Becoming a likeable contestant on Love Island seems much like walking a tightrope, so heavily dependent on who likes you, how you handle the first obstacle or betrayal, how you fit in with the group. In the blink of one episode, you can go from fan-favourite to villain – any behaviour formerly deemed ‘iconic’ suddenly a bone of contention for viewers.
This year, it’s no different, and it seems like certain Islanders are struggling to find the right balance – in particular, Jess Harding and Molly Marsh. The two women are the talk of Twitter every evening Love Island airs, viewers noticing tension between them after mere days in the villa. Now, the slowly escalating feud is reflecting badly on both of them – and it’s reignited the dreaded ‘catfight’ narrative that shows like Love Island are built on.
In last night’s episode, Molly was seen awkwardly intervening in a gym session between her crush Zachariah and new bombshell Charlotte. Noticing how Molly was getting territorial, Jess began a live commentary of the date as she watched with other Islanders that quickly went from comedy to, well, a bit catty.
Where Love Island viewers once dubbed Jess’s quips about other Islanders as ‘iconic’, she’s suddenly being called out for being unnecessarily mean to Molly. The word ‘bully’ has been thrown around a lot, which to be clear seems like a stretch. Molly isn’t faring well either with the public, her insistence on competing with Charlotte resulting in her being dubbed a ‘pick me’ – but slowly viewers are starting to feel sorry for her after other Islanders called her out for ‘two faced’.
Previews of tonight’s episode say everything. As Catherine tells Jess to ‘stop the whispering’ – presumably in reference to the endless gossiping about Molly – it seems as though the feud has boiled over once and for all. It was bound to happen, while catfights are great for viewings, Love Island producers rarely let them go on for long enough that one person can be called out for bullying – lest receive a ton of Ofcom complaints.
Frankly, we’re ready to see the resolution. It may well be ludicrous to expect all the female Islanders in the villa to get on – women are still human beings with clashing personalities after all – but the sisterhood of past seasons has been what’s got us through some of the truly hard-to-watch moments.
What will be interesting to watch is how the feud fallout and potential friendship afterwards impacts each of the women’s reputations. Favouritism on Love Island is fickle, one unnecessary eye roll and you’re suddenly a ‘bitch’, one meaningful hug and you’re back on a pedestal – can Jess and Molly repair their dwindling reputations by ending their feud? We hope so, with trolling still so intense the villain edit on Love Island is not for the faint-hearted, and they’re one risky joke away from the vultures descending.