Let's chat!

As we endure No Episode Wednesdays and wait for a new episode tomorrow, this thread is a space to hangout and discuss whatever is on your mind about S8 or anything Love Island related.

All subreddit rules still apply, so please keep things respectful and review the rules if you need a refresher.

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I am scrolling through this community and I truly do not understand why there is SO MUCH discourse surrounding Aniya standing over KC? People are seriously trying to villainize her!! Are we completely disregarding the fact Aniya just had to witness KC blatantly disrespecting her on national television and amongst her friends and other islanders? Then KC was STILL trying to defend himself, play this “double standard” BS, and escalates the situation even more by standing up rather than taking ACCOUNTABILITY and just shutting up? You all wouldn’t be angry too?? It seems like people online and the men in the villa can’t seem to understand where Aniya’s anger and frustration is coming from and allow her to feel that in the moment, but somehow everyone knows how to have compassion/empathy for Melanie and are supportive of her anger and words. I am definitely noticing a pattern here and I HATE it so much. How dark skinned women’s feelings are constantly invalidated and every single thing they do is nitpicked and ridiculed, even in vulnerable moments of anger & after being disrespected. So sad.

EDIT: since so many people are commenting the exact same things, let me clarify. i'm not a child, i am (almost) 26. i'm not new to reality tv in the slightest. my all time favorite show is vanderpump rules (which if anyone doesn't know is actually where ariana started!) i also loved big rich texas, antm, liuk, flavor of love, rpdr, and more growing up. i guess in this sub the one real crime is having empathy for what's happening on a show, and looking into the broader consequences of what we see play out on our screens. to give some more insight: i studied gender studies, childhood development, and psychology in school. probably because of the knowledge i gained from those courses i tend to see the concepts i learned about in a lot of reality tv. which honestly makes watching them a lot more interesting, but also can become irritating or even depressing when large swaths of people deny the existence of these things or simply deny that they have any merit at all. which is why i made this post. contrary to popular belief, i actually have really enjoyed this season and all the drama and discussions it has brought us. i also do not believe that the things we see happening in reality tv have no consequence whatsoever. usually it's a more zoomed in look at our actual reality that we live in every day, which can be pretty bleak. if you don't agree with looking into things that's okay, but it's also okay not to comment what has already been commented a bunch of times. scroll through, find someone you agree with, and like their comment instead! (p.s. i did unfortunately fully forget about caleb :/ sorry caleb! <3 i haven't seen caleb do anything i would say is disrespectful or shady, but he is a bit of a nothingburger so i unfortunately will not be voting for him to win :/ sorry caleb x2!)

honestly, all of the men this season have been beyond disrespectful in a way we haven't seen in love island in a while. usually in each season there will be one guy, maybe two, who is a complete dickhead and the entire audience hates them and thats it. this season there literally isn't one guy that i'm fully rooting for.

the things kc has said about aniya are just abhorrent. the way sincere has twisted women around all season is spooky as hell. corbin was so nasty about kenzie and the other women, zach is rude 95% of the time and then claims he's joking to avoid the backlash, bryce doesn't stand up for the women when the men are dogging them, not even TRINITY, gal was beyond weird to jen, dylan seems manipulative af. the only one of the men that i've never actively disliked is carl, and he's brand new. i have high hopes for him from what we've seen, but truly who knows.

not even just the men, but also the women have disappointed me. i love that it seems like they're all close and are leaning on each other for support, but there are just some things that they do that are so concerning to me.

for one, the way the girls all turned on mela in the beginning with her being mad at sincere and crying about him talking to sol. she tried to tell those girls (mainly aniya and bea if i remember correctly) that he was telling her one thing and then doing another, and they didn't care. bea was actually really callus about it the entire time she was there, and even after she left. then the way they so easily talk shit about each other to the men. i'm about the same age as them, and one thing you will never catch me or my girls doing is talking crazy about a woman to a man. literally the last thing i would ever do because men take that shit and run with it! they think because a woman has agreed with them they're 100% right and whichever girl they're mad at deserves the vitriol they throw at them.

also, the way kayda and jen were talking about kenzie was crazy. i understood jen's frustration since gal dumped her and then went and kissed kenzie, but they very quickly became sl*t shamey. saying she needs attention from men to survive on the show where you're supposed to explore multiple men was such crap. and the audience digs into her even worse! there's think piece after think piece about how kenzie needs to leave and she's the worst in the villa and truly, what did she do? she was honest with both jen AND dylan about exploring gal, which is quite literally what they all signed up to do, and you would think she got married and then slept with the best man the night of the wedding with the way the audience has reacted to it. even jen telling kenzie they wouldn't be friends in real life if she acted like that. like yeah, duh, this is love island! the only place in the world where its socially acceptable to talk to your friends man! like seriously, what are we doing here?

quick mention that zach saying melanie ruined her and sincere's reunion by being upset that he was fucking around on her made me want to bash my head in. like these men really truly do not have any respect for these women's feelings it is so sick and twisted.

and truly movie night killed me. like the boys watching some of the awful shit kc said about aniya, and then genuinely believing it's the same damn thing as aniya saying she was going to explore and kissing carl is the craziest fucking thing i've ever seen in my life. and it wasn't just kc, it was ALL of them! then you have amora and titi jumping in to side with the men and it's like, what the fuck is going on? aniya was allowed to be mad when kc brought back titi, idgaf what anyone says. and of course her girls were going to have her back watching her get hurt like that, but NONE of them said a word against titi until she opened her mouth to argue with them. and kc continues to try and lie and say they did, it's soooo frustrating. there is no double standard. if aniya brought back carl and kc came in single, all of those boys would be talking shit about her. they already did it to kenzie when she picked corbin during the love letters. so why aren't the girls allowed to be mad at kc?

i'm not even going to get into parmida and titi being rude to the villa girls when they came in because it's not even worth my time.

idk, truthfully i got really sad after movie night last night. mela's summer has been destroyed by a man that believes as long as he admits that he's a liar that makes it okay, and i really don't think any of the other women are better off. it is such a bleak look at the dating pool today and it's seriously fucked me up seeing this all take place. i hope when all the islanders leave they're okay mentally and physically and can grow as people, but i also really hope the women on this season get away from these men and find happiness in their lives, and eventually men that treat them right and care about their feelings

Thank u Reddit bc there’s so many and I want to save them all🫡❤️

This is my first time watching Love Island, but I was hoping to see some romance still, damn.

We're 25 episodes in, with only one date. The couples are locked in, but we really don't get much screen time with them enjoying each other's company, so we can see what they like about each other.

The drama is entertaining, but it's getting really exhausting to watch them only hunch and fight. When they do talk, the conversations are pretty lackluster.

Carl and Aniya this episode, and Trinity and Bryce last episode, were a breath of fresh air, right before they waterboarded us with drama again. I can't even tell if the latter couples are good or if I'm just starved for something positive atp.

I'm starting to feel bad for the Islanders. The producers don't make them do any bonding activities. Just a bunch of horny challenges and alcohol to stir up drama. Aren't they meant to find someone they like? How are they supposed to focus on falling in love in the midst of all this chaos? I'm legit worried for their mental health. This level of emotional rollercoaster can't be good in the long run.

Is this how it always is? Am I the only one who wants to see more dates, parties, meaningful convos, etc.?

I don’t think Jen should be that upset with Kenzie. Kenzie told Jen she was interested in Gal early on. Kenzie also didn’t even chat with Gal for multiple days, and then finally pulls him for a chat. Kenzie kisses Gal but that was after Gal had already ended things with Jen and didn’t he tell Kenzie that?

Jen seemed mad that Kenzie wasn’t the first to tell her about the kiss, but Kenzie told her that next morning. I think it was actually messy of Kayda to tell Jen first before letting Kenzie talk to Jen. Kayda pulled Jen super early that morning, everyone was still eating breakfast and I think it really was just Kayda wanting to shit on Kenzie, which got Jen riled up and mad.

Additionally, Jen literally told Gal to go have chats with other girls. Like I get being mildly upset but the vitriol to go after Kenzie for her actions seems intense when she has been overall very communicative about the situation. I also think it’s a low blow for Jen to say she wouldn’t be friends with Kenzie in the real world, when everyone knows dating rules on LI are so much different than the real world, it just shouldn’t even be a comparison! Like maybe Kenzie does steal her friend’s guys in the real world but we have no way of knowing that on LI since everyone is encouraged to explore the same group of guys.

I do think Kenzie likes having multiple options and she led Caleb on a little too much, but even then she never actually chose Caleb, she was forced into a couple with him by America.

I think he mistakes sincerity in the moment for honesty over time.

I think Sincere absolutely knew he was lying! Movie night and him keeping the truth from the boys all point to that. That's not the part I'm questioning. What I'm questioning is why he keeps lying.

My interpretation is that he gets completely wrapped up in whoever he's talking to. Every connection feels real while he's in it, so he says whatever feels true in that moment. Then, when those conversations inevitably collide, he lies because telling the truth means disappointing someone, and he seems completely incapable of sitting with that discomfort. To me, his lies feel less like carefully planned deception and more like an attempt to escape the immediate consequences of the situation he created. Then every new lie creates another problem he has to escape.

That doesn't make him any less manipulative. Melanie should absolutely leave. I just don't know if I see someone who's motivated by exploiting women. To me, he seems more motivated by wanting to be liked, and craves connection.

Maybe I'm giving him too much grace, but I don't think he comes across as someone who has contempt for women or who set out to manipulate them. To me, there's a meaningful difference between manipulating someone because you want power or control and manipulating someone because you're deeply conflict-avoidant, crave validation, and don't know how to handle disappointing people in a healthy way. Neither is okay, and both hurt people. I just don't think all manipulation comes from the same place.

To be clear, I don't think he's a good person right now. I also don't think I'm ready to call him a bad person. I think he's someone with some deeply unhealthy patterns that hurt people, and whether he stays that person probably depends on what he does next..?

i just saw a post earlier about the sincerity of the islanders and obviously they go on the show for fame. but i can’t really see anyone from season 8 lasting longer than a couple years… *not even y’alls fave who you think is gonna win. this show is so fake and people are fighting tooth and nail to defend the relationships of a certain couple(s) and it’s so parasocial, it’s just a fantasy that these islanders are creating and teens watching are like “they’re perfect together, and if you don’t agree with me then you’re a lonely miserable loser and that’s why you’re hating.” and i’ve even seen a comment saying “my mental health depends on this couple.” scary… LOL

Did y’all really switch up on Aniyah and Trinity that fast? I don’t know, that was by far one of the best movie nights I’ve ever seen and I was screaming at the TV that can’t be it. I was so excited to see that there was a part two. This morning I’m looking to see everybody basically team boys now (not team boys but definitely not for the girls) and I’m just trying to understand what happened. Apparently a lot of people don’t like the fact that Aniyah stood up, but she wouldn’t have had KC not stood up first. Because who are you standing up to? Lol. And then people talking about Trinity was doing too much. Trinity is the person that you would want in your corner all the time. She’s blunt. She takes things personally for her friends. And she will call whoever it is out that needs to be called out, especially when other people aren’t going to. Jen! Love her. She lost me the first couple weeks but these last few episodes she’s really grown on me. And I’m glad she’s clocking everything that the other girls are missing. Insinceres comment before she got caked by him makes way more sense now. I don’t know. Am I crazy? what is going on?

TLDR: KC has done some real questionable shit but I think the framing of him as vile, sinister, manipulative, narcissist is SIGNIFICANTLY too far. I am also colder on Aniya than the general fanbase but that's probably not entirely relevant to this post.

The things he's said (off the top of my head):

1. "Grandma": Questionable, but both myself and Aniya did not read this as about sex, but about how she falls asleep quickly. Corbin made a joke about it immediately and even Aniya at Movie Night made the comment that she falls asleep quickly.
2. Casa heart rate challenge: Pretty much indefensible. He did too much here and was definitely disrespectful, acting like he was at a strip club the way he was dapping up Corbin. Not good.
3. "I feel like the girls at the villa don't really understand my powers". Cringe as fuck but I don't see anything wrong here. He felt wanted in Casa and as I mentioned above I don't think he felt wanted with Aniya.
4. "This is what we should have been getting at the villa": Indefinsible comment. Probably lustful.
5. "I get more leeway because I spoke life into her": I have never understood the issue with this comment. It is objectively true that Aniya was acting extremely insecure, feeling personally betrayed when KC expressed interest in Sol when he was very transparent about the fact that he was interested. KC gave her nothing but honesty and reassurance when she asked for it, and I think KC was saying here that he did not feel emotional reciprocation from her. I really do not understand why people act like this was an awful thing for him to say.

He moved pretty badly in Casa and made some shitty comments for sure. I do not understand how this is massive disrespect warranting this level of reaction from the girls where they're calling him a bitch, coward, telling him "fuck you", etc.

I legitimately just think they're unhappy because Aniya is pissed that he came back from someone. I thought the accusation from Melanie/Aniya/Trinity that he was playing it safe by staying with Aniya in the villa as some sort of ploy to stay in the show is legitimately delusional with how much emotional effort and reassurance he poured into her.

I am open minded here because I'm not foolish to assume that I know better than the vast majority of fans but please tell me if I'm missing something here.

Boy has ZERO game. Plenty of girls have given him a chance and no one felt a spark. Parmida, Jaiden, Kenzie (she for everybody but still). Like why are you asking every girl what their type is. When he does rarely talk to a girl, its like he is having a formal convo with a boss rather than flirting with someone.

Yall talking ab kicking corbin but nah atleast he can flirt and if his connection were to not work out he's pulling the next girl and flirting. Caleb seems to be just content in whatever lame "connection" he has at the moment and the girl eventually leaves.

I’m a brinity fan hands down but Trinity…. Girl….. I need to pipe down no shade… I liked how she told Titi that KC is a grown man and can speak for himself during the recoupling but this episode she completely contradicting herself Aniya is a grown woman yet Trinity keeps talking over her instead of letting her speak for herself.

I’m just not here for that at all.

People keep saying “well she’s just defending her friend.” And I’m like OK but when the boys defend KC Trinity immediately starts yelling at them the boys aren’t yelling at her. They’re just defending their friend too. It feels like she’s holding them to a different standard.

I’m not defending KC at all. I know he’s 1000% in the wrong I’m just saying the double standard is what stands out to me.

People say she’s mature for her age and I do agree with that most of the time, but this situation isn’t giving maturity at all. It’s giving more like selective maturity.

At the end of the day, conversations should be consistent across the board if we’re saying grown people should speak for themselves that should apply for every situation not just when it’s convenient

That’s just my take on it and I know people will disagree obviously and I don’t want to argue, that’s just how I feel

Can someone explain to me why so many people have this level of hatred for a bunch of 20-year-olds on Love Island? Seriously. You don’t have to like KC. You don’t have to agree with his actions. You don’t have to support any islander whose behavior you think was wrong. Criticism is part of watching reality TV. But some of the comments I see about KC and honestly about multiple people in the villa are so extreme that it feels like people have forgotten these are actual human beings, not villains in a scripted drama.

Most of these contestants are incredibly young. They’re figuring out relationships, communication, boundaries, and themselves while being filmed 24/7 and judged by millions of people. Were some of their choices immature? Absolutely. But they’re 20 somethings. I’d be shocked if they weren’t immature sometimes.

What confuses me is this idea that one bad decision, one hurtful comment, or one messy situation means someone is permanently a terrible person. Since when did we stop believing people can grow, learn, and be redeemed?

I look back at things I said and did in my early 20s and cringe. Most people do. The difference is that our mistakes weren’t broadcast to millions of viewers who would then dissect our character forever based on a few weeks of our lives.
Hold people accountable. Call out bad behavior. Support the islanders you like. But the level of vitriol, personal attacks, and genuine hatred directed at some of these contestants is wild to me.
They’re young people on a dating show, not criminals. They’re going to make mistakes. They’re going to hurt each other sometimes. They’re also capable of learning from those mistakes and becoming better people. Not every flawed person is irredeemable, and not every mistake deserves a lifetime sentence from the internet.