Beyond the Villa’ Reunion (Exclusive)

Where do things stand between exes Kaylor Martin and Aaron Evans a year after they both entered the Love Island USA villa?

In the brand-new Peacock spinoff series, Beyond the Villa, the cast of season 6 got back together again for a summer in Los Angeles, which meant a reunion for Kaylor and Aaron, whether they were ready for it or not.

In the spinoff’s first episode, which dropped on July 13, that reunion happened, and while there were no tears from Kaylor (not from her conversation with Aaron, at least), it was intense.

Aaron didn’t occupy much space in her brain in the months following the dramatic season 6 reunion and their split, Kaylor says.

“I feel like I’m at a better place,” Kaylor, 23, tells PEOPLE of where she stands with Aaron now. “But to be honest, I felt like I was in a fine place all year.”

“We left the reunion, and then I went on and lived my life, as he did,” she says. “I think seeing him again and being in this environment again with each other, my reality was like, ‘Oh s—, Aaron is a person. He’s involved in this project.'”

Being back in the same world as him “was a lot,” she says. “It was nerve-racking.”

Their relationship is a “rollercoaster” throughout the spinoff’s first season, Kaylor teases.

She and Aaron, 28, “know how to pull each other’s heartstrings and instigate,” so there’s no question that drama will unfold between the two of them during the season.

“I definitely played part-instigator this season with Aaron,” she admits. “But in all, I think it’s all good.”

“I think that we’re on good terms. You’ll see our roller coaster go throughout the season.”

Aaron revealed during the premiere episode of the spinoff just how much his mental health had suffered as a result of the show.

“After the reunion, I basically dipped back to the UK. It was quite a horrible experience, the whole reunion situation,” he said in a confessional during the Beyond the Villa premiere. “There was a lot of backlash, there was a lot of negativity.”

“After the reunion, it was pretty dark, and I just remember times where all I wanted to do all day was sleep because it was the only thing that would get me out of thinking of what was going on in my head,” he told Connor Newsum.

“I just had to unplug myself and just get off of all socials, which I think was really healthy,” he added in a confessional again. “And even to this day now, I’m still signed out of all my social medias.”

When they reunited, Aaron took the opportunity to apologize sincerely to Kaylor and take responsibility for his mistakes last summer.

“I apologize for what I put you through. The f—– gaslighting, manipulating, all that stuff, I do apologize for,” he said.

He admitted to feeling like he’d dug himself “too deep” during Love Island and was at a bit of a loss for how to proceed.

“I just didn’t wanna ruin the whole experience,” he told Kaylor. “And then once Liv [Walker] got to New York [for the reunion], you went from one extreme to the other. So the first few days, when you were with me, you were pretty chill vibes, and then as soon as you saw Liv, you kind of flipped.”

That’s when it “registered in my brain, there’s no coming back, we’re not gonna be together,” he said.

Kaylor later described the reunion with her ex as “so awkward” in a confessional. “But we’re gonna be in the same friend groups and be around each other, so let’s have a good summer.”

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New episodes of Love Island: Beyond the Villa drop Thursdays at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET on Peacock.