While it hasn’t even been a year since “Love Island USA” Season 6 came to an end, fan-favorite JaNa Craig has already filmed two more reality TV shows since her PPG breakout. She can currently be seen on NBC’s “Destination X” and will soon be reuniting with her co-stars on the Peacock spinoff series “Love Island: Beyond the Villa.”
“It’s been very surreal. Every day I’m on some crazy adventure. It’s been such a blessing,” Craig told TheWrap. “‘Love Island’ actually reached out Season 5 and I gave it a try. After like, two, three interviews, I didn’t get it, so I was like, ‘OK, maybe this was not meant for me.’ Season 6, they were like, ‘Can you try again?’ And I was like, no, no. I don’t like getting turned down twice. But you know, whatever. I just tried it again and then after call after call after call, they were like, ‘You want to go to Fiji?’ “
Now on Episode 6, Craig boarded host Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s “Destination X” tour bus in Episode 3 alongside former “Bachelor” and “The Traitors” faithful, Peter Weber.
“I literally could not have done it without Peter. We were literally ride or dies. Coming later into the game, the advantage was we already have three people out, but the disadvantage is, everyone was against us,” she explained. “The good thing is me and Peter are smarter than we look, so I like that people kept underestimating us and wanted us out.”
“My dad was Marine Corps., so I was, like, all over Asia, which … how does that help me with Europe? But because I grew up traveling so much — I started traveling when I got of age, like 18, on my own — so I’ve been to Turkey, I’ve been to France, Germany, the U.K. I’m really grateful that being a military brat and being on a plane 24/7 unlocked that fear,” Craig further shared. “It was very beneficial, because I’ve been to certain spots in Europe all on my own to get a better sense of the land in the world. With my experience of knowing certain things about Europe as well as Peter’s, I think we became this secret dynamic duo, the way people underestimated us.”
And after America got to know her throughout a summer of romantic drama, Craig’s introduction to the NBC social competition travel series was also a bit dramatic, when contestant Tai Lowry lied about meeting her early during a reward.
“I’m not the type of person to blow another person’s cover. So I’m really good at reading the room. Like, OK, do you want to slide with it? I’ll slide with it with you, but just know, I do not trust you. But I would never blow up another person’s cover,” she said. “Even if I don’t win, I got to go around Europe for free, so that was really my mindset. I told myself, it’s a competition, but I really just want to have fun every day and see how far I can make it — and if I make it to the end, then great. If not, someone else is there that deserves the money more than me, so I was not even tripping.”
So what does she think of “Love Island” Season 7 so far? “Everyone is good looking. So, like, that’s a really good start — and the girls are beautiful.”
Next month, Craig will be joined by fellow Islanders Aaron Evans, Connor Newsum, Kaylor Martin, Kendall Washington, Kenny Rodriguez, Leah Kateb, Liv Walker, Miguel Harichi and Serena Page in “Love Island: Beyond the Villa” … though she couldn’t tease too much.
“I can tell you, it does air July 13. We got the whole band back together. There’s a few ups and downs, you know, navigating through our relationships coming out of the villa with our newfound fame,” she said. “But for the most part, I enjoyed being with my Islanders again. I felt like we were back in the villa, and even though we had some drama here and there, it still felt good, for the most part, to just be around them again.”
With that said, Rob Rausch will not be part of the main cast on the spinoff — because he’s instead been cast on Season 4 of “The Traitors.”
“My God! OK, I screamed when I saw it, because I’m so proud of him. I feel like when you see an Islander do something crazy big, they’re representing all of us. So even though it’s just Rob going to ‘Traitors,’ it’s like ‘Love Island’ on ‘Traitors,’ you know?” Craig gushed. “I’m super proud, I’m super excited for him. He’s a sneaky one, he’s a clever one, so I think he’s going to do really good. We’re rooting for him for sure.”
“Destination X” airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC before streaming next day on Peacock. “Love Island: Beyond the Villa” premieres July 13 on Peacock.
