“Love Island USA”'s JaNa Craig Is Finally Speaking Out: 'I'm Way Stronger Than I Thought I Was' (Exclusive)

JaNa Craig is looking forward.

The 28-year-old conscionable passed nan one-year day of her clip connected Love Island USA season 6, an acquisition that launched her — and her castmates — into instant stardom.

The Peacock bid drew truthful galore viewers who were devoted to nan play 6 contestants, that nan islanders reunited to prima connected a first-of-its-kind spinoff series, Love Island: Beyond nan Villa, which premiered successful July.

The show (airing Thursdays connected Peacock) brought nan group backmost together for nan first clip since surviving successful nan villa successful Fiji. As cameras rolled during their summertime successful Los Angeles, viewers sewage to spot nan magic of this group's move arsenic they navigated relationships extracurricular nan villa, came face-to-face pinch their exes for nan first clip and showed conscionable really heavy their enslaved really is.

Through it all, JaNa became a instrumentality favourite — alongside her 2 champion friends Leah Kateb and Serena Page, a.k.a. nan "Power Puff Gang" (PPG) — and not a time goes by that she doesn't speak to them. "We're connected FaceTime each day," JaNa says. In fact, nan first point she has to do aft her question and reply is to hop connected their "daily call."

"I thrust difficult for them. It's not moreover a friendship, it's a consecutive sisterhood astatine this point," she says.

It only makes consciousness that she's navigating life truthful intimately pinch them — they've been done thing not galore others have. They had to travel location to a societal media firestorm after Love Island past twelvemonth (where contestants famously don't person their phones while filming) and navigate really their on-screen relationships activity successful nan existent world.

“I don't deliberation I could person gone done thing that I've been done this past twelvemonth without them," she says.

Leah, Serena and her formed members, Kordell Beckham, Miguel Harichi, Liv Walker, Kaylor Martin and Kendall Washington person been her support strategy erstwhile she had to strengthen nan biggest alteration since her clip post-show. On July 28, news collapsed that JaNa's astir year-long narration pinch Kenny Rodriguez, whom she met connected Love Island, ended. They had travel successful 3rd successful nan finale.

She later released a connection confirming her divided from nan 25-year-old, arsenic she told her 2.7 cardinal followers that “none” of their theories connected nan breakup “have matched up to really terrible, disgusting and disappointing it genuinely is."

The 1 point JaNa wants to guarantee fans though: "I've gotten nan closure I need."

She credits her resilience to being "an highly affirmative person" and "practicing gratitude" each day.

"When bad things do happen, I conscionable reflect," she says. "Self-reflection is very, very important. I deliberation group should do it each nan time. I analyse nan business for myself, I conscionable talk it retired to myself. I believe connected it. I talk to God astir it, and past I conscionable virtually move on. I'm really, really bully astatine moving on."

She adds, "It's honestly my biggest flex if I'm being honest. I conscionable proceed to believe gratitude. It didn't termination me. I americium still here. God is good. Life is good, truthful it's like, girl, I'm fine. I'm fine."

How good you ask? "I don't want to discarded my activity connected him, if I'm being truthful honest," she says of nan breakup. "I thought it was a bully relationship. But it wasn't, and that's fine."

If anyone's wondering — yes, she's seen fans pointing retired reddish flags successful her relationship, which person travel nether a microscope pinch each caller section of Beyond nan Villa (which besides stars Kenny). “I dislike that group online are telling maine that," she says.

“I conscionable consciousness like, erstwhile personification has a hidden agenda, they’re going to travel disconnected arsenic genuine arsenic imaginable to scope their goal. The reddish flags that group saw, I didn’t see,” JaNa says. "People are like, ‘You missed truthful galore things.’ I'm like, ‘But I didn't.’ Because nary one's perfect. No couple's perfect. There are situations wherever we forgave each different arsenic you would do successful a relationship. It gets frustrating, but it's OK. Life goes on.”

She assures fans she's "already healed."

"It was truthful acheronian – nan past. I don't for illustration talking astir it anymore,” she says. “I've moved on. I've gotten nan closure I need. I don't really for illustration to dwell connected nan past. There's nary use of doing so."

She continues, "I've learned that I'm measurement stronger than I thought I was. I knew I was a reliable cookie, but erstwhile you spell done a mates of tests and tribulations, you recognize you build much character. I'm stronger than I think."

All she's focused connected correct now is her "very agleam future," which she hopes includes nan motorboat of a "really breathtaking business."

"I emotion staying busy," JaNa admits. "I conscionable aftermath up and show up." Her main extremity though, is to gain capable to springiness backmost successful a large way.

"I've ever really wanted nan dream of having 7 streams of income, truthful respective businesses, conscionable truthful that I could go a philanthropist and springiness it each away," JaNa says. "So I spot myself donating a lot, specifically libraries. And for immoderate reason, God told maine toilets and bathrooms... infrastructure for illustration that. Hopefully hospitals arsenic well, but I conscionable for illustration to activity really difficult to springiness it each distant because you can't return it erstwhile you go."

If she yet gets immoderate down time, she's going to walk it pinch her "soulmates," Leah and Serena. "We've been readying a travel for nan past 365 days now, truthful possibly we'll really spell connected a travel now."

They're still moving connected nan destination, but are reasoning Bora Bora aliases nan Maldives. "We should propulsion a dart astatine nan representation — and dream it doesn't onshore successful nan water — and past conscionable spell from there," she says pinch a laugh.

Whatever happens adjacent successful life, emotion and career, she knows her fans are on for nan thrust — and she couldn't beryllium much grateful.

"I don't deliberation I've ever been drowned successful truthful overmuch emotion and support," she says. "I conscionable want to convey my supporters, everyone that has been riding for maine since time one. I cannot fto America down. I support connected striving hard, I support connected moving difficult conscionable to show my gratitude to them."

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She adds, "I conscionable consciousness for illustration nan full state conscionable gave maine a large hug aft each I've been done these past fewer weeks and I can't convey them enough. I've ne'er felt truthful overmuch love. My family and my friends, they're location for maine always. But everyone that's followed me, moreover nan ones that don't travel me, but still emotion and support me, I americium so, truthful grateful and I conscionable want to fto them cognize I'm not going to fto you guys down."

Love Island: Beyond nan Villa airs Thursdays astatine 9 p.m. ET connected Peacock.