We’re going to ask you to cast your mind back to the summer of 2024 - Brat summer was in full swing, Bennifer broke up for the second time, and we had just been introduced to a pint-sized pop star Sabrina Carpenter, it was a simpler time. Another huge pop culture moment - or at least to us - came in the form of Love Island's first celebrity contestant - Mr. Joey Essex of TOWIE fame.
If you watched Love Island 2024, then you might remember that Joey was something of a menace in the Love Island villa. First, he coupled up with scouser Samantha Kenny before his ex, Grace Jackson, turned his head. They seemed to have reignited their spark and it was smooth sailing for about a week until Jessy Potts strutted into the villa. The pair were voted out by their fellow Islanders just before the final, but they vowed that their connection was strong enough to last on the outside.
It turns out, it wasn’t, and Jessy and Joey split about three months later. While you might expect Joey to be heartbroken over the break-up, it turns out he’s shockingly cool about the whole thing. In fact, do we detect a bit of shade?
When we asked Joey how he feels about the split, he revealed, ‘My heart was never damaged. We was in Love Island together and that's what it was.
'If you look at every relationship in Love Island, out of my one I could probably name one [couple] who's still together. It’s just the way it is.
'You go in there, you try and find love and if it works out, it works out. If it doesn't, it doesn’t.’
Ouch.
Joey speaking out comes months after Jessy stopped by heat HQ and divulged how difficult she found it when people compared them to other Love Island couples.
At the time she exclusively told heat, 'We’ve both been very busy. It’s been a few days since I’ve seen him, and I think that’s just normal. We are adjusting to this new life and finding a balance.
'I speak to him on the phone every day. We’re organising when to see each other, and I think it’s hard because you compare it to the other couples.
'They’re with each other 24/7, whereas we always knew it was going to be different because he’s catching up on his normal life, whereas for the rest of us we’re thrown into a new life.'
Although Joey hasn't had a high-profile relationship since splitting with Jessy, these days he's is interested in a very different kind of coupling and has partnered with Amazon to show people how they can ‘Smartify’ their homes.’
‘I've always been into gadgets,’ he told us. ‘It don't take a genius to have a smartphone with Amazon and it suited me to a tee because it’s easy to start up the Amazon Home Kit.
'The Blink outdoor cameras are easy to install, and Amazon came around and put one of the smart vacuum cleaners on my floor. It goes around your house, then goes back to its home and recharges. You don't have to actually do anything, apart from empty the rubbish.’
Joey Essex has teamed up with Amazon to show Brits how to 'Smartify' their homes using Alexa-enabled technology and the new Blink Outdoor 4 Camera
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Sarah O'Byrne has worked for Bauer Media since May 2023. She regularly writes for heat, Closer, Grazia, Bella and Yours.