Amaya Espinal

Espinal was born on November 9, 1999 in New York City,^[17][18] She is of Dominican descent,^[14][19] and is a first generation American citizen.^[17]

She became a licensed cardiac registered nurse in December 2021 and worked at a hospital in New York prior to her appearance on Love Island.^[20]

Espinal entered the Love Island villa in episode 4 of the seventh season.^[19] She stood out for her humor, authenticity, and iconic^[16] one-liners,^[10][21] slowly but surely becoming a fan favorite^[8][9][22] and the season's breakout star.^{[10][17][19][23][6][9][10][24][25]}

Various clips of her impromptu singing, often while alone in the makeup room, quickly went viral.^[8][17][23] In one widely circulated moment, she sang, "I never said I was perfect. I never said I didn't have any flaws."^[8][17][26] (As of July 2025, the phrase appears as an animated banner when users search "Amaya Papaya" on Google, accompanied by papaya emojis raining down on the page.^[5][10][11] A Google spokesperson confirmed the feature was added in response to the popularity of the moment.^[9])

During the "Stand on Business" challenge in episode 26, Espinal responded to criticism from her former connections — who claimed she cried "more than needed"^[27] and came on too strong^[28] — with remarks such as "God forbid I'm a sensitive gangsta"^[21] and "I’m just not your cup of tea to be drinkin', so don't f—ing drink it."^[14][19] Bryan Arenales, who at the time was coupled up with Andreina Santos,^[24][29] defended Espinal.^[7][14] He said that being affectionate is a common aspect of Latino culture and that terms of endearment such as "babe," "mi amor," and "mi vida" are frequently used.^[19][24] Espinal and Arenales later coupled up^[29] and eventually won the seventh season, taking home the $100,000 prize together.^[30][31][32] The duo stated their intention to donate a portion of the winnings to charity.^{[16][24][33][34][35][36]} (In August 2025, Espinal announced via social media that she and Arenales had separated.^[37][38])

In July 2025, Espinal signed with Gersh and Untitled Entertainment for representation in all areas.^[39]