Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll be well aware that Love Island star Gemma Owen is the daughter of former England footballer Michael Owen. Naturally, there was a lot of buzz about Gemma entering the villa in the days leading up to launch day, just as there was with her famous-daddy-predecessor Dani Dyer before her.
We were anticipating a dramatic scene where Gemma finally revealed her superstar identity – preferably in the front of the fire pit in the last five minutes of an episode – and the boys would suddenly run off to grab their suits of armour and jousting lances and start for Gemma's favour. However, it's been much more of a lowkey affair than that.
Although Gemma has spoken about her dad on camera, most notably during a chat with fellow celeb offspring Jack Keating, she still hasn't mentioned her father by name and now we know why, thanks to 2021 Islander Liberty Poole.
During a recent Ask Me Anything on Reddit, Lib let slip that certain conversations about the Islanders' families aren't allowed to be aired due to strict privacy rules.
She explained, "I think details about our family that we spoke about wasn't aired due to privacy and we aren't allowed."
It doesn't seem that the identity of Gemma's dad is a secret in the villa however, as dumped Islander Ikenna Ekwonna previously revealed ALL of the Islanders already know about Gemma's famous father. In fact, they all found out on the "the second or third day". Ikenna unleashed this bombshell while appearing on Love Island's Aftersun, telling host Laura Whitmore, "We didn't really know until the second or third day but I don't think the girls knew, the guys knew."
WHAT?
Okay, we have questions. Do the cast know and just NOT talk about it? Do they know and just NOT care? Why didn't ITV2 air this epic reveal in the first week?
And the big one: Are this lot just TOO YOUNG and Gen Z to know/care?
Interestingly, Twitter has taken Ikenna's revelation, done some Love Island maths and come up with an interesting theory regarding Luca Bish and Gemma coupling up. Some Love Island fans have worked out that, if Ikenna's comments are true, then Luca and Gemma coupled up around the same time Luca learned who Gemma's famous father was.
One fan tweeted, "So the guys found out who Gemma's dad was three days in…around the same time Luca suddenly became interested in Gemma. Interesting."
Another added, "Everyone knowing who Gemma's dad is after the 3rd day and Luca getting really obsessive right after."
We're saying nothing, but it's undoubtedly food for thought - when one remembers that Love Island is not just a dating show, but a game show, with £50,000 on the line.
Gemma's famous father has been a hot topic amongst Love Island fans since before she even entered the villa – even amongst former Islanders.
Before Ikenna's big reveal, Jack Fincham poured scorn on Gemma for keeping who her famous and filthy rich dad is under wraps.
“She’s desperate to say it. She’s desperate,” he said, when asked by heat's Harriet Rose why Gemma hasn't revealed her surname and why her surname is kinda a big deal on the show.
Other former Islanders were with Jack on this one - namely, Season 7 runners-up Chloe Burrows and Toby Aromolaran, who predicted that the Islanders already know the identity of Gemma's dad, long before Ikenna revealed everyone already knew.
In a recent episode of Love Island: Under the Duvet, Chloe and Toby were asked when they thought Gemma was going to reveal the identity of her famous dad, to which Chloe confessed that she thinks the Islanders already know.
"I reckon she has [told them] already", she said.
They elaborated by discussing how it's pretty hard to keep big secrets like that in the villa and went on to hypothesise that the Islanders already know Gemma is Michael Owen's daughter and it just hasn't been aired.
It's a real shame Liam walked when he did, because we reckon that little cutie was a day or two away from sniffing out the truth; like some sort of laddish sixth sense.
But how did the Islanders actually find out? Let's piece this puzzle together with the clues we already have. One, Jacques dated Gemma for a year and has admitted to being close to her family (especially her dad), so there's a chance the bombshell brought it up upon entering the villa. Two, Gemma has been asked if she's ever dated a football player, and let's just say Poker is probably not her game. Three, Gemma has mentioned her surname to Luca (who we know knows his celebs, after having an alleged fling with Saffron Barker).
And we were looking forward to that families episode...