Kennedy NewsLove, Love Island will tear us apart, again.
My sincere apologies to Joy Division and Ian Curtis. However, there’s no denying that as much as the contestants divide themselves between each other, the show can cause rifts between viewers, partners, girlfriends, boyfriends… you name it. Iain Stirling seems to be the only constant throughout the whole thing, and that guy’s mad as a box of frogs (in a great way).
However, while it may be commonplace now for couples to sit on their sofa and have a slight disagreement over who they think should couple up with the one with the big biceps, it’s less common for people who have just met on a dating app to fall out over it.
Kennedy NewsStrangely, that’s exactly what happened to 27-year-old Charlotte Brown, who was recently branded an ‘idiot’ by a guy simply for being a fan of Love Island.
Charlotte met the bloke, named Andrew, on the dating app Hinge, and as they exchanged text messages and got to know one another, it seems there was one aspect of Charlotte’s life – namely, her television viewing habits – that Andrew just couldn’t get on board with.
It was all going swimmingly between the potential partners. But when Charlotte told Andrew she wanted to catch up on the reality show, Andrew replied: ‘You were doing so well, everything was great and then Love Island! Vile, shallow programme. Yuck.’
Following up, Andrew’s thinly-veiled disgust was bubbling up, as – despite saying ‘I won’t judge’ – in subsequent messages he called it ‘incredibly vacuous’, ‘shallow as hell’, ‘absolute trash’, ‘grotesque’, ‘disgusting’, ‘garbage’ and ‘a horrendous piece of tele’. So no, no judgement there whatsoever.
Kennedy News
Kennedy NewsCharlotte, naturally, defended the show and her enjoyment of it, saying she couldn’t change what she likes, and loves the drama. However, Andrew wouldn’t let up, saying Love Island should be banned like Jeremy Kyle was, bringing up the deaths of former contestants and called the after care of the show ‘diabolical’.
Defending herself and the show, Charlotte said it’s nothing to do with Jeremy Kyle, and the sad deaths of former contestants were ‘years after the show due to internet trolls and not being able to deal with the fame/media attention.’ Adding: ‘And my view is that these people know this and still decide to go on the show so it’s up to them to ensure they have support when they come out.’
The conversation, sadly, deteriorated, with Charlotte taking the the high road and Andrew reverting to petty insults towards her.
Kennedy NewsThe next day, Andrew seemed to see the error of his ways, sending an apology for his ‘outbursts’, calling them ‘totally uncalled for’ and asking if the pair can start again.
Charlotte, however, isn’t rushing to meet up with him just yet, saying: ‘It’s worrying because he was trying to impress me so why act like that? You’re not going to bag a date with anyone acting like that.’
Kennedy NewsAfter the sad death of former Love Island contestant Mike Thalassitis in March 2019, the producers of the show said:
Care for our Islanders is a process the show takes very seriously and is a continuous process for all those taking part in the show.
We ensure that all of our contributors are able to access psychological support before, during and after appearing on the show. The programme will always provide ongoing support when needed and where appropriate.
We also discuss at length with all of our Islanders, before and after the show, how their lives might change and they have access to support and advice to help with this.
Let’s hope Charlotte finds someone who enjoys her viewing habits as much as she does.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.