Gemma Owenstrutted into perhaps the most famous villa in the world this summer, and became a staple personality in the homes of millions of Love Island viewers. Fans fell in love with her straight talking personality and signature gold accessories. However, when headlines swirled about her joining the show, the focus was on her famous father – Michael Owen.Of course, being the daughter of an England footballer would be an intriguing factor for the public, but now Gemma is more than ready to carve out her own path.
‘At first I was very much known for being the daughter of my dad, which is fine,' Gemma says. 'But I think ultimately, I didn't want that label forever. I want to be able to stand on my own two feet and have my own goals which is really important to me.' Through her multiple new ventures from fashion to jewellery - the reality star is already defining herself. She admits, ‘I feel like I'm sort of on the way to being on that journey which is something that I'm obviously really keen to - not move away from, but I'm definitely keen to be known as my own person.’
One of Gemma’s new ventures is her new role as an ambassador for fashion giant, PrettyLittleThing. In her role Gemma hopes to bring something unique for women, ‘I would like to be a positive role model to young girls. I will be bringing in my own style to edits, which are simple timeless classics. But overall, I just hope to be a role model.’
The announcement of her position at the fashion company received a mixed response from social media. But for Gemma - the social media backlash isn't something she takes personally. She explains, ‘I definitely have a thick skin. I'm just one of those people that have a really small circle. If my family and close friends are happy and if I'm happy, that’s most important thing. I try not to care too much about other people's opinions.’
Many would look at Gemma's new role and would assume that she could be hoping to follow in the footsteps of past Islander, Molly-Mae Hauge.Molly-Mae left the villa as a PrettyLittleThing ambassador and went on to become their Creative Director. While Gemma admires Molly-Mae, she believes her career trajectory looks slightly different. She says, 'Molly Mae is definitely an inspiration to a lot of girls. I think as a businesswoman, I have respect for her. But I think our what we're going to bring to our roles and collections are going to be very different.'
After an epic summer of love on the hit dating show, Gemma walked out of the villa in second place and exclusive with Luca Bish. Shortly after he asked her to be his girlfriend in a lavish proposal. But is he fitting in with her tight knit family? Gemma reveals, 'Luca is fitting in really well with my family and everyone seems to be getting on, which is really nice.' She adds, ' I really get on with all of his family too, especially his sister.' There is always a lot of pressure on Love Island couples to move fast once leaving the villa. The pressing questions about moving in together, marriage and babies start as soon as they touch down in the UK. However, being the family girl she is - Gemma's not ready to move out of the family home anytime soon. She reveals, 'We won't be moving in together in the immediate future. Right now were happy.'
But whats next for the reality star? There were recently rumours swirling about Gemma reportedly starring in a reality TV show about the lives of footballers daughters. While Gemma remains tight lipped, she reveals that she is open to more TV. 'I can't say too much and give too much away at the moment, but working in TV is definitely something that's on the cards and I'd be interested in doing. Let’s just say I’m in a few discussions... but that’s all I can say!'