Look, I wasn’t watching Love Island when it first aired back in the summer. I caught up later when everyone kept banging on about Nicolandria, and honestly, I get it now. Olandria Carthen, the 27-year-old from Decatur, Alabama, who calls herself the “Bama Barbie,” walked into that villa on day one and somehow became the most talked-about person from season seven without even seeming to try.
And that’s the mad bit. She wasn’t performing. She wasn’t doing that thing reality TV people do, where they’re constantly aware of the cameras. She just existed, and people couldn’t look away.
From Selling Elevators to Selling Out Lip Kits
Before all this kicked off, Olandria was a first-generation college graduate from Tuskegee University, where she studied supply chain management. Proper HBCU pride, that. She was a sales associate at Otis Elevator Co., based in Houston, Texas, which sounds as glamorous as it is. She was moving elevators and escalators to businesses, making about 130,000 dollars a year by industry estimates and lamenting how terrible the Houston dating scene was.
In her own words to Glamour: “I should not be selling elevators.” And being single for five years, she thought, “Well, the dating pool in Houston sucks. Let me try my luck on reality TV.
So she packed up and headed to Fiji for Love Island USA season seven. She coupled up with Taylor Williams pretty quickly, and things seemed sorted. Except they weren’t, were they? The whole Taylor situation got messy during Casa Amor, and that’s when everything shifted.
The Nicolandria Thing Nobody Saw Coming
Here’s where it gets properly interesting. Both Olandria and Nic Vansteenberghe ended up single and nearly got dumped from the island during Casa Amor. They were given an ultimatum: leave the villa single or come back as a couple. They chose to couple up, shared a kiss that apparently changed everything, and Olandria boyfriend became Nic.
Well, sort of. They didn’t label it right away. The pair finished as runners-up on day 32, but fans went absolutely mental for them. The “Nicolandria” ship name took over social media. People were editing stuff, doing fan fiction, the whole nine yards.
And when Kim Kardashian’s daughter, North West, asked Nic point-blank in December 2025 if they’d broken up, he confirmed, ‘No, I didn’t. Nicolandria 4L,” meaning they’re a couple “for life.”
Yeah, Olandria’s boyfriend, Nic, is still very much in the picture. They don’t live together because she’s in Houston and he’s in Jacksonville, but Olandria told Glamour that being from the Deep South makes it hard to just jump to the West Coast. “It doesn’t feel like home.”
What Happened After the Cameras Stopped Rolling
Right, so this is where things get mental. Most Love Island contestants fade into TikTok obscurity, flogging teeth whitening kits and dodgy diet teas. Olandria did something completely different.
She signed with Digital Brand Architects, a management firm owned by United Talent Agency. She’s modelled for brands like Kulani Kinis, Agua de Kefir, Sweetgreen, and collaborated with NYX Cosmetics for an official Nicolandria lip kit that sold out in minutes
Then came the fashion world. Styling duo Matthew and Reginald Reisman reached out to her on Instagram while she was still in the villa. They told Fashionista she was “this standout of grace, integrity and beauty.” She made her runway debut at the Sergio Hudson Spring/Summer 2026 show during New York Fashion Week in September 2025.
She’s walked for Off-White, Alexander Wang, and Theophilio. Ad Age praised her for “taking a deliberate approach to transforming momentary fame into a sustainable personal brand” and named her one of the top five breakout creators of 2025.
Olandria Carthen TikTok has blown up too. Her olandria_carthen account has amassed 1.7 million followers. She shares vlogs, fashion content, and advocacy work for HBCUs and Black women in reality TV.
The Mental Health Bit Nobody Talks About
Olandria’s said the adjustment from a traditional 9-to-5 job to overnight fame was jarring. She recalled shutting down under the weight of opinions flooding in from all directions.
She told Glamour, “I was literally one of the last islanders to get a team together. But I was so happy that I actually took my foot off the gas to breathe. I interviewed 15 different agencies and management companies.
The constant sharing came at a cost. “Eventually, it became mentally draining. People started to nitpick us. They were doing that on the show, but we didn’t have our phones to see it. Now that we’re actually having to live with it and hear about it, it’s like, ‘Oh, maybe we don’t need to share as much anymore.’’
That’s refreshingly honest, innit? Most influencers pretend everything’s brilliant all the time.
Where Olandria Age Actually Matters
At 27, she was one of the older cast members on season seven. That matters more than you’d think. She wasn’t doing that early twenties thing where you’re performing yourself for the cameras. She’d lived a bit. Had a proper career. Knew who she was.
She told the Go Off Sis podcast, “When I was on that show, I knew I was representing more than just myself.” As one of only two Black women in the original cast, she felt that weight.
She didn’t rush into content creation like other islanders. “I kind of wanted to be a little different, do more speaking engagements, talk about uplifting education, HBCUs, and breaking out into the fashion industry.
Olandria Height and the Glamour Factor
Nobody seems to list Olandria height officially, but she’s clearly model-tall based on those runway photos. She appeared on Glamour’s December 2025 holiday cover with Nic. The cover story, titled “The Year of Nicolandria,” had them reflecting on supporting each other and dealing with fast fame. The photos are gorgeous. They’re in matching holiday knits, proper cosy vibes. It’s gone viral, obviously.
She’s also been featured as a model for UGG’s 2025 Fluff Momma global campaign and Reebok’s Angel Reese 1 campaign. She’s attended the MTV VMAs, the CFDA Fashion Awards, and the Glamour Women of the Year, all within months of leaving that villa.
Olandria Carthen Background
She is the eldest of three sisters. First-generation college graduate. Everything she’s done has been with the aim of building something greater than herself. As a first-generation college grad who received her degree from Tuskegee University, she is also dedicated to encouraging higher education and empowering young women.
What Makes Her Different from Every Other Reality Star
TheGrio wrote: “Olandria Carthen stands as a living example of why she is, in fact, ‘bigger than the program'”.
And they’re right. She’s not just another Love Island contestant trying to stretch fifteen minutes of fame into a career. She’s built something substantial. Brand partnerships with Microsoft, Hyundai, Vaseline, and Aveeno. Speaking engagements about representation. Fashion week appearances that actually matter.
When she appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in August, she gushed about Nic: “I’m so happy that I was blessed with this guy who allows me to bask in my femininity. He takes the wheel. Usually, I’m a control freak; I let him do everything.”
That vulnerability, that willingness to be soft after being strong for so long, that’s what people connected with.
So yeah, Love Island wasn’t just another reality TV stint. It was the start of something much bigger for someone who was always meant to be in front of cameras, just maybe not the ones inside an elevator showroom in Houston.
