Love Island is supposed to be fun. Sure, for some contestants, finding love is a serious goal, but at its heart, the dating-show-turned-influencer-maker has always been a tad silly.
A group of sexy singles jet off to the villa looking to couple up, and, if they’re lucky enough not to get voted out, spend weeks partaking in saucy challenges while working on their tan. What’s not to love?
Well, probably the part where countless former Islanders have found themselves at the centre of a public storm simply because of their looks? Something which sadly seems to be happening yet again this year. Before anyone has even set foot in the villa.
Ahead of the new season launch, several contestants have been getting flack from so-called ‘fans’ who think it’s okay to leave comments suggesting they look ‘old for their age’ and picking apart their appearances.
Nicole Samuel, one of the women seemingly worst affected, hasn’t yet made her TV debut and she’s already receiving a torrent of abuse from social media users who are accusing her of ‘blatantly lying’ on her application form with regards to her date of birth. Oh, and of course all of these remarks are in response to a 70-second clip. It's actually wild, given the 24-year-old accounts manager from Aberdare in Wales looks stunning in her introductory video.
Samuel isn’t the only Islander being slammed because of her looks either. Plenty of other contestants, especially the women, seem to be receiving similar treatment online.
Under a video introducing Harriet Blackmore, a dancer and personal shopper, also 24, another fan wrote, “She meant 44?” and when replying to a clip of Samantha Kenny, a makeup artist, 26, a different commenter said, “Why do all these girls look in their 40s?” There are also unsavoury remarks being made about how ‘the use of fillers’ has ‘aged’ some of the hopeful singletons – again, unnecessary and speculative much?
Sadly, these responses will come as little surprise to longtime fans. The problem crops up almost every year — it’s just especially noticeable this year, perhaps worsened by ITV’s choice to highlight each contestant’s birth year when introducing them.
Whatever the cause, something needs to change. Undoubtedly, there are important conversations to be had about the lack of diversity on most mainstream reality TV shows and the ways Love Island upholds extremely narrow beauty standards, but this is not that conversation. Well, unless you want to talk about how said views impact Islanders too — those who are somehow both held up as being responsible for setting unrealistic ideals and insulted if they don’t meet the public’s exacting standards.
In other words, this is just another example of how a youth-fetishising society loves to bash women based on how they look (and, no, just because you sign up to reality TV, you shouldn’t have to expect your appearance to be picked apart). It goes hand in hand for judging somebody on their body shape – there are never any winners.
Amber O’Connor is Cosmopolitan UK’s junior features writer, who covers everything from breaking news, women’s safety and real life features to fitness, travel, and cultural trends. She works on first-person features, reports, and long reads, plus the hottest stories of the day (if you want to know about the latest wellness craze or TikTok trends, she’s your girl).
Amber has previously worked as a reporter and a lifestyle writer, with her work appearing in numerous publications, including The Mirror, Red Magazine, Evening Standard, Indy100, and Yahoo News. When she’s not working her way through her TBR list, Amber loves dancing, running, and going on adventures with her dog.
