We know we're drama queens here at heat and we know we throw around the phrase 'Love Island tea' an inordinate amount on this website, but this IS Love Island tea... Love Island 2022 tea, to be precise.
While the nation is fully immersed in the love lives of the latest batch of Islanders on the latest series of winter Love Island, those 2022 Islanders are busy clinging on to that fickle thing called fame for dear life; taking any endorsement deal or podcast interview that comes their way (excluding the final girls who are basically showbiz royalty now).
As such, lovely Scottish – man of all our dreams – bombshell Jay Younger recently appeared on The Big Jim Show podcast to talk about a few sporty things we didn't really get (don't worry, we're skipping over all that) and spill a bucket load of Love Island tea. And we have to say, this was a strong, scalding cup of tea.
Not only did Jay reveal exactly how much Islanders get paid (as well as what they get paid for exactly – fair play, as it's basically a free holiday in our eyes), but he lifted the lid on his relationship with Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and THAT row.
He started off revealing that when he first entered the villa he wanted to pick Paige Thorne for a date, but was allegedly told by Love Island producers to go for Ekin-Su; which, let's be clear here, is a solid example of producers stepping in and completely changing the narrative of the show. As Jay makes clear during his interview: what is the point of going on to the show to find love, only to be told you can't go for the boy or girl you're interested in? He explains he got "caught in the [Love Island] trap".
The bombshell told host Jim Hamilton, "For me, I was told who to select for a date and who not to select for a date."
He added, "In there [the villa] it’s not as organic as you think. When I was told who to select for a date… for example, I was told not to pick Paige. I was with a girl called Ekin in there, who actually went on to win the show…. But I wasn’t allowed to pick who I genuinely wanted to at the start, which was Paige.”
Sorry, side note, but does ANYONE not know who Ekin-Su is?
Jay continued, "I was told by producers it was too predictable if I went on a date with Paige at the start, so I didn’t. I trusted the process... I was told that’s how you should play it and I went with it."
He added, "I didn’t expect [Love Island] to be that produced”.
Of course, Jay later went on to pursue Paige in the villa – following his explosive ending with Ekin-Su (we'll get to that) – but by the time he did, the spark had gone, says Jay.
While going off on one about producer involvement, Jay brought up the example of his explosive and infamous argument with Ekin-Su – where he basically told her he was going to explore things with Paige while they were still doing things like crawling on balconies for secret snogs.
Jay revealed that he believes producers told Ekin-Su to blow up at him on camera, saying, "The night I was told I could break it up with Ekin (TOLD!), I had an amazing conversation with her, and she was so sweet.
"As soon as that conversation had ended, the producers were like ‘Ekin to the front door’. I knew. I knew in my head she was gonna come back and go mad at me. What happened? She came back and went mad at me.”
He added, "Because she took it so well, they wanted drama”.
Don't worry, we were equally gagged – we've just had a couple of days to let it all sink in. Take all the time you need.
When asked whether he was annoyed at Ekin-Su for being swayed by producers, Jay said, "Ekin and I were sound in there. She was only playing the game she was told to play. I knew she was cool with it.”
So what you're saying is... she really is an actress. It's possible we adore her even more now.