The Love Island Round-Up: Heartbreak and 'making it official' (3rd – 9th February)

Last week we watched with bated breath as Casa Amour ripped the girls and boys apart and gave their ‘relationships’ one of the biggest tests they will probably ever have. For those not aware of the tumultuous journey that our lovely Islanders have been taken on over the past seven days, we will explain. For the last four weeks the 12 Islanders have been living, eating and sleeping next to one another, but on Monday night the boys were sent a text telling them to quietly pack a bag and sneak out of the house.

The boys then spent the next five days in the separate villa, with the girls left behind in the ‘main villa’. The boys were introduced to a group of six new girls and the boys to a group of six new boys, giving everyone the opportunity to get to know new people and see if they could find a better connection elsewhere. On Thursday night we had the most heart-attack inducing re-coupling of the season. Each ‘original’ girl stood up having made the decision to either stick with their original couple or to recouple with one of the new boys, and the original boys then walked in either with a new girl or single. We all knew what was coming, but it was still one of the tensest episodes so far – although I do have a small complaint about the dramatic music, over exaggerated pauses, and repetition of the circumstances. We get it.

Warning signs flashed immediately as almost all the boys left something on their partners’ pillow, but Callum didn’t leave anything for Shaughna. Although Shaughna’s tears at this early stage could have been perceived as an extreme overreaction, after watching how this weeks’ events have unfurled, she was right to worry. After just a few hours in Casa Amour it was clear that Callum was interested in fellow-Mancunian Molly and would not be holding back in getting to know her. On the first night he agreed to share a bed with her and they both kissed each other without hesitation when asked in a challenge to ‘kiss the person you fancy the most’.

Following the re-coupling, Callum started getting angry because Shaughna wouldn’t listen to him explain that he never lied during the course of their three week relationship; and yes, whilst we all understand he didn’t outrightly lie to her face, he also didn’t tell the full truth. Callum clearly didn’t have feelings for Shaughna and he should have just been honest about that fact, and this is her point. Love Island’s Best Bits programme – Saturday ITV2 9pm – has even pulled together a compilation of times where Shaughna leaned in for a kiss and Callum just pulled away and didn’t acknowledge her. Whilst his behaviour cannot quite be labelled as gaslighting, he was definitely trying to manipulate the situation to his advantage in Sunday nights’ episode by claiming that he thought Shaughna could have coupled up with someone else and that he wasn’t sure about the status of their relationship. Hopefully Shaughna will learn her lesson from this experience, and as she put it, learn to trust her gut more – you just know when something isn’t right.

Two couples that are doing extremely well and are making everyone go a bit soppy in and out of the villa are Paige and Finn, and Siânnise and Luke T. We now have got our first ‘official’ couple – for anyone who doesn’t understand what this means, Finn asked if Paige would like to be his girlfriend and she said yes. It was extremely formal according to my mother – “when I was younger you didn’t ask; you just knew that you were together”. To be fair, it did come across somewhat like a marriage proposal, especially with the rest of the Islanders watching from the balcony above. Although it was extremely cringeworthy, it was very cute to watch and offered a respite from the negativity and drama. Plus, Finn has restored a little of the faith in men that we have all lost from watching Callum’s antics.

Siânnise and Luke T are similarly proving themselves to be one of the strongest couples in there. They were only officially a couple for a few days before Casa Amour struck, but they were clearly still only interested in each other and none of the new entrants into the villa managed to sway them. Across the week both made similar comments about how they missed each other and couldn’t wait to be reunited, and their recoupling on Thursday night was emotional. Luke T’s mother also found it emotional and was seen crying at the reunion of the pair on Luke’s Instagram - @luketroytrotman. On Sunday night the pair were chosen to be the next to enjoy a night away from the group in the ‘Hideaway’. Siânnise made excellent use of the handcuffs, feather boa and some sexy lingerie and gave Luke a lap dance that he probably won’t ever forget.

An interesting conversation about consent has sprung up following Luke T and Siannese’s time in the Hideaway. Although it was most likely that Luke was feeling a bit awkward and didn’t know what to do with his hands during Siânnise’s lap dance, or perhaps he is experienced in receiving lap dances and understood that you’re not usually allowed to touch; it is worth noting that he asked for permission to touch her. Consent is still such a prevalent and serious issue, but this simple gesture has proven Luke to be mature, respectful and completely considerate of her body.

Luke M has had quite the journey in the villa, but despite the trials and tribulations that he has been put through, he has proved himself to be a calm, respectful and thoughtful individual. After being treated rather unfairly by Jess and Mike it was exciting to see him in demand; practically every single new girl to enter Casa Amour said that they were interested in Luke M. But then Natalia happened, and it all came crashing down. It looks like Natalia used Luke M to enter the main villa. It was quite clear from the outset and from Natalia’s body language that she had no real interest in Luke, but lovely Biebs put it down to her being overwhelmed and a bit stressed out and hoped that she would be back to normal soon. However, in Sunday nights’ episode Natalia made it clear through her crocodile tears that she was not interested in Luke, as she felt no sexual chemistry at all and she had actually been feeling this way for a few days now – strange, as you’ve actually only known each other for a few days? It is hard to understand why she didn’t just make this clear sooner, ideally when Luke had all the new girls pawing at him, but instead he is left single, again. Poor Biebs.

Words by Mollie Kate Cohen