A Love Island: All Stars bombshell was waiting in the wings, only to change her mind about starring on the show at the last minute.
Leanne Amaning - an islander from series six - revealed on TikTok that she had flown out to South Africa on 5 January to enter 'cast holding' but returned to the UK at the end of the month.
'The more the show went on, the less sense it made for me to go in there and less I wanted to,' she admitted to her 18,800 followers. 'Long story short - because it is actually a long story - I'm back.'
Calling the situation 'ironic', Leanne - who revealed she had even filmed a VT - continued, 'It took so much convincing and persuading for me to be like, "Alright, cool, I'm actually going to give it a go and be open" because I know what my experience was like last time.'
'Then at the same time, I've grown and matured, I'm so different now. I'm a little bit less unhinged. Oh also, I'm single AF. I'm trying to meet someone completely new.'
As Leanne, 27, showed off the outfits she would have worn in the villa, fans flooded the comment section, with one writing, 'I 100 per cent understand, however would have loved to see you back on there.'
Leanne replied, 'aww thank u girlll [sic] i just couldn’t enter that villa to suffer'.
The reality star appeared on the sixth series of Love Island in 2020 - the first winter edition of the show. Her journey lasted just shy of three weeks, during which time she explored a connection with Mike Boateng and went on a date with Luke Trotman.
After her exit - driven by Mike choosing to couple up with Sophie Piper - Leanne said, 'Me and Mike, we didn’t work. I feel he’s justified in what he did by picking Sophie. That’s a big thing to do – it’s a bold move to make.
'But I feel like he’s disregarded the two weeks we spent together and I feel like sending me home was a bit of a kick in the teeth, but it might also be my karma for dumping him. Beforehand, we had a good connection as friends, I would have thought he would have had that loyalty with me more. But he can crack on and I’m happy for him, I want him to be happy.'
After sharing her All Stars update, Leanne's co-star Shaughna Phillips commented, 'No I'm devvo', while Olivia Hawkins wrote, 'Nooooooo' alongside a crying emoji.
Millie Payne is a News and Entertainment Writer for Grazia. She has specialised in showbiz interviews, features, articles and roundups for over three years and loves combining her love for writing, talking and all things popular culture.