If saying “I pick Clarke” in a southern drawl is in your rotation of vocal stims after Taylor Williams partnered with Clarke Carraway in Love Island USA’s villa last summer, then you’d be very pleased to know that the couple is still going strong on season 2 of Love Island: Beyond the Villa.
Though they’ve been navigating a long-distance relationship since they left Fiji, Taylor and Clarke’s bond has only gotten stronger. Of course, that mainly comes from their efforts to catch flights and see each other between North Carolina and Oklahoma.
But according to Taylor, his relationship with Clarke “shifted for the better” when she helped care for him after he was hospitalized from a horse-riding accident at the Arizona Invitational Black Rodeo. Last August, Taylor’s horse tripped and fell during a stampede, which led to him being thrown off its back and being trampled by the animal when his body hit the ground.
“We only grew stronger and got to understand each other more,” Taylor exclusively told Cosmopolitan of Clarke’s support. “I got to see who Clarke really was when I was on bed rest for two weeks. I got to see her caring side, how much she loves me, and how much she wants to tend to me, if I need her to. We definitely grew super strong.”
Clarke had no hesitation in standing by his side as he healed from the brutal injury. “I like to think that when I’m in a relationship, I can hold my man’s hand, close my eyes, and know that he’s going to lead me in the right direction, and that I’m going to be safe and taken care of,” she told Cosmo of how they show up for each other.
She continued, “Unfortunately, this happened, but he was able to see that he can also be taken care of. Like, ‘She can look after me in the same way that I look after her.’ The reciprocation that we have in our relationship is super important, and we know we can take care of each other if it comes down to it.”
With support like that? May Taylor pick Clarke in every lifetime!
Thankfully, we’ll get to see more of Clarke and Taylor’s love story—and how she adjusts to farm life in Oklahoma—on season 2 of Love Island: Beyond the Villa, which hits Peacock with a two-episode premiere on Wednesday, April 15.
