All the times Islanders were accused of having a partner while they were in the villa

Like any reality TV dating show, it’s assumed contestants appear on the series for one thing and one thing only, love. Right? While that may be the case for some, a lot of Islanders past and present have had accusations hurled at them surrounding their relationship status.

Over the years, Islanders have been announced as OGs or bombshells and there are always one or two who people on the outside claim they are still in a relationship with. Awkward!

But surely there can’t be that many? Here’s a look at all the Islanders who have been accused of being in a relationship with someone on the outside while in the Love Island villa.

Kady

via ITV

It has been alleged that Kady has a secret boyfriend despite currently appearing on the show.

It has been reported that Kady McDermott and her secret boyfriend Liam had a “romantic getaway” in February 2022 at London’s Bvlgari Hotel, when Liam was under police investigation. The pair later went on holiday to the Maldives and Ibiza later that year.

As reported by The Sun, Liam Greer was later charged with acquiring criminal property and admitted laundering £359,700 on April 20th 2023. He pleaded guilty and is due to be sentenced later this week.

Liam and Kady were also spotted leaving her Hertfordshire home up until the week she flew out to Mallorca to appear on Love Island. Yikes!

A spokesperson for Love Island has said Kady was single when she entered the villa.

Shaughna

via ITV

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Months after Shaughna was in the winter Love Island villa, she was accused of having a secret boyfriend on the outside, something she later denied.

In a now deleted Instagram post, Shaughna shared a picture of herself alongside a person whose face is covered with an emoji. The former Islander captioned the post: “Starting 2021 with the same people I started 2020 with, and feeling very lucky.”

People on social media began to question who the man covered by the emoji was, and if it meant she had a boyfriend when she was on Love Island in 2020.

Shaughna replied to one of the Instagram comments and wrote: “It’s television lol”.

She responded to another user who asked why Shaughna appeared on a dating show if she was in a relationship. They wrote: “Surely if you’re in a relationship you wouldn’t be going on dating programmes?”

Shaughna replied: “If you had the ability to potentially change your mum’s/ parents’ life, would you? For me, personally, being able to help my mum in anything she financially would need outweighed ANY other scenario.

“That’s the relationship that means everything to me, and I would do anything to give her the life she deserves. We may not agree, but I hope you understand my decision.”

Shaughna’s representative later denied the allegations and told Metro Shaughna is dating someone she met a few weeks ago.

They said: “Over the past few weeks Shaughna has met someone who she is currently dating. Prior to this Shaughna has been single since before her appearance on Love Island – so in total has been single for two years until now. Love Island has given Shaughna many fantastic commercial opportunities which she is so very grateful for.”

Lucinda

via ITV

When Lucinda entered the villa in 2021, headlines began to pop up about her, with many claiming her boyfriend was waiting at home for her and looking after he dog whilst she was on the show.

When Lucinda entered the villa it was reported her ex was footballer Aaron Connolly, and he wasn’t best pleased that she had gone on the show. It was reported they broke up after he cheated on her, but they had been in contact before she left for Love Island.

However, it was then reported they had got back together and he was waiting for her. According to the Sun, Aaron considered “Lucinda to be his girlfriend” and even took Lucinda to the airport for her flight to Majorca.

Lucinda was quick to clear up the rumours after she and Aaron Francis were dumped from the villa. “I am completely and utterly single,” she told Mail Online.

“Never in a million years would I go on Love Island if I was in a relationship, and I’m sure if I had a boyfriend, he wouldn’t be very happy with it either. We ended quite dramatically at the start of March but then we made friends.

“He had no idea I was going on Love Island, and it was a shock to him. Apparently, he drove me to the airport, which is a complete and utter lie, I got a taxi. Hopefully, he’s moved on and I definitely have. It was a funny rumour!”

Deji

via ITV

When it was announced Deji would be entering the villa as a Casa Amor bombshell, a girl claimed she was dumped by him just days before he went in the villa, something Deji’s friends and family vehemently denied.

In a video that went viral on social media, a group of girls were looking at photos of Deji’s Love Island promo picture with the caption: “Imagine finding out your boyfriend is going on Love Island”.

Another photo was shared of a screenshot of Deji on FaceTime on June 23rd, just two weeks before he entered the Casa Amor villa with the caption: “Imagine being dumped for Love Island”.

When asked on Twitter to see if there was any truth behind these claims, Deji’s Twitter account handler said: “She’s not even in the reserves… let alone the star player.”

The person behind Deji’s social media accounts continued to deny the claims with a tweet that read: “Girlfriend?”, attached with a video that said: “Now you’re chasing clout”.

Paul Knops

via ITV

If you can cast your mind back far enough, Paul Knops came in second place in the 2018 Love Island series alongside Laura Anderson. After the series ended, it was claimed he had a girlfriend waiting for him on the outside.

According to The Sun, Paul’s ex-girlfriend sent him a message days before he entered the villa saying: “I’ll be your number one fan that doesn’t watch.” He replied: “Miss you”, attached with a photo of himself.

A source claimed: “Paul lived with his girlfriend in New York before he went onto Love Island. He got offered the chance to go on the show and was against the idea at first – but knew it would be good for his career. He promised his ex they could be together again after the show had finished and she knew to avoid ITV2, which wasn’t going to be difficult as she’s based in New York.

“She reunited with Paul after the show finished and he visited her in America after he went to Burning Man festival – which was while he was still with Laura. Laura had no idea he was with another woman during his time in the states but they split as soon as he returned.”

Molly Marsh

via ITV

Molly is currently an Islander in this year’s show and apparently she was in a relationship a few months before appearing on the show. It’s obvious she is no longer in that relationship but it’s got to hurt her ex to see her slaying every single episode.

Brothers George and Joe Baggs spoke about Molly in a recent podcast episode and George claimed he met Molly three months ago. He said: “We actually know Molly. I did think she had a boyfriend, I can’t lie. I spoke to her like two, three months ago at an event and she had a boyfriend. So that’s news to me.”

Joe responded: “Oh I bet he’s a bit gutted right now watching this.” George did add that he could be wrong, and said: “I probably am completely wrong if she’s going in there but that’s what I thought.”

Awkward!

Love Island 2023 is on ITV2 and ITVX. 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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Featured image credit via ITV.