Ovie Soko: ‘Women Should Be Respected; I Don’t Even See Why That Should Be A Discussion. It Should Be Standard’

One night in July, millions of us watched Anna Vakili stride over to her boyfriend Jordan Hames, who had cornered India Reynolds and was telling her that he liked her. There was shouting (mostly Anna). There was swearing (mostly Anna). A crowd gathered. But nothing about that Love Island scene – peak reality TV – stuck with us like one tiny detail::a[Ovie Soko]{href='https://graziadaily.co.uk/celebrity/news/ovie-soko-love-island-3/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'} silently walking over, extending a hand to the shellshocked India, and discreetly taking her out of the line of fire.

No wonder the nation fell in love with Ovie this summer and voted for him and India to finish in third place in last week’s final: he’s a respectful, thoughtful, funny man who also happens to be gorgeous. Would he call himself a feminist? ‘I see myself as a person who stands up for what’s right,’ Ovie exclusively told Grazia. ‘That’s more important than anything, than giving it a label – standing up for what’s right.’ His respect for women is all down to his family, he explained. ‘My dad, my brother, those are the two most influential people to me in my life. But you know – what is right is right. Women should be respected; I don’t even see why that should be a discussion. It should be standard.’

How do we love Ovie? Let Grazia count the ways. He made his initial impression on looks alone: a 6ft 7in basketball player with a face that could sell designer aftershave. We fancied him of course – but we had no idea of what was to come. Over the following month, Ovie impressed us again and again. Dumped for another man? Mature enough to walk away calmly; continues to be friendly to all parties. Sees Amber crying? Kind enough to pull her into a hug with one of his exceptionally long arms. Has to do a ‘men at work’ challenge? Sexy enough to give women everywhere a weird wheelbarrow fetish, by picking up both India and wheelbarrow in one swoop and carrying them around with no discernible effort.

And while we may initially have wished his relationship with Amber Gill was romantic, what we got was something better: it’s so rare to see a platonic friendship between a man and a woman blossom on TV. ‘Amber deserved to win because, first off, she’s my little sister, my adopted little sister,’ he told us. ‘I really care about Amber.’ Does he think he’s made a friend for life? ‘A hundred per cent.’

Though Curtis Pritchard appointed himself the agony aunt of the villa, it was Ovie who quietly showed wisdom and maturity in his treatment of those around him. Most notably, he held Michael Griffiths accountable for his behaviour towards Amber (‘Can you honestly say, man to man, the way you’re speaking to me now was the exact same way you spoke to her yesterday?’). How did he get so wise? ‘I’ve had a lot of different life experiences, and the [chance] to travel and meet a variety of people with such different opinions,’ he told us with characteristic modesty. ‘I have an advantage in that case. But none of the guys were bad people – maybe there might have been one or two questionable decisions, but that’s not for me to judge.’

We’ll miss his habit of storing one of his 40 (yes, 40) hats in the freezer to keep his head cool, and his insistence on bellowing ‘Message!’ every time someone got a text (a reference to the 1996 movie Don’t Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood). He told us he’s surprised to find that he’s been so popular in the house, but doesn’t plan to let it go to his head: ‘With [basketball], attention comes with the territory, but I never really paid that much attention to it. I’ve always focused on my family and my friends and people I know are always going to be around whether things are good or bad.’

As for India, they plan to ‘enjoy growing closer’. We’re jealous, of course, but we’ll take the high road and say good luck to them. After all, that’s what Ovie would do.