If there’s one chapter of the Love Island journey that can change everything on the already dramatic show, it’s Casa Amor. The infamous second villa is the ultimate loyalty test, and while some pass with flying colours, others are left with sore necks because of all their extensive head-turning.
The latest Islander to have fallen victim to the Casa curse is Paige Thorne, who was left heartbroken after discovering what Jacques O’Neill had been getting up to behind her back.
In the most dramatic recoupling to date, professional rugby player Jacques, 23, chose to stick with paramedic Paige, 24, but Casa bombshell Cheyanne Kerr was quick to break Paige from her reunion reverie when she revealed she and Jacques had kissed and shared a bed.
Paige’s Casa experience – a far cry from Jacques’ – saw her swiftly place Billy Brown into the friend zone before telling Gemma Owen during a heart-to-heart that her head was firmly with Jacques, who she (bizarrely) said had presented NO red flags.
But villa newbie Samuel Agbiji stepped up to offer his outsider insight, warning Paige, “If they put a girl in there that is confident, very flirtatious, that is as good-looking as you, and she applies pressure onto him and goes forward onto him, his head could potentially turn…”
Love Island viewers correctly predicted heartbreak on the horizon and had a lot to say about Paige’s red flag assertion.
“That girl is ENCHANTED by Jacques’ spells. She said he has zero red flags, she’s about to drown in red flags now, poor baby,” one tweet read.
Meanwhile, another branded Jacques “a walking bunting”, as another urged Paige to “open her eyes”. But – as painful as it was for Paige – this won’t necessarily be a bad thing for the Welsh lass, at least in terms of her Love Island journey. Let’s cast our minds back to a year ago, when Millie Court and Liam Reardon claimed the win even after his questionable Casa antics. Millie forgave him for kissing Lillie Haynes and the couple remain together today.
It’s not even like Paige needs a man on her arm to win the affection of the public, not when she could follow the example of the likes of Liberty Poole and Amber Gill and become a wronged-but-strong independent woman.
“I bloody love Paige and I want her on my screen until the end,” one fan said, while another pleaded, “Wholeheartedly, can Paige just win this on her own, please?”
However, other fans have been questioning if Paige’s sweetness and innocence are a little too good to be true. “It’s so obvious Paige wants to be the Amy / Liberty / Amber of the villa that the public loves... I’ve clocked her game”, one viewer wrote.
All heat hopes is however Paige’s remaining time in the villa pans out, she goes on to get her happy ending – whether that’s with a man or not.