Love Island fans angered by twist and question when they were told to vote for couples

Love Island returned to our screens on Monday evening but almost immediately confused many of its keen viewers.

The hit reality dating series is into season eight and avid fans fully expected the girls to pick the ideal partner as they entered the villa - but producers decided it was time for a shake up.

As the hopeful females waited for their potential partner to grace the luxury abode, presenter Laura Whitmore broke the news to them that the choice was out of their hands for the first time.

Instead, she revealed the public had made the decision for them and matched them with who they felt they'd be best suited.

However, the announcement seemed to confuse some fans who were flabbergasted at the claim.

One user on Twitter shared a pic of former island favourite Maura Higgins looking confused and wrote: "#LoveIsland When was the public asked??"

The public paired Paige with Luca on Love Island (ITV)

Another shared the same question, writing: "We asked the public"... I don't remember being consulted @LoveIsland #LoveIsland."

A third also quote tweeted the user, saying: "No for real because i must’ve missed the assignment…."

And a fourth penned: "??????????? I didn’t get the memo."

However, some fans referenced the fact they were able to cast their vote via the app and found out via TikTok.

While this was the case, many still weren't impressed with the new style of match making and pleaded with the show's bosses to scrap the idea going forward.

One user wrote: "love island please never let the public chose the couples again #loveisland."

Another agreed and said: "40 minutes just to couple up which was boring asf with the public vote #LoveIsland"

Former winner Amber Gill had a different idea of how it should go in the future as she tweeted: "I wish we let them couple up and then switch to NA we chose THANK YEW #loveisland"

Indiyah and Ikenna were matched by the public (ITV)

The eventual couples also led to backlash as some fans claimed the vote showed "racist" Britain in action.

After Laura confirmed that Ikenna Ekwonna and Indiyah Polack had been paired together, as well as Dami Hope and Amber Beckford, viewers took to Twitter to slam the pairings.

One user slammed: ""Good old racist Britain. Pairing of the two black men with the two black women," while another fumed: "It feels racist that the public paired the black women and men together. Idk what ITV was thinking, nothing about this ‘twist’ was mildly interesting. Original way was better and more dramatic."