All Rob Rausch’s Love Island USA controversies that earned him a reputation before Traitors
Seems like he was in his villain era back then
Rob Rausch already has people side-eyeing him as he stomps around The Traitors US castle.
But his “hot snake guy” aura didn’t start with cloaks and roundtables, it was Love Island USA where he picked up that villainous reputation.
If you watched season six, you already know Rob’s vibe was basically charming one minute, emotionally chaotic the next.
So, for everyone now seeing him pop up on Traitors and thinking “wait… why do Love Island fans have beef with him?”, here are the moments that built his messy legend…
The “we don’t have a groove” comment that stung Leah
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One of Rob’s most talked-about moments was when he told Leah Kateb that, despite thinking she was attractive, they didn’t have a “groove” (aka sexual chemistry).
“I think you’re gorgeous. I think you’re sexy as f*ck but we don’t really have a groove,” he said.
Leah later said on the Call Her Daddy podcast that the comment brought up deep insecurities and made her feel “so unwanted” and embarrassed.
Rob’s defence (after the fact) was that he was trying to be “transparent” and not waste her time, but viewers were like ‘transparency is great, but delivery *really* matters’…
Dumping Leah the second Andrea arrived
Rob and Leah were giving main-couple potential… until bombshell Andrea Carmona entered, and Rob immediately pursued her instead, per Reality Tea.
Technically, Love Island is about exploring connections. But the speed of the switch, plus the way the “groove” convo landed, made it feel less like “I’m open” and more like “actually, never mind.”
It’s the kind of plot twist that turns a fan-fave into a villain overnight, because people weren’t just invested in the couple, they were invested in Leah.
Telling Andrea he’d leave with her… and then not leaving
@loveislandusa 👁️💧👄💧👁️ #LoveIslandUSA
When Andrea got dumped, Rob had a dramatic reaction and declared he’d leave, too. And listen, in the moment? It was very “rom-com grand gesture.”
But then… he stayed. Which is where the backlash really kicked in, because it read like he’d given Andrea this huge promise in front of everyone, only to backtrack when reality hit.
Rob later told Alex Cooper that he “100 percent” regretted saying he’d leave and blamed it on being emotional and how intense “island time” feels, per USA Network.
The Liv situation
Another “please… be serious” storyline was Rob being coupled with Liv Walker while still actively chasing Leah, without properly communicating where his head was at.
According to Reality Tea’s recap of the season, Rob and Leah even made a secret signal so they could sneak off and kiss away from Liv, and Liv found out by literally catching them.
It wasn’t that Liv chose him, it was that Rob let it drag, which made him look like he wanted options and plausible deniability.
The constant “connection hopping” that cemented his villain edit
@todayshow LoveIslandUSA’s Andrea Carmona entered the villa and caught the eye of Rob Rausch, who was in a seemingly strong couple with Leah Kateb at the time. After Rob re-coupled with Andrea, the duo found themselves in the bottom couples of the show. Though Rob was saved by his fellow islanders, Andrea was tearfully dumped from the villa. Andrea talks about Leah’s “malicious” comments about Rob, despite Leah’s claims that she has never spoken poorly about her former couple. #TODAYShow @Love Island USA @Andrea Carmona
After Andrea left, Rob kept exploring, coupling up with multiple women over the rest of his run, and for some people watching, it confirmed the whole “messy player” narrative.
He said on Call Her Daddy in July 2024: “I’ve been talking to her a little bit, but it’s not like – I think, I think once again, it’s probably better if we just kind of keep our distance for now…”
Again: technically allowed! But combined with the Leah, Andrea, and Liv sagas, it started to feel less like “I’m searching for love” and more like “I’m speed-dating with zero emotional damage control.”
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