Michael Owen’s daughter Gemma has been confirmed for the new series of Love Island
(Picture: ITV)The summer of love officially kicked off last night as season eight of Love Island returned to our screens - this year, for a whopping two months. As always, and unbeknownst to the islanders themselves, Twitter had a lot to say.
The show loves to create hype by including famous relatives in its annual lineup (i.e, the sister of Rochelle Humes or daughter of Danny Dyer), this year that falls to Gemma Owen, daughter of former England international striker, Michael Owen.
That being said, the conversation around Gemma’s introduction last night wasn’t so much about her dad as it was her age. After revealing that she’s only 19, two hashtags circulated on Twitter: #shes19 #getgemmaout… prompting the debate, how young is too young?
The youngest ever islander to appear on the show was 18-year-old Amelia Peters back in 2017, yet the response five years ago was not nearly as intense as last night’s reaction - and for a valid reason. Between then and now, the show has been linked to a series of tragic events: the suicides of presenter Caroline Flack, as well as ex-islanders Mike Thalassitis and Sophie Gradon, sparked calls for the show to be cancelled due to its fatal effect on mental health.
The public are more protective of islanders than ever before. Amongst the memes of last night were reminders to be kind, and that whilst the islanders won’t see your harsh comments, their friends and family will. Some people took to the internet to state that at the start of Covid, Gemma Owen was 16, and - at only 19 now - may be more vulnerable to the brutal quips of internet trolls and the effects they can have on a person.
Btw Gemma was 16 years old when covid started 😭😭😭 #loveisland
— M (@mobzw) June 6, 2022
Why is everyone shocked about 19
— Ambs (@AmberRoseGill) June 6, 2022
It's literally early 20s cast always?? #loveisland
Beyond age gap issues, 2 contestants killed themselves in large part bc of the immense pressure & scrutiny that comes with being a contestant on Love Island. Not sure how a 19 year old is supposed to deal with all of that. Age cap at +21 makes more sense
— Fez (@Wonder_and_live) June 6, 2022
@wonder_and_live tweeted: “Beyond age gap issues, 2 contestants killed themselves in large part bc of the immense pressure & scrutiny that comes with being a contestant on Love Island. Not sure how a 19 year old is supposed to deal with all of that…”
Ex-islander, Amber Rose Gill, was less worried about Owen’s age, tweeting: “Why is everyone shocked about 19 it’s literally always early 20s cast always?”, whilst 2021 islander Chloe Burrows tweeted, “19 is bare young”. Some people are even calling for the show to up their age restriction from 18 to 21.
This year, the show has promised to improve its aftercare of contestants with better mental health support in place to help them cope with aftereffects and response from the public. Still, is this enough to protect some of the younger islanders? Or is 19 simply too young of an age to face such public, personal criticism?
We’ll be back tomorrow with more…
