“Nothing Wrong With A Little Swivel On A Lads’ Holiday”- How Love Island Men Have Encouraged Cheating On Boys Trips

If you have been watching either Love Island UK or Love Island USA, you would have recently seen the yearly trip the islanders take to Casa Amor. Dubbed as the “ultimate relationship test” this three-day stint sees the boys and girls separate and be introduced to six new bombshells away from the prying eyes of their couple.

In each series, the boys and girls treat Casa Amor very differently. Generally, the women will be respectful and not get physical with the Casa Amor boys. They may have some conversations, but for the most part, they will stay loyal. Many girls will even sleep outside on the day beds so they don’t have to share a bed with the Casa Amor boys.

However, the boys show far less respect in Casa Amor. Every year, several of the boys will kiss and share a bed with the Casa Amor girls. They will give the Casa Amor girls hope that they will be picked in the recoupling but will ultimately return to the villa alone, hoping their original girl will take them back.

 

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This series of Love Island UK has seen this specifically with Wil and Sean. Wil went to Casa Amor in a strong relationship with Uma. While Uma slept outside and didn’t entertain the Casa Amor boys, Wil was getting cosy with bombshell Lucy. They kissed in bed and in the hideaway. He told her that his type was petite blondes and that he got along with her quicker than he did with Uma.

To throw a dagger in it all, when speaking to the boys, he said there is “nothing wrong with a little swivel on a lads’ holiday.” This precisely sums up how the Love Island men treat Casa Amor. They have fun with no regard for their partner’s feelings because many of them know from previous series that when they return and grovel, they will be forgiven.

When Wil was exposed during the Love Island Film Festival, he laughed through all his clips and told Uma that he did what he did because he wanted to. Yet he went back to Uma instead of recoupling with Lucy. Make it make sense.

 

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Even though Sean and Matilda were not as strong of a couple, Sean still went and got to know new girls in a less respectful way than Matilda did with the boys. Sean was bed-swapping with Ruby and Diamanté and even kissed Diamanté several times. 

When the clips were shown at the Love Island Film Festival, Sean smugly told Matilda that everything she saw was what he had told her, seemingly trying to cover up his poor behaviour by seeming heroic for being honest.

 

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And then we have Ayo, who decided to recouple with bombshell Jess after being primarily with Mimii since the beginning. While they weren’t exclusive, they had built such a strong connection in those four weeks prior that it was extremely disrespectful to Mimii to kiss someone behind her back and bring Jess into the villa, leaving Mimii the only single islander. 

A recurring theme we see every year is the boys seem to feel the need to test their relationship. But this test goes beyond having conversations and putting a pillow wall in the bed like many of the girls will. They think that being physical is ok because it will give them clarity on who they want. What doesn’t help either is that the other boys will encourage it.

Many times, it’s those staying loyal who do it so that they will look better. Other times, it’s those who have already acted out who will encourage others so they don’t feel as guilty. Casa Amor has become a toxic environment for men to have a quick fling before going back to what they previously had. It’s disrespectful to all girls involved.

It shouldn’t take getting physical with someone else to know whether the person you were with originally is the right person for you. The islanders spend days on end with one another, making it easy to get to know one another in-depth very quickly. Feelings grow a lot faster than in reality. We’ve already seen Ciaran and Nicole say “I love you” in just four weeks.

 

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We see time and time again these girls will forgive their boys as they fall victim to the Stockholm Syndrome that the Love Island villa causes. You can’t get away from them unless you’re dumped from the villa, which makes grovelling and forgiveness much easier than it should be. As a result, it makes the girls look bad, and many viewers become frustrated with how easily things are forgotten.

While every lads’ holiday is not like Casa Amor, it does make you wonder what happens when groups of men go on holidays together. Unlike Love Island, there aren’t cameras or girls to report back what happened. The out-of-sight, out-of-mind setting makes it easier to get away with things. It bears the question of whether the boys’ behaviour on Love Island has made viewers more inclined to cheat on a lads’ holiday.

Despite the negativity that came out of the recent Casa Amor recoupling, one positive has been the strong female friendships this series has. Uma and Mimii, during and after Casa Amor, have had each other’s backs and have supported each other after hearing about Wil and Ayo’s actions. 

 

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We also saw all the girls stand up towards the boys during the Love Island Film Festival and call out their sniggering and laughing as they watched back all the damning clips. While the girls have had their own tiffs, it is great to see them come together and support one another at a crucial time like this.

The slyness and dishonesty, followed by the lack of accountability, makes Casa Amor a frustrating watch. While the drama is great, it also encourages toxic behaviour amongst the boys, leaving many girls hurt and weary of opening themselves up in the future.

While Love Island is not an accurate representation of reality, the behaviour of Wil, Ayo and Sean does not give many women on and off the show confidence in what their man is doing when they are away from them.

Words by Amélie Mahony

Love Island continues tonight on Virgin Media 2 at 9pm.

Boots Ireland has recoupled with Love Island as the official Beauty Partner-and is encouraging you to find the ones by shopping the villa exclusively on Boots.ie.
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