The Reasons Love Island Fans Are Obsessed With Shaughna Phillips Go Beyond Her Hilarious One-Liners

Love Island hasn’t even been on a week and fans are already flocking to Shaughna Phillips. Her witty one-liners and no-nonsense attitude has fast attracted praise, but it’s also her life outside of Love Island that has caught viewers’ attention. In fact, it’s becoming increasingly obvious there are an abundance of reasons to love Phillips.

A 25-year-old democratic services officer from London, Phillips has already been through the mill on Love Island despite only being a few days in. Naturally, her love-triangle with Callum Jones and Jessica Gale has attracted some sympathy, but that’s not all.

Shortly after arriving in the villa, it was reported by Capital Extra that Phillips joined a fire safety team two weeks after the Grenfell Tower fire. Working to ensure all front doors on council properties were fire safe or refitted, Phillips told reporters the experience was ‘overwhelming’.

‘But because you’re doing something good, that if I went home and there were a few more fire safe doors that had been installed, it was like, “Good, we’re getting there”. It was hitting the ground running as there was so much to do, so it was like a project and I loved, loved, loved it.’

Her desire to help people has also driven her towards politics, hoping to enter the field after Love Island or even return to her previous job at London’s Lambeth council. ‘I definitely want to get into some kind of politics,’ she said. ‘I just like helping people and I want to do as much as I can. For me, it’s not really about how much a job pays you, because it’s about helping people.'

Viewers also love her attitude towards men. When Jones decided he was going to get to know both her and Jessica Gale, Phillips' one-liners were the highlight of the episode.

‘I’ve got a text,’ Phillips announced after Gale picked to couple up with Jones, then quipping, ‘I’ve got a text but no man.’

And in Jones’ frustrating inability to actually converse with either woman enough to pick one, Phillips has more than once offered hilarious life advice we all plan to use. Her absolute gems include, ‘I'd rather find out on Day 2 that Callum's a wet wipe rather than Day 17 or some shit’; and the ever-relatable, ‘I’ve come to Love Island to find a boyfriend not a son!’

In fact, her experience of her ex-boyfriend was one of the first notions Phillips was an absolute queen – she explained that she had to offer him so much life support she felt like his mother. Indeed, it’s a narrative that’s been raised a lot recently, with the influencer Florence Given even bringing out T-shirts that say, ‘Stop raising him. He’s not your son’.

And on social media, Phillips' unique ability to be both raw and honest yet hilarious has convinced many fans she’s this year’s Maura Higgins – a stand-out star of last season. Online commentators have also started obsessing over her and Leanne Amaning’s budding friendship, with the pair placed in the same boat in the first episode when the twins chose to couple up with each of their initial partners.

All in all, it seems Phillips has already unlocked the key to fan-favourite success on Love Island. Keep it real, have a laugh but also don’t take any nonsense: the three pillars of success for women in reality TV.

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