Eagle-eyed Love Island fans have been asking questions after noticing that Luca Bish was missing from Gemma Owen's Instagram account in the lead up to and the aftermath of the final. Monday night's final saw dressage rider Gemma and fishmonger Luca come in second place behind winners Ekin-Su Culculoglu and Davide Sanclimenti on the ITV2 dating show.
Supporters spotted that Luca wasn't included in Gemma’s Instagram posts for three days as the eight week Love Island journey drew to a close. They clocked that on the day of the final her account shared an image of the Islander alone.
Gemma, 19, was the only female finalist to not have a photo of herself standing next to her partner on their feed. The post, with a picture of just Gemma from the couple's romantic final date, said: "Words can’t describe how proud we all are of Gemma. She has shown the nation how mature, honest and classy she truly is."
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And those running her account said: "From the bottom of our hearts thank you for all the love and support…Gemma is going to be SO overwhelmed." They added: "We are passing this back to Gemma now… We have loved running her account and being part of her @loveisland journey. We can’t wait for what the future holds #LoveIsland #TeamGemma. Over & Out."
robertworsley commented: "The fact they posted without Luca." bullygirl77 asked: "Why have you not posted about both Luca and Gemma?" emmaroo91 said: "No mention of Luca." And heythere2773 asked: "No pic of them both together…?"
fashi0nl0v3 wrote: "No but at least post the 'runners up' picture. Geez, one would swear Gemma left alone according to the person running this account. It’s not about you, whether you support Luca or not. She’s with him, it’s her account, so at least post it."
Over on Luca's page there was a celebratory photo of the couple with the words: "Thank you SO much from the bottom of our hearts for all of the support you’ve shown this gorgeous couple. So excited to continue watching your journey from the outside. You really did win by finding each other." And Gemma's account replied: "Can't wait for their journey."
As the congratulations poured in tbball42 applauded: "Well done, you caused less drama than literally every other person on the show." johncossentineofficial said: "Well done, Gemma. Classy, mature and well put together." andikibble said: "What a class act! Our fave from the start! Wishing you and Luca every happiness."
And jennxixfer wrote: "Luca and Gemma are winners in my eyes. I can’t wait to watch their journey on the outside. Gemma’s parents must be so proud of her and the wonderful, beautiful young lady she’s turned out to be."
Luca's behaviour during the series was called into question when he was upset by a clip shown during Movie Night, which showed bad behaviour from all the Islanders, showing Gemma having a conversation with Casa Amor male bombshell Billy Brown. Luca, who accused Gemma of flirting, told the boys: “Just bring me a f***ing bird now. Trust me when I say, if she wants to play, I will f***ing explode." And he fumed: "‘I don’t even want to talk to her tonight. Made me look like an absolute f*****g w****r I ain’t going f*****g near that bird."
And last week Love Island fans called out Luca after the Islanders took part in a saucy ‘Mile High’-themed challenge dressed as cabin crew. Luca, 23, appeared to get irritated that his partner was getting up close and personal with the other boys during the challenge when she licked their necks.
Afterwards, Gemma talked to the girls about the situation and said that she had just acted in the “heat of the moment” and that she did not want him sulking about the situation. They later confronted each other where Luca admitted that he had not liked seeing her get flirtatious with the other male Islanders but added that it was a challenge so he could not 'stay annoyed' at her.
This frustrated Gemma further as she countered that he had previously said he “wasn’t in a mood”, which caused Luca to remove his microphone and walk out of the villa. The couple later readdressed the situation on the terrace where they continued to have differences of opinion on whether the behaviour was acceptable because it was part of a challenge.
Luca's sister Claudia addressed the criticism over his behaviour in the villa, releasing a statement via his Instagram story, she wrote: "9/10 weeks of no contact with family. It's a crazy intense environment where emotions are heightened."
She continued: "Learning to have disagreements and resolve them it is part of all successful relationships. Society preaches men not to bottle things up and to open up??? So proud of how vulnerable and in touch with his emotions he's been, nothing but real."
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