Love island 2023 Casa Amor bombshell turned style icon Lydia Karakyriakou has revealed just how she kept Love Island a secret from her family and friends in the lead up to her Casa debut and it's smart af.
Side note, we've taken a personal interest in this story as we can't keep a secret to save our lives (that's why we write for heatworld and Closer online) – we can't even cleverly mask a mild hangover from our bosses on Teams (that was a joke for effect, heatworld hierarchy), so the idea of keeping becoming an Islander from our nearest dearest continues to stump us.
Most people assume that although newbie Islanders are told to keep their appearance a secret from family and friends, they tell a few people here and there for logistical purposes; but in reality that contract is tight af, and blabbing can see you being removed from the villa before you've even entered it. So how, oh how, do they do it?
Okay, we know how Islanders like Tom Clare do it – they don't say much to begin with, but what about the chatty ones? What about talkative Islanders like Will Young, Tanya Manhenga, Ron Hall, and Casa bombshell Lydia Karakyriakou? How do they keep shtum?
Well, we can't answer for all them, but Lydia has kindly stepped forward and revealed her clever trick for her keeping her friends and family off her trail in the days leading up to her villa debut earlier this year.
During an Instagram Q&A, the stylish af bombshell (seriously, if you don't follow her on Instagram, sort that out today) was asked to reveal the last picture on her camera roll before she entered the villa. Usually such a question cues a predictably glam selfie of an Islander next to a personalised suitcase or water bottle, but Lydia decided to spill some tea instead...
Good girl.
Lydia shared a pictured of a, well, worse-for-wear mobile phone and wrote, "The last picture I took was of my old phone to pretend it wasn't working, so when I didn't answer anyone's messages they would think it was because my phone wasn't working 😭😭😭."
Are we being extra basic today or is this genius? We're borderline obsessed with Lydia anyway, so let's just go with genius.
Is Lydia Karakyriakou returning to Love Island this summer?
With winter Love Island 2023 well and truly behind us (RIP), it's now all about the upcoming summer series, and a certain Casa girl is thinking of doing an Adam Collard and making a return to the villa this summer. We truly hope the producers are on board because we sure are - and it would seem the thousands of Love Island fans who liked her Instagram comment are as well.
Yes, the bombshell in question is Lydia.
Lydia hit it off with Tom aka Terrace Tom and ended up being part of the show's most chaotic Casa Amor recoupling when he chose to stick with Samie Elishi instead of coupling up with the Scottish bombshell. Gasps could be heard all around the fire pit and all across the Twitterverse.
But it looks as though Lydia could have a second chance at finding love.
The official Love Island Instagram account shared the post revealing that applications for the summer series were open now and Lydia added an iconic and hilarious comment.
"If I change my name to Kim can I get a second shot??? x."
Lydia is of course referring to the memeworthy moment she sauntered into the South African villa and Kai Fagan shouted "KIM?" at the brunette after mistaking her for someone he knew outside the villa. A truly iconic Love Island scene that had the world of social media in hysterics.
Viewers even deemed it as the the start of Kai's 'redemption arc', which ultimately led him to be crowned the Love Island 2023 winner alongside Sanam Harrinanan.
Lydia was a popular contestant on the romance reality show and viewers were NOT happy when when Tom picked Samie over her.
One fumed, "Lydia deserves better than Tom (so does Samie tbf) but I hope he brings her in, I need more Lydia on my screen🏴🏴🏴 #loveisland"
Another added, "Tom doesn't deserve Samie or Lydia. The way he played Lydia down was disgusting #loveisland"
There is no denying seeing the Scottish Islander back on the screens come the summer would go down a treat, but let's be honest, when have the producers ever done anything we wanted them to do?
Yes, we are still bitter we missed out on the tweet challenge this year...
Who is Lydia Karakyriakou?
Casa Amor bombshell Lydia joined Love Island season nine on day 29 but after failing to recouple was dumped on day 32.
How old is Lydia Karakyriakou?
She is 22 years old.
Where is Lydia Karakyriakou from?
Lydia was born in Glasgow
What does Lydia Karakyriakou do?
Before appearing on Love Island, Lydia worked as a retail customer assistant but we can see her world being a little different after her time in the villa.
What happened when Lydia Karakyriakou was on Love Island?
Lydia had a mini romance with Tom but didn't manage to make the bond last and he decided to stick with Samie.
But since leaving the villa Lydia has handled the situation like an absolute pro, "I put all of my time and energy into getting to know him. But at the same time, if Tom and Samie are happy, I’m genuinely happy for them. I’m not going to argue with that."
Why was Lydia Karakyriakou ignored on Love Island?
During a Q&A on her Instagram story, the bombshell was asked, "Did anyone find it hard to understand your Scottish accent?"
Lydia immediately laughed at the question and admitted, "Everybody struggled."
Glasgow-born Lydia does have a rather thick Scottish accent, but it's not like we needed subtitles or anything.
The bombshell went on to say, "The amount of times I would chat to the girls and I would say something and no one would respond and I would be like 'Why are they ignoring me?'"
But it turns out they just couldn't understand a word that Lydia was saying.
"Everybody loved my accent in there even though they couldn't quite understand what I was saying half the time."
Here at heat headquarters we also love Lydia's accent. You know people always say they would want Morgan Freeman narrating their lives? No thanks, we'll have Lydia Karakyriakou and her soft Scottish tones.