An Update on Love Island USA's JaNa and Kenny — and If They're Still Together
Kenny arrived in the Villa during Season 6 just when JaNa was giving up on love. A year later, what are they up to now?
JaNa Craig was unlucky in love during her first few weeks of Love Island USA.
During Season 6 of Peacock's reality dating competition series, the Destination X star was in back-to-back failed couplings with Coye Simmons, Connor Newsum, and Hakeem White. And we'll never forget one of the most dramatic firepit dumpings in Love Island history when JaNa was narrowly saved from a dumping by the girls, who infamously chose to send Andrea Carmona home instead. However, everything quickly turned around for the 28-year-old day trader when Kennny Rodriguez entered the Villa as a bombshell on Day 13.
As JaNa likes to tell it, while feeling defeated and wanting to go home, she manifested Kenny — who's Dominican and grew up in the Bronx — while having a "heart-to-heart" with Serena Page.
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"I’m like, 'You know what? I want tall, handsome, specifically from New York. I love my Latino men. That would be great,'" she told Interview. "And literally within 24 hours, Kenny walked in and I was so in shock because I was like, 'He looks Latino and taller than 6’1. I just need to make sure he’s from New York and I’m sold.' He was just so much more handsome than I daydreamed in my head. When he sat down, we were staring at each other. I didn’t mean to stare at him, I was just in shock. I was like, 'No way my person just walked in and I just talked about him last night.'"
The two instantly hit it off, with JaNa's bubbly, extroverted energy serving as the perfect foil for Kenny's more quiet and reserved personality.
He told Interview, "I was also coming into a situation where there’s bonds already set, so I didn’t really want to put my pressure on anyone. I think it took me a bit to open up, but I definitely got to a point where I was just being Kenny. I was just being me."
The couple had three days together before Casa Amor hit the season. Kenny chose to bring Catherine Marshall back to the villa, breaking JaNa's heart and leading to a now-viral Kenny crash out that also saw him in tears. However, the two overcame it all, and their love story was like a rom-com come to life, which even included declarations of love... in Spanish.
"It was the test I didn’t know we needed, and I was grateful that he brought [Catherine] back because it made us stronger,” Craig told Essence GU.
During the season's reunion, the couple announced that Kenny asked JaNa to be his girlfriend just a couple weeks after they took home third place in the finale — and she said yes. So, what are they up to now? Read more, below, to find out.
Are JaNa and Kenny still together?
Yes, KaNa are still together a year after they starred on Love Island USA.
Since leaving Fiji, the couple have made long distance work, with JaNa based in Las Vegas, while Kenny is in Dallas. However, the two never go long without seeing each other. They're even both on the cast of Peacock's upcoming spinoff, Love Island: Beyond the Villa, where we'll get a closer look at their relationship.
"[We] do a lot of work together but we also have just [the right] amount of time so we can miss each other," JaNa told People in October 2024. "That distance also helps the heart grow fonder. But it also doesn't put a lot of pressure on us to need to be with each other all the time. I kind of like it that we don't live in the same city right now."
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In the months since exiting the Villa, Kenny and JaNa have co-starred in campaigns for Agua de Kefir, BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, and Raising Cane's. They also frequently travel with one another, from the California desert for Coachella, to Tokyo's Gladiator II premiere. The couple share updates on their respective Instagram and TikTok accounts, with highlights including an adorable Christmas photo shoot and their Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen Halloween costumes.
"My dream wouldn’t be complete without you in it 💚," JaNa wrote in a caption when sharing photos with her followers.
As for the latest with the duo, even more jet setting is in their future. Kenny shared with Us that he has "a trip planned" for their anniversary, but he's not giving away many details.
“They’re in the works,” he said. “That’s all I can say."
Of course, JaNa already has an idea of where their secret destination is. “I asked him if we could go to Italy for our one-year, so …”
What JaNa has been up to since Love Island
Just weeks after Season 6 officially wrapped, JaNa began posting weekly Vlogs on YouTube where she keeps fans up-to-date on the latest in her life. (And yes, there are plenty of Kennny appearances.) From a Kosas campaign featured in Vogue, to interviewing Doechii for the Grammys and collaborating with brands such as Tarte, Shea Moisture, and Maybelline, JaNa's schedule has been non-stop.
“The new era of JaNa is going to be a lot of talking [laughs],” she said to Essence GU. “I’m going to do anything that makes me happy, and you’re gonna see me everywhere that you’re gonna be sick of me [laughs] this is only the beginning.”
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She's also looking forward to welcoming the Season 7 cast into the Love Island USA family, telling Us, "I hope they just bring it and be themselves. I’m pretty sure all eyes are going to be on them, but I think they’re going to be great.”
If you can't wait to see JaNa on Love Island: Beyond the Villa (premiering Sunday, July 13 on Peacock), she's currently starring NBC's Destination X, which airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on NBC and next day on Peacock.
What Kenny has been up to since Love Island
With partnerships ranging from Dove and Cetaphil, to Trojan and Uniqlo, Kenny is just as busy as his girlfriend. The 25-year-old is also passionate about fitness, and shares plenty of bombshell-worthy gym videos. But in between red carpets and brand deals, he aims to never lose sight of who he was before Love Island.
“I shop at Marshalls. I go to Kohl's,” Kenny said during a panel at Loyola Marymount University in November. “I’m trying to stay myself through all this, regardless of the publicity and everything that goes along with it.”