It was the most dramatic Casa Amor recoupling on Love Island that we’ve seen in years, Ella Thomas choosing to return to the main villa with new bombshell Ouzy See, leaving her partner since the beginning, Tyrique Hyde, single. Even worse, it came after the semi-professional footballer had implied in his recoupling speech that he wanted to tell Ella he loved her.
The couple had been ‘closed off’ before Casa Amor, a very Love Island term that doesn’t necessarily equal a relationship but is intended to reassure their partner they won’t get to know new people (aka, their head ‘won’t be turned’). It’s a ludicrously vague term, and that alongside his hot and cold behaviour, has cost Tyrique his new beau.
Because, while the couple were on the way to exclusivity, as viewers rightly pointed out, Tyrique has been messing with Ella’s head all series. From telling her he’s never felt so strongly about someone to suddenly professing that he ‘misses the game’, Tyrique has consistently instilled doubt in Ella’s mind, getting to know new bombshells hours after saying his ‘head couldn’t be turned’.
It's no wonder then that Ella entered Casa Amor assuming Tyrique would stray, and as such explored her own new connections. Should she have stuck with Tyrique if that’s ultimately what she wanted instead of bringing Ouzy back? Sure, but it’s also understandable why, when he’s made her look a fool time and time again, she wouldn’t want to return to the villa alone if her eye-wandering partner had chosen to recouple.
Ella’s decision isn’t the real cause for concern though, rather, it’s Tyrique’s reaction to it. Upon seeing Ella had recoupled, Tyrique spewed out a line so dripping in slut-shaming misogyny it had us gritting our teeth: ‘I guess she was never mine, it was just my turn.’
Sure, he was devastated and that was obvious, but in classic toxic masculinity fashion he chose to channel his pain into anger and lost viewers sympathy with that one fateful sentence. Implying Ella was something to be passed around, he immediately reduced her value merely for making a decision that was guided by his initial treatment of her. It’s a classic tale of men not being able to take rejection without resorting to misogyny, and it proves how much young men’s attitudes to dating and women need to change.
Because, with one misstep, Tyrique doubled-down on how this exact scenario is what fuels his long-standing mistrust of women, assuming that Ella is the problem – and in turn, that all women are the problem – instead of reflecting on how his behaviour might’ve contributed to the downfall of their relationship.
When Tyrique would explore new connections, Ella would consistently speak of how he was ‘self-sabotaging’, granting him grace few of us would by understanding that he was disrespecting her out of a fear of his feelings. Did Tyrique stop to grant Ella the courtesy? No, he immediately villainised her and essentially, slut-shamed on national television.
In actuality, it’s Tyrique’s own on-and-off behaviour that caused Ella to doubt their relationship so much that she explored a new connection. ‘I thought you might miss the game,’ she said to him when she returned with Ouzy. A stellar line, and one that proves the point Tyrique is missing: it doesn’t matter if you ‘close things off’ with someone if you’ve spent the month prior making them doubt your feelings for them. How you act, the respect you show someone, in those early weeks and months matter – it’s what builds the foundation of trust in a relationship, knowing how your partner treated you before they had any obligation or commitment to you. Tyrique loudly telling her how much he loves ‘the game’ and worries he’ll miss it, even if he did go on to ‘close things off’ with her, was always going to play in the back of Ella’s mind whether he made it official with her or not.
Rather than self-reflecting, Tyrique chose to villainise Ella in the most harmful way.
And rather than reflecting on all of that, understanding that Ella might be stressed and reacting accordingly in Casa Amor based on Tyrique’s own behaviour, he chose to play the victim. Now, he only sees her as an example of why he doesn’t develop serious connections with people, but it’s that very fear of being hurt that guides his own misbehaviour and thus, does sabotage any potential relationship.
Of course, with all this psychoanalysing, it’s easy to feel sorry for both Tyrique and Ella in how the situation played out. But actually, seeing how Tyrique handled the rejection serves to prove that he’s not ready for a relationship. Much like Scott van-der-Sluis implying Catherine Agbaje is fake for choosing to recouple with Elom Ahlijah-Wilson, the way the men in this villa resort to anger, misogyny and petty insults when faced with any slight rejection shows they aren’t able to form healthy bonds right now. Will they grow to? We hope so, we’re sick of seeing women torn apart on our screens for reacting to men’s bad behaviour. It’s about time they take accountability and consider, maybe they’re part of the problem too.