All the Love Island moments where Jake was staged or played up to the cameras

Jake Cornish has had a pretty turbulent Love Island journey – people have loved his humour and cute relationship with Liberty, but he’s also been called a “snake”, staged and a “showman” who plays up to the cameras.

His dad has come out and straight up said Jake is “too stupid” to have a game plan, but that hasn’t stopped people questioning some of his actions in the villa. Viewers are wondering if he’s had a game plan from before he even set foot in the villa, and if his feelings for Liberty have ever really been genuine. You can’t doubt that at times he’s looked as though the final and the £50k is on his mind.

Here’s a rundown of all the moments Jake Cornish has been accused of being fake or staged throughout Love Island 2021, and all the times people have thought he’s been playing up to the cameras in the villa.

The bracelet he gave Liberty

You might recognise the big grand gesture where Jake gave Liberty a bracelet when they became official. He said he’d kept it in his suitcase to give to “the one”, which in itself is a bit of forward planning on his behalf, but it was very much a copycat from previous Love Island series. Kem Centinay did the exact same declaration of love, handing a bracelet to Amber Davies in 2017.

Kem and Amber went on to win the show and bag the £50k, so was Jake planning his route to the final out in his head before he’d even arrived? Was he packing the bracelet in his case with all this mind? 👀

The entire Casa Amor drama

During Casa Amor, Jake was accused of sabotaging other relationships and encouraging the boys to cheat on the girls back in the villa. He did appear to egg the boys on and pushed the “boys’ holiday” narrative a little too much. So, was this all because he wanted them to split leaving him and Liberty as the only strong couple? Was he really thinking of the prize fund that early on?

His heart race challenge routine was apparently pre-choreographed

Jake really showed he knew what he was doing when he donned his The Viking costume and lap danced for the girls. But, the real reason he might have looked so much like he was a pro, is because it was all apparently choreographed already. Jake reportedly had the routine set up and ready to go, with the task in mind. One Reddit user commented: “Just adds to my thoughts of him playing up to the cameras rather than doing things naturally. I mean, fair enough if he wanted to do well at this task but I thought he could have been funnier and danced with the other girls more.”

His ‘I love you’ moment with Liberty

After all the drama they had over being voted the least genuine couple and that their relationship was one-sided, Liberty and the other Islanders were left wondering if she was more into Jake than he was into her. So, Liberty pulled Jake for a chat. She said she had told him she loved him a lot earlier and he still hadn’t and said she was being a lot more open about her feelings. After really having to ask Jake how he felt, he then told her he did love her too.

Viewers were left questioning if Liberty and Jake were asked by producers to have this conversation, because it felt “forced”. All the girls reacted in the same way, by saying his timing was off, which also raised a few eyebrows.

Liberty outright asked him if he had been playing up to the cameras

The girls didn’t really take too well to Jake only telling Liberty he loved her after she pretty much asked him to. Chloe said it seemed a little dodgy timing wise, and the others questioned if he was just telling her what she wanted to hear. So, in another conversation, Liberty straight up asked him if he’d been playing up to the cameras.

She was basically asking if his affections towards her were put on so that they could get to the final and win the £50k. But, for the one person who is meant to believe he is genuine to ask something as straight-up as that, proves there’s A LOT of doubt with how staged Jake is being.

Jake had a really random conversation with Mary

After a heated falling out with Liberty, in the height of the “Movie Night” drama, Jake randomly pulled Mary for a chat. The pair discussed things like how many children they want, which was all a bit weird considering we’ve never seen them together before. Liberty was clearly upset with the conversation, saying: “Certain things in my gut don’t sit right. I’m not being stupid. In my head I’m thinking ‘am I overthinking?’ But no, I’m just very perceptive and very clued up on shit.”

Liberty adds: “If he’s taking me for granted, he’s not the one for me, babe.” The camera then panned to Jake who says to Mary, “some things fall apart so better things can fall together, and I believe in that.” Given that nothing really came of that, and that the conversation itself was just really out of the blue, people have questioned if that conversation was staged and Love Island producers asked Jake to pull Mary and talk about something which would upset Liberty, so the preview for the next show looked interesting.

When Kaz returned from her date and Jake pulled Liberty away from going over to see her

In one of the most awkward Love Island moments yet,  Jake held Liberty back when she tried to celebrate with Kaz. Liberty had been desperate to congratulate her best mate after Tyler asked them to be exclusive – but Jake clearly had other ideas and literally held on to her on their own on the other side of the villa as they watched everyone else together.

He said he wanted Liberty to enjoy her own special moment with her best friend away from the rest of the group. But all of this seemed very off, with viewers branding it “fake” and it was all just overly self-aware that he needed to orchestrate what would be a perfect moment for the cameras.

Liberty later even said herself that the interaction wasn’t natural and that Jake talks about the fact they’re making a TV show. She said: “I know you say sometimes, like, ‘We are on a TV show’, but at the same time, what makes it good is just you being yourself, do you know what I mean? Tonight, me wanting to run up and hug Kaz as soon as she came down the stairs was a natural reaction to me.”

A body language expert has said Jake’s ‘faking’ his feelings towards Liberty

It’s not just the viewers who are speculating as to how genuine Jake is – experts don’t think he is either. Body language and behavioural expert, Darren Stanton, told BetMinded: “Liberty appears a very genuine person from her mannerisms, but I feel Jake is playing a game. I have seen several gestures when he is speaking to other Islanders, where he is trying to come over as sensitive and open and honest – however some of his micro expressions and other gestures make him seem that he’s faking to a large extent.”

Other Islanders have also called him a game player

Dumped Islanders have come out and said they think Jake is the biggest game player in the villa, and they’re the ones who have been living with him all this time. When AJ left the villa, she said in an interview exactly who she thought was playing a game. “I would say the majority of the boys. Liam, Jake, Toby… Yeah, I think the way they’ve been moving is a bit like, are you playing a game? Are you here for love? Or are you just here to make it to the end?” she said. “With Jake, I think he may have gone in with a game plan.”

Chuggs was also convinced Jake was playing the biggest game, confirming his thoughts in an interview with OK Magazine. He added: “I didn’t really feel like he liked her that much when I was in there -but I was in there early days. I know he could have his head turned, but since they’ve made it official now I don’t think he’ll do that now. They’ll be together until the end.”

For Liberty’s sake, we can pray that Jake has been genuine throughout Love Island and not at all staged. But only time will truly tell.

Love Island 2021 continues on ITV2 at 9pm tonight. 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. 

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