Love Island USA's Olandria Carthen Reveals Why She Keeps Her 'Sacred' Relationship With Nic Vansteenburghe Private: 'There's No Winning'

Olandria Carthen, 28, fell in love on national television, and she's not hiding it, but she's not giving us everything either.

Carthen spent a summer being watched and analyzed by millions as one of the breakout stars of Love Island USA's Season 7, only to come out of the villa with something she's learned to guard carefully.

She and Nicolas "Nic" Vansteenberghe, 25 — "Nicolandria" to the fans who fell in love with the couple on screen — are very much still going strong.

The couple has appeared together everywhere from brand campaigns to New York Fashion Week. But the unfiltered, around-the-clock access fans tuned in for six nights a week has been quietly dialed back since the finale, with Carthen candidly explaining why.

"When I was younger, I never understood why people in Hollywood kept their love life private, and now I do," she said in an interview with Cosmopolitan published Thursday, June 18. "When you post too much, they think you're monetizing and faking it. When you don't post at all, they can't tell if y'all are together. There's no winning."

She also shared, "It’s important for our own mental health. These people met you on TV, so they want access to you all the time. You want to post normally, but then you see people overanalyze every little thing, and you shut down."

So instead, "when it comes to me and Nic —when you really care about something—you keep it very sacred and close to you." And the truth is, Carthen knew this relationship was worth protecting almost from the moment it became real.

Their final date in the villa was the turning point. She recalls, "I was like, 'I'm gonna continue to water this love plant to see how it grows.'" Vansteenberghe told her he'd been in love twice before, and that the third time's the charm.

What's followed since leaving Fiji looks nothing like a PR relationship and everything like an actual one. They go to dinner. They watch movies at a real movie theater. She hangs out at his house in Florida.

"We don't monetize our relationship or put it on display," she explains. "If you genuinely like spending quality time with somebody, it shouldn't involve a camera every two seconds. We enjoy each other's presence and do what normal people do: go out, have fun, and get to know each other."

Carthen admits it "creeps me out" when fans start speculating if the couple may still be together or not "because I'm never that invested in someone's relationship."

For her, the internet doesn't get a vote anymore on what she shares or when she shares it.