Love Island girlfriend proposals have become a ritual of modern times. Some happen in the villa, (like when Elly Belly wrote a note to her ‘mummy’ Molly Mae to kick off she and Tommy’s relationship) while others are saved for home and shared with fans on social media. But regardless of their location—they’re always very intense.
‘Becoming official’ was a point of contention on this year’s Love Island. While Tasha created a treasure hunt for Andrew, and Davide personalised a tiramisu to ask Ekin Su to be exclusive, Luca Bish and Gemma Owen lurked in the background, uttering self-reassurances about how they wouldn’t be ready for the same step until they’d met one another’s families.
And after almost exactly a month outside of the villa, Luca decided it was time to pop the boyfriend-girlfriend question on Monday. Next to a pool, surrounded by hundreds of roses, candles, a cellist, and of course many cameras, Luca presented Gemma with a Cartier Juste un Clou bracelet as a drone flew over their heads to reveal ‘Be My Girlfriend’ balloons floating in the water beside them. All of this, after sneering at his fellow islanders for making a fuss of their new relationships.
And Luca’s hypocrisy didn’t sit right with Love Island fans on Twitter. ‘Luca and Gemma are the most PR driven couple this far. Every single moment captured with a 3rd person and angles pre-determined,’ wrote one user (now with 32.4k likes of agreement). ‘Luca and Gemma are like a deranged cult this is hell,’ added another.
But what bothered people even more than the sheer unjustified spectacle of the whole event was that the ‘be my girlfriend’ proposal wasn’t really a proposal at all. ‘Was it a question… or a statement…?’ asked one confused viewer. ‘So was the store just out of the question mark balloons or?’ added another. ‘BE MY GIRLFRIEND - feels so aggressive! Like ask nicely man.’
After Luca was accused of being controlling and overprotective in the villa, a controversy he’s since addressed in an interview with Grazia, it’s understandable that viewers feel uncomfortable at his blunt delivery—even if it was surrounded by flowers, classical music and thousands of pounds worth of jewellery.