The 2023 season of Love Island kicked off Week 2 with some major drama last night, as the tension between Zara Deniz Lackenby-Brown and Olivia Hawkins over Tom Clare finally reached breaking point.
While Zara had coupled up with Tom in Friday’s re-coupling, he was keeping his options open with Olivia – and Zara wasn’t particularly happy with it.
If you missed yesterday’s explosive argument, then make sure to catch up on episode 8’s highlights with the video above, or check out RadioTimes.com‘s brand new companion show, The Love Island Lowdown, for all the latest gossip, behind-the-scenes theories and Week 2 predictions.
Episode 2 began with Will Young excitedly telling the boys about his lengthy chat with new bombshell Jessie Wynter – and while he doesn’t want to get his hopes up, he reckons they have a connection. Let’s hope for the sake of his future on the show that he’s right!
Meanwhile, Ron Hall apologised to Lana Jenkins after spending the night giggling in bed with Tanyel Revan. The financial advisor clarified that he’s still focused on her before the pair shared a kiss.
The islanders then gathered to play a game of Never Have I Ever and while we learnt that Shaq Muhammad has slept with a 50-year-old and Zara has kissed Usain Bolt, the firepit started to properly heat up when Shaq asked whether anyone thought one of the contestants was “playing a game” in the villa. Several people indicated they did, with Olivia telling the Beach Hut camera that her ‘yes’ answer was directed at Zara. Yikes!
That was only the beginning of the friction between Zara and Olivia, with Olivia pulling Tom for a chat – much to Zara’s annoyance. After Tom admitted to Olivia that he still wants to get to know her, Zara confronted Olivia, asking: “What was that?”
Olivia refused to disclose what she spoke to Tom about, resulting in Zara calling her “childish” before adding: “I’m here for myself, do you think I flew 11 hours from England to p**s you off?” Olivia stormed away in tears with Lana and Jessie following close behind to comfort her.
The mood was understandably low in the villa the following morning, however that soon changed when the Australian bombshells were given a chance to take two islanders on a date.
Jessie picked Will and Tom, while Aaron Waters went for Lana and Olivia, and the four of them headed off on a picnic date. While sparks continued to fly between Will and Jessie, Lana admitted to Aaron that her head still could be turned despite showing interested in Ron. It turns out Ron isn’t the only one with options!
The episode also saw Zara and Olivia clear the air after their explosive row, with Olivia clarifying that while they won’t be “best friends” in the villa, she thinks she’s “a great girl” and plans on focusing on Haris Namani from now on. Although, with the public getting to vote for their favourite male and female islander, it’s possible that there won’t be many singletons to pick from after tonight.
Love Island airs on ITV2 and ITVX at 9pm. Previous seasons of Love Island are available on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial.
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