Love Island’s Camilla Has Stepped Up To Defend The Show From Critics Calling It ‘Superficial’

Intelligent, strong-headed Scottish girl Camilla Thurlow was one of the favourites of last year’s Love Island, eventually coupling up with Jamie (who she’s still going out with, aw).

Now, the former bomb disposal expert has come forward to defend the show after people (cough Piers Morgan cough cough) branded it ‘mindless and superficial’ and full of ‘thick’ people.

In a column for Grazia, the 28-year-old wrote about how the contestants do form life-long connections from being in the villa.

Yes, Love Island is fun, flirty and at times seemingly frivolous – but that’s the beauty of it. I know there will always be debate around what some have described as ‘scantily-clad twenty-somethings’ trying to find love in a luxurious, sun-drenched villa but the truth of the matter is this.

“In a world where we so rarely get to see past the picture-perfect Instagram image, suddenly you are getting a real insight into the people behind them. And I truly believe it is these characters we fall in love with, or – on occasions – love to hate.

She continued: “In fact, the show in itself is almost a paradox. The initial coupling and attractiveness of the cast suggests a focus purely on the aesthetic, but the truth is no relationship based solely on mutual attraction is going to last in an environment that intense.”

At its heart, Love Island is so much more than beautiful young people flirting with each other – it’s about real human connection. And really, you don’t need me to tell you that – why else would you be glued to the sofa every night at 9pm, engaged in furious WhatsApp chats about whether someone has or hasn’t been ‘mugged off’.

While Camilla understands why the show is criticised, she believes that at it’s heart, the show is there for good: “The fact that people have opinions is GREAT. The fact that people will change their opinions over the course of the series is GREAT. Because if Love Island is anything, it’s real; it’s certainly worth talking about, and this unashamed Love Island fan is really looking forward to the rest of this series.”

These days, Camilla is a keen humanitarian and activist, regularly encouraging her social media followers to help refugees in Syria.

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