Was Melanie From ‘Love Island USA’ A Plus-Size Model?

Love Island USA fans are calling for more body inclusivity in the villa after it was revealed that Season 8 Islander Melanie Moreno once worked as a plus-size model.

Like the rest of the Islanders, Melanie has been strutting around the villa in her skimpy bikinis ever since Love Island USA Season 8 kicked off last week. She’s also become one of the most-talked-about cast members, due to the unraveling of her once-strong connection with Sincere Rhea, who’s been eager to explore things with bombshell Sol Mýa.

Outside of the villa, Melanie’s resurfaced career as a plus-size model has left viewers, who have only ever seen her slimmed-down figure on the show, shocked. In fact, Melanie’s physical transformation has some fans reflecting on Love Island USA’s tendency to only cast thin women, questioning why there isn’t more body inclusivity on the Peacock show.

“Is it just me or is Love Island a lil fat phobic because where tf are all the plus sized baddies?!!” one Instagram user commented under @toohottea2’s post, while another added, “We don’t get enough thick representation.”

Someone else said there has “never [been] thick body diversity on Love Island or really anywhere else properly.”

While the show still has a long way to go, Love Island USA did make history in Season 8 by casting Beatriz Hatz, a Paralympic champion who had her leg amputated as a baby due to a rare birth defect.

On the topic of representation, host Ariana Madix also said she’d like to see couples break the mold a bit more. “I am dying for more queer representation on the show,” Madix told Cosmopolitan. “I think it would be really, really great, because I think that it’s just a representation of real life. Queer representation is just representation.”

Was Melanie from Love Island USA a plus-size model?

Yes! Melanie previously worked as a plus-size model. Resurfaced photos and videos show Melanie, who has since transformed her body, confidentially walking the Miami Swim Week runway long before she was making headlines on reality TV. While most viewers have praised Melanie for her “stunning” physical appearance both before and after her transformation, some viewers have appallingly claimed her insecurities and questionable behaviors in the villa are due to the fact that she once had a fuller figure. However, the Islander’s sister says she has always exuded confidence.

“Mel’s sister here. Melanie has always had very high self-esteem, even when she was plus-size,” @stephmoreno95 wrote in the comments section, per @stephwithdadeets.