On Love Island USA season 6, Leah Kateb and Rob Rausch were seen as the power couple until Rob blindsided Leah by coupling up with Andrea, one of the newest bombshells in the villa. Rob began sending mixed signals and playing both women until he was sure of who he wanted to be with, completely leaving Leah in the dust. Rob and Leah’s romance started quickly this season and endured some testing when Liv, the first bombshell in the villa, came and temporarily forced Rob to rematch with her. Developments were shared in real-time on this non-traditional reality show.
When Liv stole Rob from Leah, Rob was surprised she didn’t choose someone with more compatibility amongst the rest of the cast. Liv had her eyes on the snake wrangler from the beginning, but Rob’s eyes were always on Leah, even coming up with a signature eyebrow raise to communicate when he wanted to kiss her. So Rob went behind Liv’s back and continued making Leah breakfast, even going so far as to come up with a secret sign to break away from the group and meet at the dock, where Liv eventually caught them kissing.
Rob Went Out Of His Way To See Leah In Secret
Now Rob Keeps Secrets From Leah
Whereas Rob had nothing in common with Liv and felt eager to report his disinterest back to Leah in detail, the same could not be said for his interactions with Andrea, which he shared with Leah in a cryptic and discreet manner. Rob went from going out of his way to see Leah in secret to going out of his way to avoid her and keep secrets from her regarding Andrea. This move of keeping Leah in the dark is likely something that Love Island USA’s new host Ariana Madix would disapprove of, given her history on Vanderpump Rules.
When Andrea entered the villa, Leah revealed to her that she and Rob clicked fast from the beginning, having so much in common that they “shared a brain cell” and were practically the same person. Andrea didn’t seem to mind much as she still continued to pursue a connection with Rob, who certainly was not objecting to Andrea’s attention. During one of their first conversations, Rob and Andrea established common ground and bonded over some of their shared desires, which Rob understood to be “wanting what you can’t have.”
Rob Was Blown Away By Andrea At First Glance
It Didn’t Take Him Long To Forget About Leah
When Rob first saw Andrea, he said that she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen in his life and therefore hoped that she had a horrible personality and nothing in common with him. However, much like he said to Liv when they first met, the door was not shut for him. Though he vocalized interest in Leah publicly, his private confessionals were far more vulnerable, revealing a completely different narrative as he recognized being “in trouble,” excited but conflicted, and seemingly pretty sure that Andrea was the one for him.
Although Rob might’ve been set on Andrea, he was also under the impression that he had competition for Andrea’s interest with fellow islander Aaron Evans, who happened to be the other half of another seemingly strong power couple with Kaylor. Given that Rob had no guarantee Andrea would choose him, he frequently told Leah that she had nothing to worry about and that if he ever got to the point of choosing Andrea over her, she would be the first to know and would not be left in the dark, which did not prevent Leah from distrusting him.
Leah Gave Rob The Benefit Of The Doubt
The Red Flags Were All There
Instead of investigating what might really be going on between Andrea and Rob, Leah decided to pull out all the stops and win Rob’s interest back with gestures such as making him a BLT sandwich. Leah did not confront Rob immediately about the ways in which he was betraying her, leading Rob to believe he was getting away with it.
With relief, Rob told Leah that she was “so cool” and “just gets it,” letting her know not to worry unless he told her differently, which she took seriously as Leah’s feelings for Rob overpowered her ability to think critically.
Even after Rob and Andrea’s beach date, Leah did not bombard Rob with questions, thinking that if anything happened he would have told her. Unfortunately for Leah, she had to find out that Rob and Andrea kissed during the date from none other than Andrea herself, in front of the other women in the villa. Given that season 6 is Rob’s second time on Love Island, the other islanders have gaslit Leah into thinking she has been too hard on Rob and should let things slide – but a kiss that everyone else knew about crossed the line.
Leah Left Rob To Sleep Alone
She Had To Take Her Power Back
After Leah found out about the beach kiss, Rob gaslit Leah and told her that it was hard for him because liking girls was so rare for him. He tried to make Leah empathize with his indecisiveness and understand that “someone” will get hurt, and that was just the way it had to be on Love Island. Leah had trouble accepting this fate and asked why Rob was in soul ties with Andrea, to which he responded “I think you’re amazing but I don’t know if you’re right for me” and went on to chastise Leah for lacking “sexual groove.”
Rob also told Leah that he didn’t speak much, but when he did, he felt that Leah wasn’t listening to him and would often cut him off prematurely. Before Leah had a chance to get clarity on the newfound information coming from left field, Rob cried and jumped into the pool, effectively ending the conversation and hiding from Leah. She decided not to sleep with him that night, which he claimed hurt him deeply enough to leave Leah for a new match with Andrea, blindsiding her and gaslighting her to think it was her fault for setting a boundary.