As the final of Love Islandapproaches, the tension in the villa increases. It happens every year as the Islanders set their sights on the crown (and the 50k). However, this year the final week has taken a nasty turn as the boys have seemingly pushed Ron Hall aside leaving him isolated - with some viewers labelling it 'bullying.'
This drama has all stemmed from Samie Elishiinterpreting Ron's commentsabout how the public may view his relationship with Lana as 'game playing.' Since then, the drama has spiralled and led to a lot of the villa turning on Ron. However, the divide between the boys is a lot more noticeable.
In fact, it's become very uncomfortable watching some of them exclude him from conversations and nit-pick his every move. There has been a lot of tension amongst the boys this year - which is a far cry from series gone by where the boys were the closest groups in the villa.
Of course, in a villa full of different personalities you're not going to get along with everyone. However, singling someone out and making them feel uncomfortable is not the way to handle those differences. Ron's shift in body language is very telling - he looks deflated and defeated. His once chatty and bubbly personality has been increasingly dimmed as tensions mount. Last night before going to bed Lana admitted she was feeling it too, telling Ron, 'I'm just feeling a little bit out of place here.'
The drama though has led a lot of viewers to come to his support on social media. One fan wrote, 'I'm personally not the biggest fan of Ron and Lana but I feel like they are bullying Ron unfairly.' Whilst another said, It's not right at all how they are all excluding Ron.' Last years IslanderDami Hopeeven tweeted a message of support for Ron writing, 'They're really trying to make Ron the villain this year, he just meant the couples that last, get over with their challenges early on, and they’re comfy for the rest of the time in the villa cause they’re deep. He just worded it bad especially with the timing.'
The early morning debrief with the boys was also very tense. Whilst the girls made Lana feel loved and accepted with a morning breakfast, the boys only deepened the divide between them.Casey O’Gormantold Ron, 'Honestly I don't want you thinking that we're all sat there giving our opinions - I really don't care.' Shaq Muhammad added, 'Yeah, we all live in the same place minimum we all have to be civil, but you don't have to be friends with everyone. It is what it is - let's just move on.'
Both of these statements comes across as very hypocritical. As viewers we know that some of the boys have been sitting around discussing Ron and discrediting him at every turn. It's also human nature to want to be liked - anyone would be hurt by them basically admitting they don't really like him. They were also dismissing Ron's feelings by telling him to 'move on' - what if he's still hurt by it and isn't ready to brush it under the carpet? They have all had low emotional moments and all deserve to express that.
From previous clips it seems Ron has felt excluded amongst the boys from very early on. The moment Casey came into the villa, a divide was formed and it has only increased over time. While we can't condone Ron's early behaviour when he was messing Lana around, since then he has really come a long way and changed his conduct. He is now in a committed relationship with Lana and hasn't entertained the new bombshells and was faithful during Casa Amor.
However, a few of the boys seem to have taken his previous behaviour extremely personally. And yet they don't hold other Islanders who have made mistakes to that same regard. Ultimately, it must be hard to live in an environment where you know you're not liked. The Islanders become your second family and if you're feeling excluded it must be challenging. The loss of contact from the outside world means you can't even confide in your loved ones during your vulnerable moments.
As the final approaches and more of the group activities happen, hopefully this will allow Ron to feel more included amongst the Islanders. Regardless if you like Ron or not, it's never nice to watch anyone feel alone in the villa.
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