Love Island…More Like DISASTER Island…
This season was not your typical Love Island experience. I liked to call it the triple F Island. Friend, Fiend and Fake. We started out the Love Island: Australia season with Tayla & Josh, Cassidy & Grant, Erin & Eden, Millie & Justin, and Natasha & Charlie. Right away we get some shuffling between couples and two definite couples; Erin & Eden and Cassidy & Grant. Although Cassidy and Grant are coupled up and seem to be very interested in getting to know each other… Grant was also getting to know Tayla behind Cassidy’s back. While continuously lying (*ahem* gaslighting) to both girls about his true intentions, he ended up breaking Cass’s heart and going with Tayla. As you can tell the betrayal started almost immediately with this show. I couldn’t handle the level of disrespect that came from Grant.
The rift that was created from the Cassidy, Grant and Tayla mess carried on throughout the show, almost paving the “dickhead” brick road that future male contestants followed. But that wasn’t the only thing wrong with this season. I initially thought that it was just going to be “friend Island” when most of the cast members coupled up with people they friend-zoned just because they weren’t ready to go home. Seeing as most of them put everything on the line in their real day to day lives just to be in Spain on the show I could understand… at first.
Friend Island
Lets just talk about all this for a minute before we get into the craziness. Every one except Erin & Eden and Tayla & Grant were in a “frouple” throughout the E N T I R E show. But these two lovelies in the picture below were together as friends for the longest time. So long that everyone on the island told Millie that Justin was holding her back.
No one seemed to be coming in for either of them even though Millie tried to make connections with new boys that would come in. But she didn’t get her “tradie/blokey bloke” she dreamed of. Justin, as much as everyone (including me) loved and rooted for him he didn’t seem to be looking as hard. As if he was secretly hoping him and Millie would be more than just friends. He honestly thought he was the best looking man in the villa and was not shy about it, yet seemed to not want other connections. Justin continuously had his ego bruised when girl after girl chose “less fortunate looking guys”.
Although he left Love Island deflated, he was the heart of the villa. Everyone could depend on him for honesty and a shoulder to cry on. Which Cass took advantage of almost every episode. When he was voted off, the whole villa realized just how much he was the glue to all their friendships.
Fiend Island
Almost immediately after Justin walked out of the villa Grant and Eden went head to head. The camera crew had to get involved and the boys had to be separated for a small period of time. While fists were thrown, no one was injured. And as much as they would hate to hear this, they were so much a like. Both Eden and Grant were the villa gossipers. Constantly meddling in other couples, spreading lies and unwanted information about their cast mates and provoking certain people to do reckless things.
Dim Dom
He stirred quite a few things up as his reasoning for being on Love Island was heavily questioned. While he didn’t create any physical fights, he was a bit of a “dickhead” as the girls liked to put it. Him and Grant became buddies…regardless of being coupled up with Cass and listened to all the doubts and BS Grant whispered in his ear. Dom was just looking for any reason to dump Cass to “find a connection” with someone else. Though this sounds like nothing, it blew up just the way he wanted.
By being super passive about the whole situation while Cass bawled her eyes out to BFF Erin, it lead to one of the most entertaining Love Island moments.
Dom started to consider coupling up with Millie. In my opinion it was just to stir up the house. Cass got extremely offended by the way it all went down. Millie didn’t come talk to her before that decision was made and neither did Dom. This made her snap! Cass came up with a devious plan to pick Grant at the next re-coupling to get back at Tayla for what happened and I guess Millie because her and Tayla were BFFs. I don’t think Erin took her seriously as she didn’t step in and say that was a bit too far of a move (as Cass was clearly not over the whole Grant and Tayla betrayal). Honestly neither did I, and then…
It happened. Not only did my jaw hit my knees, I laughed so hard watching Grant and Tayla’s faces as it went down! It was great. What goes around, comes around!
Fake Island.
With a name like Love Island you would think that love would be everyone’s purpose for being on the show right? Guess not as most of the people on the show didn’t even couple up for love, they coupled up as friends to stay on the show. Either the production team didn’t do their homework when it came to cast compatibility or no one actually had “true love” intentions.
Even the one couple that were together from the beginning had me questioning them towards the end of the show. Erin and Eden were such a toxic couple but that’s what they loved about their relationship. I could not see them lasting long on the outside in the real world. Not for more than a year at the most. Same goes for Tayla and Grant. He’s a compulsive liar and Tayla even had her breaking point where she thought she was losing herself in trying to fix him.
I was starting to feel like Oprah would come around the corner and be like, “You get a red flag, you get a red flag, we all get red flags!” But I digress.
Love Island: Australia S1 Winners…
Ultimately Tayla and Grant won since they seemed to make the most progress as a couple? No haha I’m sorry it was because they were voted in by the Australian public to win. Honestly I think Erin and Eden should have won because their relationship was far more superior despite the level of toxicity. But they came in 2nd. Truly no one deserved to win but this season they had the slim pickings so someone had to win?
Overall Thoughts
Total train wreck… there was no Casa Amor to put the couples to the test (the two couples that is). Although it is still a better choice than either Love Island U.K and especially Love Island USA. The commentator was fire! His quips weren’t annoying and were always on point. The camera crew caught all the right angles and the editing was so smooth. I didn’t find myself cringing every time the group got a text message or had a challenge. Plus there were so many cute kitties that guest starred in the villa.
Would I recommend watching season 1? Probably not unless you want to see some cute animals pop up out of no where. Other than that it was highly disappointing and frustrating to watch. I mostly found myself shaking my head, walking away while it was still playing, and calling Grant and Dom a dickhead. There were no friendships that made my heart melt considering how many friend couples there were. The girls were just at each others throats and same with the guys, it was very cliquey.