This year’s Love Island has broken the mould with Tanya Manhenga. The 23-year-old has been at the centre of the Casa Amor drama for the past week since choosing to recouple with Martin Akinola despite being ‘in love’ with partner Shaq Muhammad. It was a baffling decision to viewers, most of whom didn’t expect the OG pairing to fall foul of the Casa curse.
Ever since, Tanya has been the subject of intense debate online. ‘I don’t wanna be THAT person, but maturing is realizing Tanya did worse than what any of the boys did during casa,’ one person tweeted to near 5,000 likes this weekend. ‘Tanya is mad,’ another added. ‘I’m still trying to see what red flags she’s going on about? She’s definitely gaslighting Shaq and deflecting.’
For reference, the red flags Tanya was referring to are the incompatibilities she noticed between the way her, and Shaq communicate before going to Casa Amor. She didn’t like how he handled Ron and Lana’s relationship breakdown – often the first to call out the other boy’s misbehaviour – and felt she couldn’t raise issues with him without him over-reacting or taking issue with the way she’d raised a conversation. At the time, she just seemed to be reconciling with the fact her and Shaq aren’t as compatible as she first thought.
Frankly, it’s a very normal doubt to have when dealing with your first argument or confrontation with a new partner. Unlike other Love Island couples, Tanya is genuinely taking time to consider how well this relationship can work rather than diving into something that is clearly incompatible just because you’re on a dating show. It’s no surprise she got to know Martin then, and while many would agree she didn’t handle the physical intimacy boundaries as well as she could’ve, she’s entitled to explore other options.
What’s refreshing about Tanya is that she’s doing exactly what the men do every year, except she’s doing it for genuine reasons instead of temporary lust and quick gratification. Where the boys usually use and discard Casa girls as though they’re objects, Tanya stood by her decision to get to know someone else and has been up front with both men that she’s figuring out who she’s more compatible with.
She’s honest, almost ruthlessly so, and her ability to back her own decisions and bluntly tell Shaq and Martin what’s going on in her head is actually quite admirable. Rather than attempting to deflect or justify her actions, weaselling out of any discretions with poems, she’s owning and honouring how she feels.
Frankly, it’s something we rarely see from any islander. And after years of watching women cry over Love Island men post-Casa Amor, we’re here for it.