When Olandria Carthen joins our Zoom call, she’s fresh off a whirlwind week in New York and hours away from a long-haul flight to Nigeria. Her calendar is packed—campaign shoots, brand partnership meetings and international trips. Still, she shows up for our conversation with a grounded, calm demeanor, as if she has adjusted to the new era of her life. A year ago, most people met her in the high-gloss chaos of Love Island USA. Today, she’s a homeowner, a sought-after brand partner and the center of a fiercely loyal community that calls itself the Ola Dolls.
After joining the series after being asked three times, Carthen realized she needed to find herself first before catapulting into this newfound stardom. “Thank goodness I waited before I decided to say yes because I waited to understand who Olandria was,” she told EBONY. “I didn’t want to introduce Olandria until I fully knew who she was first.”
Whether tapped into Love Island or not, Carthen is a timeline hot topic, but behind the glossy campaign, there is a woman who has been quietly building infrastructure. Every partnership has to align with her values, her voice and her long game—one that includes buying property, investing wisely and pushing her community toward education and generational wealth.
Her latest milestone: a new partnership with prebiotic soda brand poppi tied to the show that first introduced her to the world. It’s a fitting full-circle moment. On set, in a metallic bathing suit and high-fashion styling, Carthen finally got to let her personality breathe beyond the confines of a reality TV edit. “This is me all the time,” she told EBONY, noting that in this campaign, the camera catches her warmth, humor and ease.
As a dark-skinned Black woman who has faced intense scrutiny online, she’s also intent on rewriting what it looks like to survive and thrive after reality TV. In a candid conversation with EBONY, the now 28-year-old opens up about owning her narrative, protecting her peace and why she’s more focused on equity and degrees than designer labels.
EBONY: How did the poppi partnership come together, and why did it feel like the right fit?
Olandria Carthen: They actually reached out, like, “Hey, we think you will be a perfect partner for this for the Punch Pop comeback.” Obviously, it’s Love Island themed, and with me being on the show, it was just a perfect fit at the time. poppi is such a summery drink, and I was already a fan of the brand prior to the partnership.
How was the vibe on set? It looked like you were having a ball.
Oh girl [laughs] the vibes were up. They saw a lot of my personality, which made the set way more engaging and fun, because on the red carpet and during interviews, I’m more serious and structured. But I guess it was just fun for them to see me in a different light, because this is me all the time, but the camera just doesn’t always catch it; but they loved me, and the vibes were immaculate. I loved the metallic bathing suit; they wanted it to be high fashion, but fun. It was a really cute aesthetic for this shoot, so I was excited.
The new season of Love Island USA is here, and I want to know, from your perspective, how you feel you’ve been able to really curate a business for yourself post-villa? How was that process of getting this team, finding the right brand deals and finding the right partnerships?
When it comes to choosing partnerships, it’s all about alignment. I have to make sure those brands align with my beliefs, core values, and that kind of thing, and I wanted to know whether these brands would allow me to show up as my authentic self. I want to have a say in what I’m saying. If I’m speaking to a brand, I want to be authentic in every way possible, so those things matter most to me.
When I came out of the show, obviously, I had low expectations. Honestly, I thought I was going back to my job because I told them to hold my position for when I got off the show. If I knew things were going to blow up after [the show]. I would have already had an idea of who I wanted to sign with [laughs], that’s how you know I didn’t expect this. When I got my phone, I was so overwhelmed and stressed out that I had to quit my day job; I had no additional money coming in, living off of my savings alone and did not know the first part about getting the team together, what to look for, or the questions to ask. So I just kind of like made a list, you know, what these are the things I will possibly look for if I have a team.
When I was talking to people, they were like, “I see what you want to do, and I’m not going to guarantee you that everything’s going to happen like that, but I can guarantee you that I’m willing to get in the weeds with you.” I really appreciated those answers because that’s a real answer. I went with people who had those kinds of answers, because they feel like real people who aren’t going to take advantage of me, so I’m really excited that I decided to go that route.
What advice do you have for the Black girls who are coming on the show as new contestants? What advice do you have when it comes to building their trajectory after the show?
My goodness, you have to have thick skin. Reality TV doesn’t always paint us in the best light, and you have to be okay with what comes with that. When I came out of the villa, I realized I was getting a whole bunch of hate, and I was so confused. I’m like, ‘wait, I was not a bad person in the villa, I was everyone’s go-to, I was the therapist of the group, so I wasn’t understanding, but I had to understand that you could be the best person ever, but if the reality TV show already has you at labeled as a certain character, then they’ll make you fit into whatever that box is, and the way people perceive you, you can’t really [control] that.
So I took advantage of my own narrative, and was like, ‘You know what, what you guys saw is not even half the person that I am, and it’s only a snippet, so I’m gonna show you who I really am and what I truly stand for.’ I just took my own narrative and ran with it, and I’ve got so many people who actually went from disliking me to actually supporting me and my overall message; that’s what it’s all about.
You have to have thick skin when you choose to put yourself on a stage like that. A lot comes with it; it’s extremely heavy, and if you don’t already have a sense of who you are and the confidence that you need, this industry can truly break you down.
We have to talk about your supporters. What is it like to have so much support, not only through engagement on social media, but in person, through these brand deals, and just seeing this 180 you’ve done post villa?
It’s so refreshing, honestly. Being a dark-skinned woman in the media, I never saw so many people come to the defense of a dark-skinned woman. When I actually got my phone back, I was so surprised by how much support I had. I was getting a lot of hate, so to see so many people come to my defense, I’m like, wow, because this is a lot for me, this was not in the plans for me at all, but I’m very grateful to be here, and that’s why I pick and choose or not choose at all, to clap back, or to address certain things, because it’s just not worth it. I’m here to work and change lives in the best, most positive way I can, and I don’t have time to nitpick or have something to say about every little her comment, so it’s just good to see the support system I have.
Speaking of putting in work, you recently purchased a home. How did that feel to make that big girl step?
It feels so good. I truly feel like an adult, like I own property now, and every time I step into the space and just like look around, like wow, like this is really mine. I can do whatever I want with this space, and I don’t have to do any renter-friendly hacks or anything like that. It feels good to actually own something. I want to invest my money in the right spots, like investing in property, stocks and things like that, so I really feel like this is a huge step in that direction. We can have fun later with all the materialistic stuff, but right now I’m just focused on making good memories, having some good vacations, and buying more properties. So I really feel like an adult now. I cannot wait to start renovating.
You speak about making those decisions in adulthood, especially when it comes to social media and how you spend your money. Can you just speak to the importance of making those smart investments and smart partnerships?
You could be up one day and down the next. I’ve been there plenty of times, and I think I went through it enough to know, like, okay, don’t spend all your money at once. You need to be very smart about it. Put some back and invest some, so that’s kind of the mindset I went through, because before I got to my winning season, girl, I was going through the wringer prior to all of this. I was being tried in every aspect of my life, and financially, for sure. I would get a bonus check, then I’d have to pay off all this debt, and I’d be back to zero again. Now that I’m in my winning season, I know exactly how to handle my money and invest it. I’m not spending it on the latest and greatest. I’m learning to stop being so gullible and buying the latest and greatest, because who am I really impressing? I’m okay with where I am. I’m not trying to live for the internet and get oohs and aahs from supporters because I’m not living for the internet; I’m living for me. I want to build generational wealth, and one way to do that is to invest my money smartly.
How have you been reflecting? What has been going through your mind, just seeing what your life has become now, post Love Island?
Although I’m on the move quite a lot, and I’m always busy when I have downtime, I’m just like, dang, just talking to myself out loud, like, girl, the amount of things that you’ve accomplished in 10 months is unheard of, and it’s insane. The number of people that you’ve positively touched in this short amount of time is crazy. With me pushing education as hard as I have been, I’ve had so many people re-enroll in school, get their master’s, or their doctorate, like it, something about my story just ignites something in so many young people in my generation to make them go harder for their dreams and make them dream bigger. To know that I’m inspiring so many people so fast, it’s like, okay, this is my calling, this is what I was meant to do.
This conversation is edited for clarity and brevity.