Call it a factory for wannabe influencers all you like; Love Island is also the birthplace of several legitimate love stories. For some, what started as cheeky villa hookups have resulted in years-long connections, with marriage and babies to boot – season two runner-ups Alex and Olivia Bowen welcomed their first child just last month. However, when I think back on the most fulfilling connections of the show’s past seven years, it’s the friendships formed between female contestants that have reflected the greatest loves of all. After a rocky start, it seems this season’s women are steadily learning the value of leaning on each other, and for good reason – it’s a necessary armour against the double standards and judgements doled out by the men.
People don’t necessarily enter Love Island in the hopes of forging deep platonic bonds. Hell, this season’s breakout star Ekin-Su even started out with the mantra of looking for the love of her life and not “seasonal girlfriends”. But the show has repeatedly been at its most charming and interesting when there is significant unity between the women on the show. In last year’s run, romantic bonds wilted but Kaz and Liberty’s mutual commitment went from strength to strength. After breaking up with her villa boyfriend Jake, Liberty chose to leave the programme mere days before the final. “You may not have felt like you found love in Jake, but I found love in you,” Kaz told a teary Liberty just before her departure. Reader, I cried. It was an example of a genuine relationship, and reinforced the fact that friendship isn’t a consolation prize; it can be the thing that keeps you together when your heart gets trampled on national TV.
