Editing errors and re-filming scenes: All the evidence Love Island 2023 was staged

It’s a tale as old as time, the recurring question of if Love Island is staged or not – and the same thing is currently being asked about the 2023 series.

Past Islanders have spoken about producers “engineering” storylines, and there have been countless examples of the show being edited to look a certain way. People have long wondered how much input producers really have, if conversations between Islanders are dictated for them, or filmed more than once.

I dunno why but this season of love island feels extra staged and scripted

— sara (@SaraAldebe) February 6, 2023

There have been a few moments this season that have got people talking about the authenticity of the show once again. Here is a rundown of all the evidence that Love Island 2023 was staged.

Zara and Olivia knew each other the entire time and just didn’t say anything

via ITV

Right, let’s address the biggest staged drama from Love Island 2023 first. As soon as she entered the villa, it was revealed Zara and Olivia already knew each other, and they just didn’t say anything. They had literally known each other for years, and even commented on each other’s Instagram pictures saying they loved each other.

Dumped Islanders confirmed they did know each other, and a music video where they featured together resurfaced. But what makes this feel super fake is that the girls had loads of drama and arguments when they were in the villa, and everyone thought this must have been stemmed from their history together. Were we meant to just believe they had just met? Why was it made to look like that?

This moment where Zara’s false eyelashes went from being on, to off, and then back on again

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During an evening challenge in the villa, a viewer spotted Zara’s false eyelashes had began to fall off – which is no surprise given the gale force winds they seem to be putting up with in South Africa right now. But, continuity errors struck once again, as her eyelashes went from on to off and on again, and people called it out as the producers making her reaction to the challenge look worse than it was.

At the beginning of the game, Zara had full lashes on. Then, suddenly, they magically disappeared! This didn’t at all fit with the timeline, as her lashes then appeared back on, and then as though they were falling off, and then off again. It looked as though when her lashes were off was for reaction shots to other questions the Islanders were asked, which begs the question if these reactions were edited, clipped up differently, or filmed again.

“Have they just edited the questions in the wrong order,” the original poster asked. “Or have they edited her reaction there to make it look worse than it is? Definitely starting to think they’re making Zara out to be worse than she is.”

Everyone thought the kiss drama with Will telling the Islanders was staged

How staged is this Tom/Ellie/Olivia storyline. How obvious the producers told Will to tell the others and then made Tanya tell Zara who then of course must blab to Olivia. #loveisland has become towie, just in the sunshine 🙄

— MrsArsenal04 (@MrsArsenal04) January 30, 2023

Earlier in the season, there was a moment with Tom and Ellie having a “secret kiss” on the terrace, which was later revealed to the Islanders… by Will. People straight away went on Twitter and said how random this felt, and like the producers had told Will to pass the information on.

That was all staged af but it is definitely a good storyline from the producers- Will was just randomly thrown on a date so he is out the way so Zara could go straight to Liv without talking to him about it first #loveisland pic.twitter.com/q6utZCofw1

— tommmm (@Tomhayess_) January 30, 2023

Then, Will went out on a date and the details trickled out to the rest of the villa. Again, people thought it was pretty good timing for Will to go on a date at this time, leaving the carnage behind.

The whole addition of the Love Island Australia bombshells

via ITV

Ok, when Islanders who have been on the show before come back it’s good drama, but the show loses all authenticity. They’re not here for love, it’s orchestrated drama and they’re here for fame. That’s all.

Tanya just magically disappeared

There were two editing errors in the space of seconds in one Love Island episode. It was the episode where the boys completed the “Ladiators” challenge, and both blunders came as the text about the challenge was read out. The first was spotted when Tanya, Shaq and Jordan were sat on the day bed chatting, just as the villa got the message about the challenge.

Then, the camera cut to Shaq in the Beach Hut reacting to the challenge announcement, and when the camera came back to the day bed, Tanya had disappeared! Umm, what’s going on here?

And Ellie went from sitting down, to getting up, to sitting down again

via ITV

At the same time as the Tanya moment, we also saw Will, Jessie and Ellie in one of the villa’s other seating areas, when the text was read out. As the message was read, Jessie and Ellie were sat together on the sofa. Note: Sat down.

via ITV

After hearing about the challenge, Ellie quickly stood up to go and get ready, but flashback, and suddenly she’s sat back down on the bed relaxing. She was literally just up and ready to go?

Answers, please? 👀

Claudia’s shock entrance was filmed four times

via ITV

It was a huge shock for all the Islanders when Claudia showed up after the heart race challenge. But, it wasn’t really that shocking at all, because she’s admitted by the time it got to the shot we all saw at home, her entrance had been filmed four times.

Speaking on a podcast, she said her angel wings kept falling off, so she ended up walking into the villa over and over to get it right. “I had to do it four times because the wings fell off,” she told Scott Thomas on the Learning As I Go podcast. Hmmm.

Tanya also had a moment when her eyelashes and makeup just… fell off

via ITV

Tanya also had a moment this season where one second her makeup was on, the next it wasn’t. She had been chatting, and kissing, with Shaq when she had that big explosive row with Martin straight after. During the scenes with Shaq before and then Martin, Tanya was wearing makeup and had false eyelashes on.

Then, she walked away with Shaq to sit on the daybeds, and her eyelashes and makeup were off?! When did this happen? HOW did this happen?

Tanya changed outfits during the evening

via ITV

Another editing error was going on pretty much simultaneously to Tanya’s eyelashes coming off. All night that night she had been walking around the villa in a gorgy black dress, but skip forward to when the girls were getting ready for bed, and Tanya was getting changed out of a denim jumpsuit. Sure!

Shaq was ironing Tanya’s dress, and then suddenly she was wearing it in Casa Amor

via ITV

When the girls got the big text to say they were heading off to Casa Amor, they snook out the main villa. Tanya had previously asked Shaq to iron the green dress she had wanted to wear that night in the main villa.

However, when they arrived at Casa and got ready for the night, Tanya was then seen wearing the dress she had left with Shaq – and this was before the boys had the text to say they needed to pack some stuff for the girls. How did they dress get there?

Shaq went from undressed, to dressed, to undressed again

via ITV

At the same time the dress thing was happening, Shaq was shown as being in his shorts, to dressed for the evening, to back in his shorts again. He was also back in his shorts when they found out the girls had disappeared, way way after we’d seen him all dressed and ready for the night.

For this to have happened, the scenes must have been edited together out of order, so we saw the boys reacting to things in a different way to what actually happened as the girls left.

Laura Anderson straight up said one moment was ‘staged’

In an episode near the end of the series, there were scenes where all the Islanders suddenly sat in different areas of the villa and all talked about how much they adore one another. Vom. Previous Islander Laura Anderson has said these moments are “a bit staged”. Speaking on Instagram she too was questioning why they were “all just declaring their love for each other” out of the blue.

For all the latest Love Island news and gossip and for the best memes and quizzes, like The Holy Church of Love Island on Facebook.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• All the Islanders who have refused to follow each other on Instagram since Love Island 2023

• A rundown of every time there’s been a huge editing error during Love Island 2023

• Ranked: The Islanders who were truly wronged with their heart race challenge outfits