Love Island USA’s Amaya reveals the ‘horrible’ real reason she was recently hospitalised
'That probably was my body giving up'
Love Island USA fans are used to Amaya ‘Papaya’ Espinal serving main-character energy, cute one-liners, big heart, and that winner’s glow.
So when headlines started swirling that she’d been rushed to the hospital and needed emergency surgery, the vibe shifted from villa gossip to ‘is she okay?!’ and fast.
Amaya’s kept things pretty private so far, but thanks to a new social update, we’re given a small peek at how she’s doing now.
Amaya was hospitalised
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Amaya Espinal, winner of Love Island USA season seven, was hospitalised in Los Angeles after experiencing severe abdominal pain, according to People.
The situation sounded genuinely scary. TMZ reported she was rushed to the hospital over the weekend, and that things escalated quickly enough that she needed emergency surgery earlier in the week.
People also confirmed the surgery and noted that she remained hospitalised while doctors continued to monitor her. However, she was later reported to be in stable condition.
She revealed what caused her health scare
Amaya via Tiktok live updating papayas about her stay in the hospital, recovery, btv and goals for 2026
pic.twitter.com/cI5Tog4Q1U— Amaya Base (@papayabase) December 24, 2025
The exact medical cause of Amaya’s abdominal pain hasn’t been publicly confirmed. TMZ said it was unclear what caused the severe pain that sent her to the ER, and People echoed that the specific cause wasn’t known publicly.
What Amaya has shared herself is a small but sweet recovery update.
She said: “I’ve just been not home. I haven’t been home. I’ve been literally living on a plane. Whenever I’m home, it’s for two to three days and then, boom, I’m back outside. I’m not back outside partying, I’m back outside working.”
Amaya continued: “I feel like it really just affected me, affected my health, and just really shut down my immune system, and my issue flared up. I eventually needed to be hospitalised for it, and it was a really long time… it was for the longest time ever, but I feel like everything happens for a reason.”
She added: “The pain was horrible, the symptoms were horrible. But I probably needed that downtime. That probably was my body giving up and yelling at me, like ‘yo, chill’. And, now I’m chilling.”
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