Gemma Owen, daughter of former England striker Michael, made her Love Island debut on Monday (6 June) in the first episode of the reality show’s eighth series.
While Gemma did not publicly address her parentage in the episode, she did drop a number of hints.
In response to her appearance on the show, one of her famous father’s tweets has resurfaced. In 2014, Owen tweeted: “Going to bed. Can't take the pain any longer,” after Uruguay beat England in a World Cup group stage match.
The tweet was reshared by a fan on Monday night (6 June), who quipped: “Michael Owen at 9pm every night for the next 8 weeks,” referring to Love Island’s TV slot.
Ahead of her entrance to the villa, Gemma told the Daily Mail that her footballer father isn’t exactly “buzzing about me doing Love Island”. However, he told her: “I’m not going to tell you what to do.”
“He’s very supportive in whatever I decide to do. He didn’t have a massive tantrum or anything like that. He was pretty chilled, he trusts me not to do anything to embarrass him. He took it quite well,” she added.
Gemma had previously told the publicationthat “boys aren’t on the cards right now and my dad wouldn’t be very happy at all if I came back and said ‘I’m going on Love Island’”.
As for what changed her mind, Gemma said: “I am open to finding love. I’m wanting to have a really fun summer. I was seeing someone and then that didn’t work out so I thought, ‘Why not?’”
Gemma, an international dressage rider, is currently the youngest contestant in the villa at age 19. Her appearance on the programme has sparked conversation among fans about the “mad” age-gap between this year’s contestants.
The bookies are already placing bets on who will win the series, while you can find The Independent’s own predictions here.
Love Island airs every night apart from Saturdays on ITV2 and ITV Hub at 9pm.
