said it before, like I want to go on our hot air balloon date, I want to do all these things, but at the moment I just want to sit on the couch and not do anything with her,” he adds. “Sounds elite.”
