Winter Love Island 2023 star Tanya Manhenga had quite the rollercoaster ride in the villa, didn’t she? She coupled up with Shaq Muhammad on day one and things got off to a strong start, with the pair even dropping L-bombs after just a couple of weeks.
However, Casa Amor shook things right up just as Tanya started to get the ‘ick’ and she ended up returning to the main villa with bombshell Martin Akinola in tow. But Tanya quickly realised that Shaq was the man for her and they rekindled their romance (leaving Martin more than a bit disgruntled) and went on to finish the show in fourth place.
Tanya earned quite a bit of criticism from viewers for the way she handled the love triangle, however she’s hinted that all was not as it seemed on-screen and honestly, this changes everything in our eyes.
Speaking out in a new YouTube video with Shaq, Tanya branded her relationship with Martin “forced”.
She said, “What you guys don’t know is that Casa Amor was the worst time for me. On-screen it looked amazing, but it was actually the worst time ever. The only thing I can say to you guys about Casa Amor is that it was the complete opposite of what was actually happening.
“What you see on TV is not real. Listen to the words I’m saying, it’s not real.”
Tanya also hinted at producers’ involvement in the show later in the video when she explained, “No one can prepare you for what happens inside Love Island, during Love Island. It was draining.
“There are times in there that it gets too much because there’s so much going on. You’re constantly being instructed on what’s happening during the day, what needs to be done, stuff like that.”
But she didn’t stop the tea spilling there, as Tanya also revealed that the clip of her kissing Martin shown on Movie Night was “slowed down” to make it look worse.
Tanya said, “Things are a lot different when you see it. I can tell you, ‘Oh, this happened’ and then you see it and it’s completely different. With Movie Night, they literally slowed down my clip with Martin in bed and made it look longer than what it was.
“I told Shaq it was just a peck and then when they showed it, it was way longer than what it was which is why he was confused. He was like, ‘You’re lying to me’ and I was like, ‘No, I’m not lying to you because I know it was a peck.’
“I was really defensive that night because I was like, ‘I know what happened in Casa Amor’ and I had told you what happened but then you’re seeing it and it’s completely different from what I told you. That’s why you’re fuming, but then I’m fuming even more because I’m expecting you to get me.”