Until the last week or so, this season of Love Island has been, well, a little tame. After a year of low flirtation, we were promised a summer of love and endless sparks, but the usual fireworks we’ve come to expect from the ITV show just haven’t been quite so explosive or vibrant as in seasons gone by.
That’s all set to change though, as the couples get set to enter Casa Amor, which has historically been the biggest test of couples on the series, who will spend a week away from each other immersed in a villa with new, hot people. The test then, is whether or not they manage to stay loyal to one another or whether their “heads will turn'' to new objects of desire. At the end of the week, the contestants all return to the villa and without seeing their original couples have to choose whether or not they want to stay with them or recouple with someone new they may have met in the new house. In previous seasons, it’s been a moment of high drama — anyone remember when Michael ditched Amber for Joanna in season 5 (my heart is pumping out of my chest just thinking about it)? So as the islanders embark on the biggest test of their relationships so far, we caught up with Match’s dating expert, Hayley Quinn, to find out her predictions about what will happen to the Love Island couples during the Casa Amor ‘test’. Will the couples survive, or is this the end of the road?
Liberty and Jake
“Liberty and Jake recently became the first couple to become exclusive but it was hard not to notice that when Libby said 'I love you' that it wasn't reciprocated,” says Quinn. “Liberty has consistently seemed the more genuine of the pair, with Jake only recently matching her affection, even coming across soppy. Whilst we all want Liberty to find true love, I wouldn't be surprised if we all ended up on the edge of our seats if a petite blonde (with nice feet) walks into Casa Amor.”
Verdict = rough seas ahead
Kaz and Tyler
“Kaz has become a viewer favourite, and so it was surprising to watch her routinely overlooked by the men of Love Island, that is until Tyler walked through the doors to the villa last week,” Quinn tells me. “Tall, dark and handsome it almost seemed to be too good to be true to suddenly fall for the show's most popular single woman, so understandably viewers were sceptical about his intentions. However, from the moment this couple met, Tyler genuinely only seemed to have eyes for her and hasn’t tried getting to know anyone else. Since then their body language looks more like a couple who's been together since the start, and he continues to put in effort into getting know Kaz, I predict Tyler and Kaz will prove to be a winning combination and survive the tests of Casa Amor.”
Verdict = survive
Hugo and Chloe
“Hugo was the protagonist of the most controversial episode of this season, saving Chloe from being dumped from the island, and slating former friend (Chloe's ex) Toby in the process,” Quinn explains. “Whilst Hugo hoped that Chloe would have switched on to the nice guy that's right in front of her (as he alluded to when asking her if there was a chance to be together in last night’s episode), I predict a return of Chloe the maneater in Casa Amor as she scopes out new bachelors. Will Hugo finally find someone he clicks with enough to want to be in a couple with and get off ‘friend island’? We all hope so, but we also know how hard it can be to meet someone new when you already have feelings for someone else... “
Verdict = split
Millie and Liam
“Who knew this strong, silent Welshman and extroverted Essex girl would turn into one of this season's cutest matches?” Quinn asks. “We've already seen how Liam handles temptation, when AJ made a strong play for him after she entered the villa… Just like we'd all want our partner to do he was definitely not interested and reported back all the details of their conversation to Millie. Something about this pair just clicks and I think they're the couple most likely to breeze through the Casa Amor challenge — and could be the next to officially become boyfriend and girlfriend.”
Verdict = thrive
Toby and Abi
“Toby has become this season's villain, at first mugging Kaz off for Chloe, then Chloe off for Abi,” says Quinn. “He’s also been accused by recently dumped islanders of ‘playing the biggest game’. This is not hard to see as it seems as soon as any expectations of him are made in a relationship, he takes the easy option and bails out on it for someone else. Despite the rest of the contestants being at pains to explain to him the error of his ways, I suspect it hasn't sunken in yet. If someone makes a strong play for him in Casa Amor, I predict he could switch allegiances yet again – especially as he has only been coupled up with Abi for 48 hours. Abi on the other hand showed herself to be a grade A seductress wheedling (the admittedly extremely pliable) Toby away from Chloe within 24 hours with promises of low-pressure fun. She approached her seduction of Toby with the precision of a detonation expert and I'm sure if she sees a man she likes in Casa Amor she'll reel him in too.”
Verdict = split
Faye and Teddy
“Faye and Teddy are a funny match, and don’t seem to have the natural ease of other couples,” says Quinn. “Faye, by her own admission, is hard to get to know. So it seems unlikely that she'd go from being relatively stoical to being overcome by passion upon meeting a hunky man in Casa Amor. Teddy is harder to read, he's saying and doing all the right things, but something feels insincere. After landing in the bottom three unpopular characters in a recent public vote, I suspect he's Machiavellian enough to play it safe with Faye; however I can't see this couple lasting very long on the outside.”