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We all know what catfish means, right? It's a term - popularised in the early 2010s, thanks to the pseudo-documentary, and the later MTV series, Catfish - which means that someone on the internet is pretending to be someone they're not.
But, unfortunately, the meaning has started to change - and it's being used to attack women.
Instead of its original context, used to describe people on dating apps hoodwinking unsuspecting matches, it's now being used as an insult, to say someone doesn't look the same online as in person. (Really, who does?) The Kardashians -Khloe in particular - have been subject to this criticism for years. And now, some people, who really need a use for the excess time they have on their hands, have accused Sharon Gaffka - from Love Island - of 'catfishing' on a Reddit thread, which of course, has been picked up by tabloids.
So, what is Sharon's crime exactly? Looking glamorous, with her hair and make-up done, in photos at a fancy launch. But apparently that's enough for people to start saying she looks 'unrecognisable'. (She doesn't look unrecognisable at all, by the way.) It's also a very unfair criticism to throw at Sharon, who has spoken openly, not only about her cosmetic work, but has also uploaded make-up free selfies on her Instagram. (She also wrote something for Grazia about being trolled after Love Island, which you can read here{
But whether it's the Kardashians, somebody you actually know in real life, or a Love Island contestant, as a society, we need to stop using the term in this way. It's incredibly mean. But it's also misogynistic (doesn't matter who's throwing the insult), as you never hear the same thing said about men. (And how many times have you heard men throw the insult around to describe women and their Instagram profiles?)
The thing is, if you have an Instagram account, you're likely to be guilty of catfishing - whether you heavily edit your photos, or not. And that's fine. The sad truth is none of us look as good as we do online. Everyone uploads photos to their Instagram grid where they look their best: you've had a good hair day, your make-up has gone on correctly, you're wearing a nice outfit - and you want to document it. Great, it's hardly a crime! Most of us will do some form of editing, even if that's only a flattering filter. Because we all feel like we're under pressure to look perfect online. Posting something nice on Instagram isn't something to be criticised for.
READ MORE: 17 Love Island Bombshells Who Well And Truly Shook Up The Villa
The Best Love Island Bombshells...
1 of 17Maura Higgins (series five)
Irish ring girl Maura Higgins was reality TV gold from the moment she stepped into the villa and fed Michael Griffiths dessert on their date just to rile up the OG girls.She then got the fanny flutters for Tommy Fury and tried to steal him from Molly-Mae Hague with the classic line, 'Does she turn you on like I do?' While she didn't manage to bag her man, she later coupled up with Curtis Pritchard who she dated until March 2020.
2 of 17Joanna Chimonides (series five)
Casa Amor is always guaranteed to throw a spanner in the works, but Michael Griffiths was seemingly happily coupled up Amber Gill before she was sent packing to the second villa.Enter Joanna Chimonides - one of six brand new bombshells - who well and truly turned Michael's head. He suddenly began doubting his relationship with Amber and left her shocked when she returned to the villa alone to discover he'd re-coupled. Still, she went on to win the show and bag half of the 50 grand prize, so it worked out pretty well for her in the end.
3 of 17Molly Smith (series six)
Speaking of Casa Amor, Molly Smith joined the 2020 series as part of the infamous twist and it wasn't long before she was necking on with Callum Jones - all the while, his partner Shaughna Phillips was staying loyal back in the main villa.Their shock re-coupling spawned one of the show's most iconic catchphrases as a gobsmacked Shaughna uttered the immortal words, 'Congrats, hun,' but Callum and Molly are still going strong these days so he probably made the right decision
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4 of 17Jack Fowler (series four)
Laura Anderson soon got over having Wes Nelson stolen from her by Megan Barton-Hanson (more on that later) when Jack Fowler entered the villa.They immediately hit it off but things didn't get off to the smoothest start when her friend Georgia Steel invited him on a date and then claimed that he tried to kiss her. Footage later showed it was actually Georgia who went in for the kiss. Awks...
5 of 17Malia Arkian (series two)
Malia Arkian caused a right stir back in 2016 when she lasted all of about five minutes in the villa before being booted out for allegedly punching Kady McDermott.Kady was fuming with Malia for choosing to date Scott Thomas, who she was coupled up with, and 'accidentally' spilled a glass of wine on the newcomer which led to one of the show's most dramatic altercations.
6 of 17Megan Barton-Hanson (series four)
Wes Nelson and Laura Anderson were one of Love Island 2018's strongest couples (or so we thought) until Megan Barton-Hanson strutted into the villa as a bombshell.Meg set her sights on Wes following her failed romance with Eyal Booker and managed to turn his head, causing him to tell Laura he was 'happy with her but could be happier'. Not exactly what you want to hear from your other half is it?
7 of 17Alex Bowen (series two)
Former scaffolder Alex Bowen turned many a head when he entered the villa with fellow bombshell James Khan (no, us neither). Not only did he flirt up a storm Olivia Buckland but he spent the night in the hideaway with Zara Holland, who was stripped of her Miss Great Britain title after they had sex.After receiving the bad news, a tearful Zara quit the villa in emotional scenes while Alex remained in the villa and coupled up with Olivia - who's now his wife.
8 of 17India Reynolds (series five)
Okay, so she technically didn't do anything wrong but India Reynolds was partly responsible for one of the show's most iconic bust-ups EVER when Jordan Hames made a move on her just two days after asking Anna Vakili to be his girlfriend.After catching wind of Jordan's antics thanks to Maura Higgins, Anna furiously confronted him and the rest is history.
9 of 17Georgia Harrison (series three)
Former TOWIE star Georgia Harrison was the last bombshell sent into the villa back in 2017 and was given the unenviable task of choosing a boy to couple up with straight away. She ended up picking Kem Cetinay, who unbeknown to her had just asked Amber Davies to be his girlfriend. SO AWKWARD. Amber's shocked reaction became an iconic meme and she wasn't afraid to speak her mind, branding Georgia a 'd--k''. Ouch.
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10 of 17Jess Shears (series three)
When you're a Love Island contestant, the one thing you can expect is the unexpected. Case in point when model Jess Shears entered the villa as bombshell just when the Islanders were settling into their new couples on the first day.This proved to be bad news for Montana Brown who was smitten with Dom Lever but later had her man stolen by Jess. It was clearly a good choice though as Jess and Dom got married in 2018 and welcomed their first child a year later.
11 of 17Katie Salmon (series two)
Katie was Love Island's first openly bisexual contestant and created history when she coupled up with Sophie Gradon and became one half of the show's first ever same-sex couple.Unfortunately for Katie, Sophie still had feelings for former flame Tom Powell and dumped her before quitting the show.
12 of 17Jourdan Riane (series five)
Curtis Pritchard and Amy Hart were one of the villa's strongest couples going into Casa Amor so surely he would stay loyal, right? WRONG.Despite being Amy's half-boyfriend, Curtis admitted he would couple up with newcomer Jourdan (even though they'd only had about two conversations). After being turned down by Jourdan, a guilty Curtis 'fessed up to Amy who was about to tell him she LOVED him. Oh dear...
13 of 17Chris Hughes (series three)
Chris Hughes was quite the charmer when he entered the villa back in series three and it wasn't long before he won over Chloe Crowhurst and they coupled up. However, he later switched his attention to Olivia Attwood and incurred the wrath of Sam Gowland who was also interested in her.Sam accused Chris of being 'sly' in a furious row and they had to be pulled apart after squaring up to each other.
14 of 17Kaz Crossley (series four)
Josh Denzel was one of the many Islanders to be tempted by a Casa Amor bombshell despite being coupled up with 'loyal' Georgia Steel in the main villa.He returned from the second villa with Kaz Crossley in tow, leading to one of Love Island's most memorable meltdowns when Georgia screamed that Josh had 'f--ked it'.
15 of 17Ovie Soko (series five)
Anna Vakili was unable to resist the charms of basketball player Ovie Soko (and who could blame her?) in Casa Amor despite being coupled up with Jordan Hames.She brought Ovie back to the main villa but later decided she would still rather be with Jordan - and we all know how that turned out...
16 of 17Ellie Jones (series four)
Love Island producers threw a right spanner in the works for power couple Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham when they brought in his ex Ellie Jones during Casa Amor.A devastated Dani was shown a video of Jack chatting to his ex, resulting in over 2000 complaints to Ofcom. She didn't have anything to worry about though as Jack stayed loyal but Ellie did enter the main villa after coupling up with Sam Bird which wasn't ideal.
17 of 17Emma Jane Woodham (series two)
Ellie wasn't the first ex to enter the villa though - that honour goes to series two's Emma Jane Woodham, who'd previously dated fellow Islander Thomas Powell. He was SHOOK when she arrived and later quit the show.As if that wasn't enough, Emma coupled up with Terry Walsh even though he'd promised to stay loyal to Malin Andersson and they caused quite the controversy when they had sex on top of the covers for all to see.
READ MORE: Love Island's Shannon Singh: 'Me... An Asian Sex Symbol? It's About Bloody Time'