We owe so much to Olivia Attwood. Has any Love Island star gone on to do as much and remain as relevant as Olivia? A national treasure and an icon, she’s become a household name because of her ITV docuseries Getting Filthy Rich as well as her Loose Women panellist gig.
However, we first grew to know and love her as Hurricane Olivia on Love Island 2017, where it turns out she was much more influential than we first realised. While she may not have found lasting love with Chris Hughes, the pair did give us some iconic moments, like co-parenting Cash Hughes and the infamous ‘sit back down’ moment. However, none of these moments even come close to Olivia’s crowning achievement; introducing the concept of the ‘ick’ to a wider audience.
The now historic moment occurred in a conversation between Olivia and Jess Shears. The girls were discussing how Sam Gowland was "one of the nicest boys in the villa" but despite that, gave them the "ick".
Olivia went on to say, "At the end of the day, when you're seeing a boy and you get the ick it doesn't go, and it's one of things where once you've caught it, it takes over your body and it's just ick."
She recently opened up about her first use of the word on an episode of her podcast, So Wrong It’s Right, with Celebs Go Dating and Married at First Sight dating expert, Paul C. Brunson.
She revealed, “The ick. I’m responsible for this word which is everywhere now.
“I think that I originally heard it in old, old Sex and The City so I have to give my due there.
“I said it on Love Island, and my producer went, ‘What did you say?’ I went, ‘He’s giving me the ick,’ and she was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m obsessed.’ And then since then it’s become part of the Love Island bible, everyone just says it.”
Paul, like us, was fascinated by this, and asked her to elaborate on what exactly an ick is.
She said, “If we’re talking about icks, a scuffle over the bill, that to me would be the ick. You need a guy to say, just take it and say, ‘I’ve got it.’”
Although she said that discovering an ick early on in the relationship can kill it, she also admitted that even when you’re married and in love, you can still get the ick. Olivia married footballer Bradley Dack in June 2023, but even she isn’t immune to the dreaded ick.
She revealed why she joked that Bradley asked for a divorce and yes, it's ick-related.
“Brad and I give each other the ick all the time. Like if I’m in a restaurant, the other day it happened, I went, ‘Excuse me’ to a waitress and she didn’t hear me, and he went, ‘Oh my God, this is an ick.’”
WATCH: OG Love Island fans know that Olivia Attwood put "the ick" on the map
Sarah O'Byrne has been writing for heat since the summer of 2023, but has been watching Love Island since day one. She has also given and gotten the ick countless times, making her more than qualified to write this.