Exclusive | The villa comes to LA as ‘Love Island USA’ watch parties pop up across the city — here’s where to ‘couple up’

On Monday night in Hollywood, over 200 fans packed into a sports bar to scream, gasp and collectively lose their minds — over a group of swimsuit-clad singles flirting and making out on a tropical island in Fiji.

The occasion was the kickoff of “Casa Amor,” arguably the most anticipated twist of the season on Peacock’s hit dating reality TV show, “Love Island USA.”

For those not in the know, the show strands a group of contestants looking for love — known as Islanders — inside a luxury villa where they must couple up to survive elimination. The goal is simple: find love, make it to the finale, convince viewers at home to vote for you as the winning couple, and win $100,000 (and that’s before the onslaught of social media followers you’ll reap).

But what has transformed the dating competition into a cultural phenomenon is its near-nightly schedule and endless stream of plot twists, betrayals and racy hookups that give fans something new to obsess over almost everyday.

Reality Bar has capitalized on that obsession by hosting free watch parties five nights a week at up to four different bars across Los Angeles, turning solitary couch-viewing into a spectator sport — move over soccer fans.

Monday’s event centered around the arrival of Casa Amor, the show’s infamous loyalty test that sends a fresh batch of singles into the villa to tempt contestants away from their existing partners.

When the episode played at 8 p.m. at The Palm and The Pine in Hollywood, the crowd was already chanting “Casa! Casa! Casa!” as bartenders hustled themed drinks like a “Coupled Up Cosmo” or “I’ve Got a Text-ini” to a packed room.

Every time host Ariana Madix appeared on screen, the crowd erupted. When islander Aniya locked lips with a new contestant, the room practically shook. But for many attendees (none of them World Cup fans), the gathering wasn’t just about the show. It was about community.

“When I come here, I literally feed off the energy and everyone gets so hyped,” Adam Selcov told The California Post. “My main friend group is made up of people I’ve met at Reality Bar.”

Reality Bar, which hosts viewing parties for everything from “Love Island” and “The Traitors” to “Survivor,” “Big Brother” and “The Real Housewives,” has quietly become a phenomenon in Los Angeles.

The crowd, which skewed 60 to 70 percent female, didn’t just watch the screen; they lived it, reacting to every flirtation, kiss and betrayal. When 12 new male “bombshells” marched into the villa to test the couples’ loyalty, one sharp-tongued guest was overheard shouting: “Apparently 12 one’s makes one 10!”

Other crowd commentary was equally unfiltered. “Bryce is so gay,” one viewer yelled, while another confidently claimed, “Caleb is such a Republican.”

The Hollywood event drew 235 RSVP’s for Monday’s Casa Amor kickoff, while a second watch party held Tuesday night at Beaches in West Hollywood attracted another 43 RSVP’s.

“We’ve been seeing all the Reality Bar posts on Instagram,” attendee Karleigh Palmeter told The Post. “Last year we did watch parties at an apartment, but this year we wanted to come out, have some drinks and kind of get a sense of the Love Island community.”

Palmeter and her friends arrived early to secure seats. “We’re ready for the show, we’re ready for the party,” she said, noting that the current season is delivering unprecedented shock value for being the “raunchiest.”

West Hollywood Reality Bar programming lead, Nyx, said the concept fills a gap traditional sports bars have long ignored.

“Reality Bar viewing parties are really on the rise right now,” Nyx told The Post from Beaches in West Hollywood. “Where sports are typically for heterosexual straight males, this targets a completely different demographic. Gay men, lesbians, women specifically love to come out.”

“One thing that [Reality Bar founder] Maddie Biebel is really big on is community seating, so people can meet new friends,” Nyx said. “I know people who I met here who have come back for multiple different shows and are now staples.”

The parties have become so successful that Beaches now uses two separate venues. Major premieres, finales and reunion episodes can draw more than 1,000 people, organizers said.

“It’s a party,” Nyx said. “You’ve got a lot of giggling, a lot of wine and a lot of tacos.”

Even those who can’t commit to the grueling broadcast schedule are showing up for the vibe.

“I don’t watch the full episodes because I don’t have the time, but I see the snippets on TikTok and they’re very, very interesting,” said Carlos Nunez, who went to the Tuesday night event with a group of buddies.

The reality TV ecosystem has become so interconnected that former contestants from “Survivor,” “Big Brother,” “The Amazing Race” contestants sometimes show up in person. According to regulars, some dumped Islanders have even made appearances at watch parties after leaving the villa.

And as reality TV fandom seems to increasingly move offline, organizers expect the trend to keep growing.

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