Tanyel is the best contestant of Love Island 2023 and the way she’s being treated is wrong

If there’s one thing the Love Island contestants can’t do, it’s keep Tanyel’s name out of their mouths. Olivia, Shaq— everyone is whispering behind her back. And what exactly has she done wrong to deserve this hyper scrutiny? Nothing. As the only truly single (and strong) woman in the villa, she’s just an easy target. They think she can take it.

So far, the problems other contestants have had with Tanyel seemingly stem from her talking to men: The entire purpose of the Love Island villa. When Spencer left South Africa, she jokingly said she hoped some new hot guys would arrive for her to flirt with, which went down like a sack of shit. Could the issue be she’s the only Islander (aside from Will) with a sense of humour?

Every episode Tanyel is being spoken about behind her back man it’s getting boring now can’t they talk about anything else? #loveisland pic.twitter.com/CR6ZyZNXuL

— Joe  (@Joe_McDonald_) February 8, 2023

When Jordan arrived, and Tanyel got to know him and she gradually realised maybe he’s not for her, she was open and honest about it, acknowledging she wasn’t certain there was an attraction there. But rather than being praised for her honesty and openness the whispers round the fire pit started again:

“What do you make of the whole Jordan-Tanyel situation?” Shaq asked Olivia as he pulled her for an uncharacteristically bitchy chat. “I don’t think she’s attracted to him,” assessed Olivia. “He’s put more effort into her. You kind of feel bad if he’s putting effort in,” Shaq continued. “Did she not do that to Spencer too?” questioned Olivia, before they both broke into an evil cackle.

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The conclusion was: Tanyel had used Spencer and Jordan for “convenience” as the only men available to her. And yes, she spoke to Spencer. Yes, she spoke to Jordan. But what exactly is wrong with that? When placed in a villa to look for love you’re going to test all avenues— even the ones you expect might not work.

It would have been far worse if she’d forced a showmance for the sake of security with either of them.

Olivia criticising Tanyel for being with someone for convenience as if her & Kai don’t have the chemistry of two chicken nuggets #loveisland pic.twitter.com/XhYamv6o2n

— Ro (@Real_LindaLing) February 8, 2023

Fundamentally, Olivia coupled up with Spencer and also realised it wasn’t working out. Lana literally jumped from Ron to Casey back to Ron within a day while she made her mind up between her “head, heart and gut”. Tanyel embraced all of these decisions without judgement, telling each and every girl to “do what you need to do”, reassuring them she was behind them.

Every time there’s a questionable decision, Tanyel supports the other Islanders without hesitation. She understood why Lana had to give Ron another try. She took Olivia and Kai suddenly coupling up in her stride. Yet, who’s backing up Tanyel when the whole villa is talking about her? So far, only Samie. And look how that went down.

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