Anyone else feel like last night’s Love Island quickly became battle of the awkward kisses? Just when you thought Davide Sanclimenti and Ekin-Su Cülcüloglu had taken first prize, Luca Bish and Gemma Owen came swooping in with their own teeth-gritting moment of cringe. But it wasn’t just cringe was it? It bordered on uncomfortable.
Viewers noticed it straight away, after Gemma refused to give Luca a first smooch – her body turned all the way away from him in the most obvious sign of ‘DO NOT KISS ME’ there ever was – he continued to stare at her for a painfully long amount of time, turning her body towards him as they walked away until she gave him a peck. Naturally, the whole ordeal felt a bit… off.
It’s not the first red flag Love Island fans seem to be picking up on with Luca, in fact many have been raising eyebrows at him since the pair coupled up. First it was the age issue – he’s 23, she’s 19 – that was only further cemented when Luca joked that he felt like he was ‘back in school’ dating Gemma (because of his feelings for her, not her age, but still the comment was ironic).
Then came the immediate obsession, with Luca admitting he has never felt this strongly for someone so soon after just two – let’s admit it, extremely dry, conversations. Some wonder how a man could fall so quickly for a woman he’s known less than a week (is it, perhaps, a projection of a woman – not actually the woman herself?) whereas others are convinced it’s because Luca knows Gemma’s dad is Michael Owen.
Now, it’s important to give the benefit of the doubt, of course. We witness one hour of 24 in the Love Islander’s long days, it stands to reason that we haven’t seen even half of what Gemma and Luca’s dynamic is really like. Maybe off camera they’re constantly laughing, maybe they have TONS to talk about (perhaps a shared love of CBBC?) and maybe behind the scenes Gemma actually faces Luca when they speak? But seriously, it’s difficult to judge a relationship orchestrated on reality TV that we only see edited selections of.
That being said, watching a man awkwardly stare at a 19-year-old until she feels obliged to kiss him is never comfortable viewing… and tonight it's apparently set to get worse (SPOILERS AHEAD). After Gemma accidentally calls Luca 'Jacques', the two suffer their first argument in the villa - will Luca redeem himself with a mature reaction or are producers going to have to send Michael Owen in? Only time (and editing genius) will tell...
How old is Luca Bish?
As previously mentioned, Luca Bish is 23. (Yes, this is even though he has '1995' tattooed on him - but a family member said the tattoo is because that's when his sister was born.)
Where is Luca Bish from? And what does Luca Bish do?
OK, so you've not been watching this if you don't know the answer. Luca Bish sells fish, as narrator Iain Stirling likes to remind us all the time, with numerous fish puns... Ah well, there is a time and a plaice for it, we guess.
What's Luca Bish's Instagram?
Luca is pretty easy to find on Instagram - his handle is just his name @lucabish. Already, he's amassed 177,000 followers from his stint in the villa.
How does Luca Bish know Patsy Palmer?
Yes, there were quite a few headlines before Luca joined the villa, pointing out that the iconic EastEnders actress had congratulated him. And turns out the families are friends. He told press before his time on the show: 'She’s just a really close family friend. Obviously, she’s in Malibu now so not as close but she’s a very close family friend. My parents are always calling her back and forth.'