Love Island is one of the most talked about shows on the box, and it’s fair to say that it has reached a cult-like status.
With a vocabulary all of its own and the internet churning out meme after meme of the nightly drama, the nation is absolutely hooked on the goings on of that Love Island villa.
For those of us that have stuck around ever since the 2015 reboot (and the good old days of Jon Clark telling Hannah Elizabeth that she made him feel like a rainbow), there are myriad storylines that seem to crop up year after year.
The bombshell that looks like they’ve walked straight from a calendar shoot into the Love Island villa
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Terry Walsh (2016), Alex Bowen (2016), Adam Collard (2018) and Molly-Mae Hague (2019) have all filled these shoes.
The role of the bombshell is to test the couples who are already in the villa. Some are a little more effective than others.
When Terry first walked into proceedings during series two, there were a lot of heads turning. Earning his reputation for being a bit of a heartbreaker, Tezza caught the eye of Olivia Buckland before sweeping her villa BFF Malin Andersson off her feet and stealing her from Rykard Jenkins.
Olivia forgot all about it when Alex Bowen entered the villa, and the pair are now happily married. Cute.
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Fast-forward two years and Adam Collard, who was the very first bombshell to be thrown in during series four, seemed to catch the attention of not one, but four girls before deciding that he’d caught feelings for Zara McDermott (spoiler: they’re no longer together).
The Love Island triangle
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This has been the main theme of series five so far, with Tommy Fury finding himself in the middle of two triangles – and we’re only a week in.
First thrown in as a late bombshell himself, he picked out surfer Lucie Donlan (much to the dismay of a particularly smitten, some might say clingy, Joe Garratt). After a few days of to-ing and fro-ing, Lucie finally decided to return to Joe in the recoupling ceremony.
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Just when he thought his triangular days were over, Tommy’s new bae Molly-Mae seems to be looking at Anton and new boy Danny as potential suiters.
By the show’s very nature it makes sense that this might be a recurring theme.
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In the early days of series three, for example, Jess Shears found herself in a three-pronged situation when she took a fancy to Dom Lever (who, at the time, was in a seemingly happy coupling with Montana Brown).
Of course the happy couple are now married and expecting a baby, so that all worked out for the best in the end.
The ones that fall for each other on day one
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In 2015 we had Jon Clark and Hannah Elizabeth, who coupled up on the very first day in the villa and, despite some pretty spectacular barneys, they made it to the final together. In fact, the pair even got engaged during their time on the show (in case you’re wondering, they’re no longer together and Hannah is currently expecting her first child with fiancé George Andreetti).
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Series two saw Cara De La Hoyde and Nathan Massey sticking it right through the entirety of the 2016 show, and in 2017 it was Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies. As for last year, Jack Fincham and Dani Dyer became the power couple of the Love Island villa, being crowned the winners after a landslide victory.
Will Curtis Pritchard and Amy Hart be the ones to fill this role this year?
The one that finally gets what they’ve been looking for
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Everyone loves a phoenix rising from the ashes, right?
In 2017 Camilla Thurlow became the nation’s sweetheart, although she didn’t have that much luck in the love department. Then in rode Calvin Klein model Jamie Jewitt, on his metaphorical white horse, and everything changed. Don’t get us wrong, we know that girls don’t need a man to swoop in and save them. But there was something so heartwarming about seeing Camilla happy – and they’re still together to this day, don’t you know.
Series four’s Doctor Alex George found himself permanently residing in the friend zone, until Alexandra Cane came along. We’ll ignore the fact that guy Alex seemed to be more interested in the car the producers provided for their date, but girl Alex was absolutely smitten.
Then there was Samira Mighty who, let’s face it, had a pretty awful time of things. So when Frankie Foster appeared to be her Prince Charming, fans rejoiced (despite the fact it emerged that many of their romantic scenes were cut from the show).
The big steal
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This is pretty much the name of the Love Island game, but it always makes for nail-biting scenes.
In 2018 we saw Megan Barton Hanson and Wes Nelson sparking up a romance, despite the fact that he was in a solid pairing with Laura Anderson. Oh boy, the drama.
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Then Josh Denzel and Kaz Crossley provided one of the most dramatic fire pit moments, well, ever when they arrived back from Casa Amour in a fully fledged coupling while a heartbroken (and, well, dumped) Georgia Steel looked on.
This has already happened in the series five villa courtesy of Tommy Fury stealing Lucie Donlan, but we would not be surprised to see it play out again as things intensify Love Island-style.
Love Island continues at 9pm on ITV2.
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