After the first week of Love Island season 12, true to form, three new bombshells entered the villa and upset the apple cart. Not only did new girls Malisha, Emily and Yasmin pick their favourite boys for dates, all of whom were already 'getting to know' other people, but in a new ITV twist the other girls got to watch the dates live on a cinema screen.
This meant when Malisha and her date Dejon, who was coupled up with Meg, got back to the villa, all hell broke loose. Meg had seen exactly what went down on their date, from Dejon's flirty one liners to Malisha's penchant for hanging out in Tape nightclub in Mayfair, and she had plenty to say about it. In fact, one of the first things she said when Dejon got back was: 'You failed the test. I'm not here to play games.'
In one particularly awkward moment, Malisha and Dejon were catching up on the sofa when they overheard Meg talking about Malisha in the kitchen. 'What does she do? Stand in Mayfair and go to Tape every weekend? Boring,' Meg told the girls.
Malisha overheard her name and asked Meg to repeat what she had said. Meg downplayed the remark, leaving out the insult and replied that she was talking about Tape. 'I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, do you?' she asked. When pressed, she added, 'I’ll say it with my chest.'
But what even is Tape nightclub and is going there the insult Meg thinks it is? Tape is an exclusive and expensive venue in London's Mayfair, often frequented by influencers and the super rich. Entry is £20, although ladies might get in for £10 or free before 11.30pm (at the bouncer's discretion). Very 2025! Table bookings have a minimum spend of £1500 for up to eight people and VIP tables can have a minimum spend of £2000.
It might be bougie, but the club has a mixed reputation, scoring a disappointing three stars on Google reviews and 2.8 stars on Trip Advisor. It's been called everything from 'absolutely vile' to 'the best club in London', with Meg's 'boring' remark now added to the list.
The dispute between Meg and Malisha came to a head after the Tape argument when the pair tried to clear things up privately. However, it didn't take long before Meg called Malisha a liar for apologising to her then asking Dejon to come to the hideaway. The chat ended with Malisha calling Meg an idiot and Meg walking off and saying, 'Go back to Tape.' None of which is likely to be the PR Tape was hoping for, but we have a feeling they'll survive the hit.
Needless to say viewers have weighed in on the drama on social media too. 'Malisha 100% is in the right she has 0 loyalties to Megan especially after she was calling her boring saying she's at Tape every weekend,' reads one post. 'Malisha calling Meg out for her sly comments while Meg says “say it with my chest” Meg’s stuttering,' reads another. Someone else wondered, 'So meg squared want to come for Malisha for…doing her job as a bombshell.'
The story on Instagram was quite different. 'Sorry but team Meg,' wrote one user. 'I thought that was disrespectful wanting to take him the hideaway… feel he’s giving them both mixed signals telling Meg she’s number 1 & saying same to Malisha, so I think Meg was in the right & its good entertainment watching it.' While someone else commented, 'I actually like that Meg is claiming what she wants, and isn’t letting the cameras make her less determined to fight for man... she’s doing what is every girl wants and has done int he past.'
However, a third summarised, 'I think Meg's anger is misdirected at the bombshell rather than the man she met 5 days that owes her more loyalty. Bombshells are supposed to be flirtatious and "Take your man" it's not a new concept.'
As always, the girls are forgetting three major things: they have been in the villa for one week and no one is in a relationship yet, bombshells have no choice but to pursue the people they like, and if they feel disrespected they should address it with the man in the middle instead of each other.
Ten years in, the Love Island drama never changes. In fact, it seems to get worse every year.
Love Island season 12 continues everyday on ITV2 and ITVX at 9pm.
Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across entertainment, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things pop culture for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow with equal respect).