Love Island 2021 could see a friendship couple win for the first time
With the villa's current couples failing to win the public's hearts, Kaz and Hugo have a good chance of winning if they were to join forces, Lauren Morris writes.
Three weeks ago, the fake tan-heavy reality triumph that is Love Island finally returned to our screens, with 11 new singles fresh out of quarantine and ready to mingle. Since then, we've seen heated discussions, surprise dumpings, breathtaking bombshells, brutal betrayals and a whole load of lip filler – but not a huge amount of love.
While there are now four official couples in the ITV2 villa – Chloe Burrows and Toby Aromolaran, Faye Winter and Teddy Soares, Jake Cornish and Liberty Poole, and Liam Reardon and Millie Court – none of them really have the public's wholehearted support when you compare them to the couples of previous series. Where's the likability and charm Jack Fincham and Dani Dyer had? Why haven't we seen Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury's electric chemistry this series? Can any of this year's couples really compare to the most successful Love Island pair so far – Camilla Thurlow and Jamie Jewitt?
With our 2021 lovebirds delivering a rather lacklustre performance when it comes to picking 'the one', the most popular islanders have actually turned out to be the ones with absolutely no romantic connections whatsoever: fashion blogger and the villa MVP who must be protected at all costs Kaz Kamwi, and sweet yet cringe PE teacher Hugo Hammond.
Essex-based Kaz became a firm fan favourite after viewers watched her handle her break-up from Toby – who jilted her for bombshell no. 1 Chloe – with the utmost grace and integrity whilst simultaneously putting Toby in his place whenever he tried to defend the way he went about moving on romantically. Just look at last night's episode, where Toby asked Kaz why she pied him during the Snog, Marry, Pie challenge (although it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why). Kaz standing up for herself and confidently reminding Toby that he'd lied about his kiss with Chloe lit Twitter up with messages of admiration for the 26-year-old, who was one of the few islanders to be safe following the recent public vote.
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As for Hugo, while he doesn't enjoy the dizzying heights of praise Kaz regularly receives from the public, he's arguably one of the most-liked boys in the villa (although that's not exactly difficult to achieve considering the amount of head-turning there's been this series). The Hampshire-based contestant is yet to find himself in a romantic couple, though that's not for lack of trying on AJ Bunker's part, and, considering his mostly unproblematic nature, endearingly dorky moments and kind-hearted manner, there's definitely a section of the public that backs him all the way.
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If the single Kaz and Hugo were to join forces and form a friendship couple, there's no telling how far they could go. They'd rake in a huge percentage of the public vote and could even win the competition, splitting that £50,000 cash prize. While there's currently no precedent for a platonic pairing emerging as Love Island champions, it could have been possible had 2019's Amber Gill and Ovie Soko stuck together as friends instead of finding romance with Greg O'Shea and India Reynolds respectively.
Of course, there are actual couples that could make it to the final – especially long-standing lovers Liberty Poole and Jake Cornish – however, while everybody loves Liberty, Jake has raised a few eyebrows after struggling to commit to the 21-year-old student and repeatedly expressing his desire for numerous blonde bombshells. There's no guarantee he'll stay loyal (a Georgia Steel trademark) when he's sent off to rival villa Casa Amor.
As for the other couples, Chloby (Chloe and Toby), Teye (Teddy and Faye) and Laaron (Lucinda Strafford and Aaron Francis) are at risk of being split up and dumped tonight, considering the several of them received the least votes from the public and, while Millie and Liam look rather loved up, I still think Kaz could easily dominate them in a vote-off.
While this season of Love Island hasn't been the most exciting so far, giving the viewers a friendship couple and marking a first for the ITV2 reality titan could really turn things around. #Kugo for the win!
New episodes of Love Island are on ITV2 every night at 9pm, except Saturdays. Episodes are available to stream on the ITV Hub. If you’re looking for something to watch, check out our TV Guide or visit our dedicated Entertainment hub.
