Not reem in the slightest: How Joey Essex utterly destroyed his image on Love Island 2024

When Joey Essex walked into the Love Island 2024 villa on day one, not a soul could say that they were shocked. Even The Sun newspaper, who famously manages to leak pretty much every Islander before the cast gets announced didn’t catch wind of the big arrival. The producers shipped him over by ferry, even – to avoid the surprise being clocked a the airport. All this hype and the idea of having a big name who is inarguably reality TV royalty in the UK was exciting and something I as a big viewer of the show welcomed to spice up a formula much criticised for going stale. But Joey Essex in Love Island 2024 hasn’t been the silly little laugh a minute I was braced for – and as we approach the homestretch of the season I really do think it’s fair to say the man has destroyed his image rather than securing his legacy. Here’s why.

Not reem in the slightest

via ITV

When one thinks of TOWIE royalty Joey Essex one thinks of a fella who’s as gorgeous as he is lovably thick. I don’t mean that derogatorily – Joey Essex has kind of made a career off both of them things. In the heyday of Celebrity Juice, Keith Lemon had him on almost every week to have a laugh with him at whatever dumb thing might come out of his gob. Maybe I’m naive, but I really thought that we’d be getting that Joey Essex in the Love Island villa – a lovable doofus with a big name image and a humble day to day vibe. It’s been the opposite.

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The start of Joey Essex’s time in the villa was marred with drama after her ditched Samantha for bombshell Grace, who he’d had a relationship with on the outside. Samantha was quickly binned off with little regard for her feelings for Grace, so fast that there were literally conspiracy theories that I have no shame in admitting I was buying into that suggested Joey and Grace never properly split up and they always planned some form of journey in the Love Island villa for the clout.

The theory was pooed off by Joey pooing off Grace for bombshell Jessy, and this behaviour really put Joey’s flagrant dismissal of other’s feelings front and centre. The carryon between Joey and Jessy was so harsh on Grace and he binned her in what felt like hours. Since that time, Grace has really come out of her shell and handled herself amazing, in a situation where she clearly was made to look like a fool. But Joey hasn’t handled the situation with, erm, grace. He’s been vile.

The way he talks to people is vile

This all came to a head on Sunday’s episode and last night after Joey just randomly made a show of Grace in front of all the Islanders doing the tennis challenge. He wrongly declared Grace still had feelings for him, a bizarre thing to do in front of the girl he’s now with because it really just came across like he wanted Grace to still be into him. She hasn’t given a single sign that she likes Joey still. It was obnoxious, arrogant and nasty.

Not only that, but Grace wasn’t even the one who got all the brunt. Somehow, Matilda and Jessica got a barrage of rudeness with it. Just bizarre, and he came across so nasty. When he told Jessica that she wasn’t allowed an opinion on it because she hadn’t been in the villa long I just thought it was a bit sickening actually – and it was vile to see other male Islanders back him up. Sean, get a spine – it’s so desperate.

via ITV

It got worse, though. When Jessy pulled him for a conversation about it, he made her feel bad for being upset about the behaviour and gaslit her into believing that the reason he was saying all that was to protect Jessy? Come again?

Snog marry pie brought with it further bad vibes after he kissed Nicole despite the fact she’s now with Ciaran officially and the entire fiasco made no sense. I’m glad Ciaran called it out.

At this point, has Joey Essex got any redeemable features in the Love Island villa beyond bad vibes and a woeful reputation and image tarnish? I don’t think so. I wanted a reem summer. I wanted a load of laughs and maybe some funny anecdotes about the TOWIE filming days. Instead, we’ve witnessed an unpleasant man too big for his boots who thinks everyone is into him and behaves like he’s never heard the word “no” in his life. Jessy, run for the hills.

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