Here’s everything you need to know about episode 43 of Love Island summer 2023.
It’s the penultimate week of the summer season of Love Island 2023 – and there’s still everything to play for as last night’s episode tested even the strongest of couples.
That’s right, despite being coupled up since day 4, Zachariah Noble (unintentionally) tested his relationship with Molly Marsh during the challenge, which left a bitter taste in her mouth and left her questioning whether they should be together.
But the real star of the show was “messy” Mitchel Taylor, whose erratic actions gave Abi Moores and new bombshell Ella Barnes whiplash as he chopped and changed his mind.
If you missed the latest instalment, then don’t worry – RadioTimes.com has you covered with our handy recap below. Read on to find out everything you missed from episode 43 of Love Island!
What happened on Love Island summer 2023 last night? Episode 43 recap
!["Ella]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/07/Ella-Barnes-and-Abi-Moores-discuss-Mitchel-Taylors-actions-86438e3.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Ella")
The episode started after Sunday night’s recoupling, where the girls were in control and picked a boy to couple up with.
After Ella B chose Mitchel, his previous partner Abi was quick to pair up with Scott van-der-Sluis – saying in her speech: “Since getting to know this boy, he displayed a lot of characteristics that I find attractive, like loyalty and respect. Which I don’t feel I’ve had over the past few days.”
After making the thinly-veiled dig at Mitch, he pulled her for a chat, where he told her: “I’m not happy with your speech, that was a bit sh**** of you.”
But, confusingly, the gas engineer continued: “My feelings haven’t gone, obviously. I was going to pick you. I’ve said it before, right now, no one compares to you. Do you know how hard I’ve tried?”
Mitch then went on to say that he felt his “actions with Ella were forced”. “I see a future outside with you, not her,” he added. “I haven’t felt the urge to kiss Ella like I have with you.”
While Abi told him that “actions have consequences”, the couple left it that Mitch would tell Ella how he felt.
Mitch then went over the conversation with Molly and Zachariah, and told the surprised couple that he wants Abi, not Ella, revealing: “No one compares to Abi.”
“Three days in, I don’t even want to kiss Ella,” he told the shocked pair.
However, things got even more muddled when Ella B then pulled Mitch for a chat, and he told the dancer that his “head was scrambled” and he “owes it to her to be honest about his feelings”, but asked for “a bit of time”.
“You’re contradicting yourself, I can’t be a**** for it, I’ll be real,” Ella replied, but did agree to wait a day or so for him to come to a decision.
Before bed, Scott admitted to the boys that Abi had told him she would still have chosen him over Mitch if she had her turn before Ella B.
And the revelation seems to have been enough to trigger Mitch into playing yet more games, as in the morning, Ella B revealed to the group that he had given her a back tickle while they shared a bed that night.
Whispering to Scott, Abi said: “It’s embarrassing because he’s mugged me off and now her as well.” She then pulled her in the dressing room and urged her rival to speak to Mitch today because it’s “not great”.
After getting ready, the Islanders headed outside, and Abi and Scott wasted no time in having a flirt on the daybeds.
“It’s not really a hard choice, I just didn’t give you a chance before,” the flight attendant told him.
After insisting he wasn’t jealous of their interaction, Mitch then pulled Zach for a chat, where he revealed: “As much as I do like Abi, too much has gone on and I think I need to focus on Ella, because I do have a lot of feelings for Ella already.”
The South London basketball player tried to give him a bit of advice and encouraged him to give himself a proper chance with somebody – but warned: “Just don’t in ten minutes change your mind!”
His two love interests then had a chat with each other, as they filled each other in on what Mitch had been saying.
Saying that she wasn’t encouraging her to be “horrible”, Abi told Ella: “He said that there’s not many similarities, he doesn’t see it working [with you] on the outside.”
Branding his behaviour as “really snakey”, Ella B added that she was “just bare confused” after Mitch’s affectionate actions, where he was “holding my hand, stroking my leg, getting into bed and giving me a back tickle.”
Sitting with Kady McDermott and Ouzy See, Mitch watched them have the discussion – and Ouzy was flabbergasted when Mitch admitted he had been telling both girls different things.
Then revealing that he had changed his minf and wanted Ella B in his bed, Kady exploded: “I’m off. F*** this s***. Abi thinks you want her!”
As Mitch repeated what he had told Zachariah, Whitney Adebayo then got a text that the Islanders would be taking part in what was sure to be an eventful game of Snog, Marry, Pie.
As the girls lined up, each boy must kiss a girl of his choice, get down on one knee for another – and throw a pie filled with whipped cream in the face of the person he has the biggest issue with.
!["Kady]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/07/Kady-McDermott-kisses-Zachariah-Noble-4bc8f5b.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Kady")
The game got off to a rocky start, as instead of kissing his current partner Molly – who he later proposed to – Zach chose to snog his previous pairing, Kady.
Turning her back on the pair, Molly muttered: “Stupid game. Why go for someone that’s been something in the past? Just pick a friend instead. That means something.”
And while Abi did get a kiss from Scott, Mitch went for Ella B instead, because: “It’s good vibes, good connection and I want to see where things go.”
He then chose to pie poor Abi, telling her: “She’s given me nothing but headaches over the last four days,” and the other girls were outraged – with Ella B branding him “messy”, and Whitney saying: “Mitch you’re so f***ed. He’s just a p****.”
The teams then swapped over, and it was all smiles for Whitney as her partner Lochan Nowacki received the most marriage proposals thanks to his cooking skills! “It made me feel good, because they all had my name in their mouth,” she grinned in the Beach Hut. “Great choice, girls.”
At the other end of the scale, Mitch got a whopping seven pies due to his actions, including one from Ella B, who told him: “I’ve got Abi’s back.”
Of course, Abi – who snogged Scott – also pied Mitch, and told him: “I decided to pie this boy because he’s a massive game player, he’s disrespectful, playing two girls off against each other, just trying to keep a place in the villa.”
“Didn’t you play two boys first?” Mitch retorted through a mouth full of cream, to which Whitney snapped back: “At least she’s winning!”
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The Molly and Zach drama also continued, as she chose to snog him because “it’s very obvious I wouldn’t want to snog anyone else.”
But she then watched on in horror as Kady also kissed Zach, who laughed awkwardly. “What are they playing at?” asked Molly. “He’s literally trying to hide behind Scott to laugh.”
Whitney then chose to pie Zach, cryptically saying: “I love his relationship with Molly, but sometimes I do question if it’s the easy way out,” which certainly ruffled Zach’s feathers as he labelled her “very random” and “quite disrespectful” in the Beach Hut.
After the challenge, the Islanders split into groups to chat about what had happened during the afternoon.
Ella B said she was a “bit confused because he kissed her in the challenge”, whereas Molly admitted that she was “not okay” and that Zach’s “kiss touched a nerve”.
Whitney also further explained her choice to pie Zach with Kady, Ella Thomas and Jess Harding, and said: “Some men like women who don’t question them. I feel like this might be an eye opener for her [Molly]. It’s just sparked a conversation that was overdue, that she avoided.”
As the girls got ready for the evening, Mitch was frosty, leading Abi to victoriously say: “He’s fuming because he’s been figured out, he knows it’s game over.”
!["Ella]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/07/Ella-Barnes-pies-Mitchel-Taylor-during-Snog-Marry-Pie-6b6c59b.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Ella")
He then started his night by pulling Ella B for a chat, and began: “Obviously, I want to apologise firstly for hurting your feelings and going about this the wrong way.”
She leapt in, and berated him: “You said you were going to cut it off and then doing completely the opposite thing… it’s just really muggy. It’s almost like you are playing a game because you’re trying to pull two girls at once.
“You’re saying one thing to me, you’re saying one thing to Abi – it’s like you’re trying to keep us both sweet. I know my f***ing worth, and I don’t really appreciate you telling everyone different.”
Despite assuring her that his “next conversation is to cut things off” with Abi, Ella added: “You have to show me, because there’s very good looking guys in this villa. I’m not short of options.”
She then told the Beach Hut: “He can graft, but I don’t know where my head’s at to be honest.”
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True to his word (finally), Mitch went to talk to Abi about the situation.
“I want to start off by apologising for hurting your feelings over the past couple of days, my head’s been scrambled and I’m feeding you false information and hurting you,” he said. “I just want to keep this as respectful as possible.”
“It’s clearly done [finished] on both sides, there is no way back,” Abi replied. “You’ve been extremely disrespectful. You know the situation: Scott bombshelled into our relationship and became a triangle, the exact same way that Ella did, but I continued to get to know you.
“I didn’t put you in a cupboard and stick you in a corner and just go: ‘Shh, I’m getting to know Scott.’ Just so you know, girls talk.”
Unbothered by her words, Mitch continued: “I think you’ve done bad things, I’ve done worse bad things, I’ll take that. We’re going round in circles.”
But despite the unpleasantness, Abi seemed to feel better about the scenario, as she told the Beach Hut: “I’m over it. It actually makes me feel better because it’s closure.”
Elsewhere, Zach tried to sort out the pickle he had got himself into, and first explained his reading to the boys for kissing Kady over Molly.
“This is just the first time where I want to sort this out with my girl. I feel like an idiot, the route I went with this game,” he cringed. “I meant right, it’s just come across so wrong. Oh dear.” Oh dear indeed!
Around the firepit, Molly chatted to Whitney and Kady because they had given her “thoughts and question marks” in the challenge.
“Nobody would have triggered a nerve other than Kady,” Molly agonised. “He did the kiss and then stood there and literally laughed. Am I just not seeing something that’s happening behind my back, and do I look stupid? Is he giving you eyes?”
Unsure how to respond, Kady replied: “I don’t know, maybe I’m taking it wrong. I don’t know.”
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Whitney then explained what she meant after her post-pie speech, and said: “Specifically, I said I like you and Molly together, but sometimes I wonder if you took the easy route. Zach tends to go for headstrong girls and then he doubles back to you, which comes across as you are the easier option, you’re the girl that’s not going to question him.”
Admitting that’s because she “trusted him”, Molly then asked Kady if she would make a move on Zach if he was open to it.
“I’m not going to lie, I do fancy Zach, I coupled up with him,” the returning Islander admitted. “The environment we’re in, I would never say never, but more likely I wouldn’t.”
Ouzy also felt annoyed about their choice of snog, telling Kady: “I feel a bit mugged off. You said basically you enjoyed kissing Zach in bed when you were a thing.”
“Obviously, I was coupled up with him, this was before you were in here,” Kady replied. “Now we’re coupled up, and I couldn’t be happier that it went that way.”
Her comments seemed to placate her Scottish footballer partner, who agreed: “Even me, I couldn’t be happier. But just that comment threw me a bit, I wasn’t expecting it. You would be off with me if I said that. It did hurt though, a little bit.”
Kady apologised, but Ouzy later told the Beach Hut: “We’re both in here and in a couple. If this was real life, I probably would have just walked away from the whole situation, but I’m going to try my best to look past all that.”
It was then time for Molly and Zach to have it out with each other, and the actress started by saying: “You have confused me, big time. I’m so upset and p***ed off. Why would you kiss Kady in the challenge?”
“I played the game far too literally. I just thought, [I’d] marry you,” Zach replied.
Saying that her partner looked “smug” and that she was hurt that he laughed about it afterwards, Zach then played it completely wrong by awkwardly laughing again, causing Molly walk away from the conversation and chat to the girls instead.
Zach then turned to Mitch for advise (why?!), who told him to hear Molly out because she “f***ing adores” him.
Determined to anger all the girls that night, Zach marched over to the group and said: “I don’t know what you lot are trying to feed her, can I steal you [Molly] for a chat please?”
“She’s actually opened up to us for once and she’s telling us stuff – who does he think he is?” a furious Kady said.
The pair then had another chat, where Zach explained that he wasn’t laughing at Molly, he just inappropriately gets a nervous laugh during some situations.
“In the real world, I would have to make a mistake,” he added. “There is no Kady. I played the game far too literal.”
But his excuses weren’t going to wash with Molly, who told him: “If I played literal, there is nobody I would want to snog.
“It’s the action of you kissing Kady in front of me. I thought you would have thought about my feelings a lot more at this stage than you did today.”
A desperate Zach then begged: “Molly, I definitely handled that scenario wrong, you’re the only person I want. I don’t care about anyone else here. I f***ed this one, heavily.
“In what world are we going to be in a scenario like that on the outside?”
To which Molly replied: “I might not be in this scenario, that’s it.” Has this mishap spelt the end for the once happy couple?
We’ll have to find out tonight, as the show also features a performance from pop star Rita Ora – and host Maya Jama is back with the results of the public vote.
Love Island airs on ITV2 at 9pm. You can watch all previous seasons of Love Island on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial.
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