Simba was done DIRTY on Love Island, and the reason for the sparkly final shorts is the last straw

Love Island always does a select few Islanders real dirty, and for season 13, it was Simba Kudyiwa’s turn.

Sima, whose full name is Simbarashe Kudyiwa, was not exactly portrayed in the best light during season 13. He clashed with a number of Islanders, but in particular, his treatment of Mica generated a lot of backlash on sites like Reddit and Twitter. Still, he managed to get to the final alongside Angelista Gunda, and they came in third place.

But now, a week after the show’s explosive conclusion, which saw Lorenzo and Julia take the crown, people are lowkey realising that he was done dirty. Here are the receipts.

Love Island’s Simba was forced into wearing the shorts at the final

Simba breaking down the story behind that shiny shokoto at the finale 😭#loveisland #loveislanduk pic.twitter.com/8sH4ant9IX

— VD 🌹 (@Mister_Hammed) August 5, 2026

During the final, where the Islanders were dressed in dazzling items from the show’s partner eBay, Lorenzo was in a dashing all-black suit, Kavan was in a blue silk number, and Simba was in – I can’t believe I’m writing this – bedazzled jorts. Ten out of ten festival look, but not exactly on the same style level as the rest of the finalists.

In a new interview with Capital XTRA, Simba revealed that the stylists gave him zero other options for his finale look. He’d spent most of the show in various pairs of jorts, so they bedazzled some more and called it a day.

“I was like ‘Umm, I don’t really know.’ But they didn’t really have anything else for me,” he revealed. “I’ll make it work.”

Angelista described his options as “limited”, and there wasn’t even a suit available for him to wear. Instead, he was given jean jackets and jorts.

“Everyone else is in smart attire, and they’re giving you like this,” she said.

Simba didn’t seem too slighted by the moment, but it’s chill, the internet is angry for him.

“I do not like this AT ALL,” one person said, as another wrote, “Production really set them up.”

The actual meaning behind ‘mum smiled bares’

@capitalofficial

We could have never guessed the wholesome deeper meaning💓 @simbakudyiwa1 and @angelistagundax we are obsessed with you! #loveisland #loveislanduk #simbaandangelista #simbaspeech

♬ original sound – Capital

When Simba wrote Angelista a letter to apologise for Casa Amor, which he read around the firepit in front of everyone, one particular line caused quite the stir online.

“My mum asked me what you do for work, and I said you’re a nurse. She smiled bares,” he said.

People took the absolute piss out of him for the moment, but after leaving the villa, he revealed the wider context that ITV seemingly left out. You see, his mum has Motor Neurone Disease, so she communicates through facial expressions.

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“But I don’t think it was really shown in the show in terms of me looking after my mum and her condition,” he said.

He was ‘forced’ to bring Mara back

@madamejoyce

Simba Was The 3rd Option!! #loveisland #loveislanduk #loveisland2026 #Mara #simba

♬ original sound – Madame Joyce – Madame Joyce

Casa Amor beef is a staple of Love Island each year, and this year, the love triangle between Simba, Mara, and Angelista was but one beefy moment. However, Mara has since detailed how Simba never wanted to bring her back to the main villa.

“But I don’t even think somebody wanted to bring me in the main villa,” she said. “I feel like they were forced but no comment, that’s it.”

People can’t agree on whether he was a villain

Credit: Reddit

It might be called reality TV, but I can’t think of a single show that is the complete honest truth. From Love Island to Bravo, reality TV shows are carefully curated. It leaves us with an unsettling tidbit, that nothing can be taken at face value.

In the case of Simba, we often saw him lose his temper or do things that would be seen as negative by the public. There was no deep dive into him caring for his mum, for instance, and it left him looking like one of the villains of the series.

Love island producers are so weird wym everyone had smart attire clothes except Simba

— esty (@estherkax) August 5, 2026

“Yes Simba is a clown and he is cringe but he’s certainly not the worst guy in there. You have people like Aidan and Lorenzo that toyed with more than one girls emotions but Lorenzo is even favourite boy. Aidan has lied constantly, tried to kiss every girl and is more than weird with Jas,” one person wrote on Reddit.

“Then we have Samraj using Priya to do bits knowing full well he don’t like her and only deading it when she didn’t want to kiss him. These things are far worse than what Simba has done.”

Another comment read: “I don’t even like the guy, I find him cringe but there is a very telling undertone with the way that Simba is held up as the worse thing that has ever stepped in to that villa.”

All that and more has culminated into one major question: Which moments were authentically Simba, and which were schemes by producers?

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Featured image credit: ITV