There were a lot of jaw-dropping moments in Sunday night’s episode of Love Island: Ekin-Su and Davide appeared to have a reconciliation after their controversial fight around the fire pit, Dami revealed he wanted to get to know Indiyah despite being coupled up with Amber, and the new bombshell Danica stole Luca from Gemma—much to his overwhelmingly obvious disdain.
But amid the chaos of re-coupling, the only question viewers wanted answers to was: ‘Does Luca from Love Island drink alcohol?’. Yup, after the fishmonger declined a glass of prosecco while on his first date with Danica, everyone was scrambling to Google: ‘Luca love island alcohol’, and ‘does Luca not drink’.
‘I don’t drink,’ Luca admitted matter-of-factly without further explanation as he poured Danica a glass of fizz on the beach while sipping on a flute of water himself. ‘I swear I’d scream if I found out that Luca drinks alcohol, and just fully didn’t wanna drink with Danica,’ joked one viewer.
Yet, despite the very plausible explanation that Luca was abstaining from alcohol out of protest at being separated from Gemma Owen against his will, videos on social media of the contestant ‘on a night out with his mum’s 50-year-old friends. Completely sober,’ seem to suggest it really is part of his lifestyle.
After fans got over the initial shock that Luca is teetotal, many rushed to praise the islander for normalising the decision: ‘Loads of reasons why [people] don’t drink,’ wrote one Twitter user. ‘Glad Luca feels ok to say it.’
‘Omg Luca saying “I don't drink” no questions asked! Normalising not drinking!’ praised a second viewer, while a third simply added: ‘Respect’.
Really, one out of ten Love Island contestants choosing to avoid alcohol shouldn’t be surprising. The number of adults currently drinking is at an all time low, with 21% saying they’re teetotal. Many cut back for lifestyle reasons, while others feel heavy drinking has negatively affected their relationships.
And, if you properly think about it, the Love Island villa might actually be an easier place to decline a drink than in the pub with your friends on a Friday night where the inevitable groan of despair comes across the table when you tell your pals you’re ‘only staying for one’.
According to the former contestant Dr Alex, Islanders are only allowed four small cans of beer maximum anyway: ‘I mean you certainly weren’t getting drunk off that – but they were very, very strict,’ he told Tyla.
‘Talking more broadly, I think we need to stop glorifying alcohol,’ he continued. ‘The risk of death goes up drastically while you’re drunk, the risk of mental health illnesses rises in a relatively linear fashion with the amount of units you drink each week.’
Meanwhile, a Love Island spokesperson reiterated: ‘We provide our islanders with all of the necessary precautionary measures and all alcohol consumption is strictly monitored by our production team.’