Melanie Moreno pushes back on narrative around viral modeling photos

The “Love Island USA” reunion star said her modeling career was about confidence, not insecurity about her body.

Melanie Moreno wasn’t going to let anyone rewrite her own history for her, especially not on live television.

During Monday’s “Love Island USA” season 8 reunion on Peacock, co-host Ariana Madix brought up the runway photos of Moreno that resurfaced and went viral while she was still in the villa, images from a 2022 PrettyLittleThing swim week show where she modeled as a curve model. Asked what it was like watching those photos circulate again, Moreno didn’t hesitate. “I love it,” she said.

She used the moment to correct a narrative she’d apparently seen floating around online. Referencing a comment suggesting her modeling career stemmed from insecurity about her size, Moreno pushed back firmly. “I thought I was the s— when I was thicker,” she said, according to PEOPLE. “So please, let’s get that right now, because that’s why I was a model.”

Before Monday, Moreno herself hadn’t publicly addressed the resurfaced images, though her sister Steph had stepped in on her behalf, commenting on a fan post that Melanie has always carried high self-esteem, plus-size or otherwise.

Beyond the modeling conversation, most of Moreno’s reunion segment centered on her relationship with Sincere Rhea, her day-one connection in the Fiji villa whose wandering eye toward other islanders made their pairing one of the season’s rockier storylines. Pressed by co-host Andy Cohen, Moreno said she’s still “building” her trust in him, though she kept most other details close.

She was direct about their current status, telling the reunion, “We are not boyfriend and girlfriend. We are kinda just seeing what happens in the outside world.” Rhea echoed that framing, saying the two are aligned on where things stand, and used part of his own airtime to apologize to islanders he’d hurt during his time in the villa.

The reunion also arrives amid renewed interest in the franchise, with Peacock confirming the series will return for a ninth season next summer with Madix again hosting.