Love Island USA Season 5 has had some ups and downs so far. But for all its faults, one of the contestants had such a charm to them that everyone took notice. Carsten “Bergie” Bergersen won the hearts of many with his nerdy, everyday persona.
His projected innocence and inexperience with relationships made Bergie quite relatable, more so than perhaps any other contestant in the show’s history. The man was planning his future with a woman he just met. We’ve undoubtedly all been there.
Bergie was presented as a hopeless romantic. As his bio on the show told us, he has a journal of love letters for his future spouse. It seemed we had Bergie pinned down. But recently, a photo from his past resurfaced that had fans questioning everything.
The Bergie you knew is gone
In an October 2022 Instagram post from the Wisconsin State National Physique Committee, various competitors were lined up and photographed. On the far right, we see Bergie looking much different than he’s appeared on Love Island. He’s always had a good physique, but somehow, the difference in this photo is striking.
Part of the shock is that Bergie was presented to viewers as an average, nerdy guy. Most people associate bodybuilders with an opposite personality type, whether such a stereotype is true or not. While Bergie was fit in his Love Island debut, few would’ve guessed that he was an actual bodybuilder.
Bergie rolled up to the party looking so pasty that the tanned bodybuilding version feels like it’s from an alternate dimension. It might make a viewer wonder if Bergie is playing up his nice guy traits. But more likely, the fact is that people are complex and never one-dimensional, though reality TV might make them seem a certain way.
Love Island USA continues this summer on Peacock.
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK OF BERGIE’S BODYBUILDING IMAGE? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF HIM AS A CONTESTANT?
