Love Island has provided the public many an awkward moment between contestants over the past seven years. From challenges shaking up relationships to islanders getting caught in their own web of lies, the drama never ends. Thankfully, Love Island fans live for drama.
As loyal as the show's audience may be, viewers are always quick to point out the cringey bits for a hot topic of discussion. Here are 10 cringe-worthy parts from season 8 that gave some Redditors what the islanders would call "the ick."
Charlie's Heart Rate Challenge
There is bad, and then there's Charlie's sad attempt at a striptease during the famous heart rate challenge. Charlie made history with the worst dance in the villa, and Reddit contributor FoxyLeopatra agreed, saying, "The secondhand embarrassment I got was unbearable."
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But maybe it wasn't all his fault, with his pants not ripping off as planned and the fact that he definitely isn't a dancer being factors. The Redditor added "I'd probably be just as awk if I had to give lap dances to a bunch of people I'd just met on national TV."
Jay Flirting With Paige In Front Of Jacques
Once upon a time, Paige and Jacques looked like they might make it all the way to the end. Before all the Casa Amor drama, Paige and Jacques were considered one of the strongest couples in Love Island until Jay decided he wanted to explore his options with Paige. Despite both of them being already coupled up, Jay continued to flirt with Paige right in front of Jacques and Ekin-Su, with whom he made out on the terrace just days earlier.
Reddit found this a bit cringe, especially user alicekate14, commenting "I just found it hilarious when Jay is standing in the bedroom and Paige and Jacques are just making out on the sofa. Like bro take the hint [...] she’s not into you, she’s humoring you." Another commenter, iamscared1991, disagreed saying that "If Paige has a shred of self-respect she should move on to Jay. Jacques is an embarrassment." To each their own.
Tasha's "Talent"
Tasha is first and foremost considered to be a dancer, so when she took to the Talent Show stage and performed the "Cups" song from Pitch Perfect, Reddit had some thoughts. Spoiler: They were not positive. Swiftofeye asked, "Why do we think Tasha did a memeable cringe 'talent', instead of her actual dance talent?"
It was followed up with "It feels to me like one of the most obvious and manipulative attempts for further 'adorable', sympathy and cringe votes [...]" Others seem to think that it was a choice made by producers since Danica is also a dancer. Cringe or not, at least it was a good laugh for the islanders.
"May The Best Heartbreaker Win"
"Damiyah" (Dami and Indiyah) started off great and then Casa Amor hit. While Indiyah was away and getting to know bombshell, Deji, Dami was keeping his options open in the villa. Indiyah ended up coming back with Deji while Dami chose Summer to couple up with instead. Both seemed so confused by this move that they labeled each other as heartbreakers, making it one of the most shocking Casa Amor stick-or-twist results to happen on the show.
Related: 10 Most Shocking Recouplings Of All Time On Love Island
DamianLillard0 made a good point, commenting "Can we all agree this moment was cringe asf in retrospect given what we’ve seen play out?" The fact that this actually happened when they made it all the way to the final is mind-blowing.
Nathalia's Terrace Joke
Nathalia didn't last long in the villa but sure made an effort into getting to know everyone, including Davide who was already in a strong couple with Ekin-Su. When Davide was showing her and other new girl, Lacey around, Nathalia made a super cringey joke about whether she should crawl out onto the terrace like Ekin-Su did with Jay. She attempted to laugh it off, but Davide was completely silent.
Reddit user, Hna7 simply stated "I got secondhand embarrassment." Another Redditor, Cautious-Brush4454 said that "If she messes with Davide and Ekin she about to be gone soon." Just like that, she was. Don't mess with "Ekinde."
Gemma's Thoughts On Davide And Ekin-Su Working Out Together
Gemma made her thoughts about Davide and Ekin-Su working out together known but yet she couldn't look away. Sure, couples working out together might be a little "cringe" but one could argue that those with strong opinions about other people's gym regimens is even more so.
Related: 10 Unpopular Opinions About Season 8, According To Reddit
Redditor, teamolatunji posted, along with a hilarious meme, "I can't help but notice she's always peeking at them. ... She ain't wrong though, they were on another level of cringe." Maybe Gemma is jealous that Davide found another gym rat to accompany him, instead of the alternative: watching from a distance while eating a mango.
Ekin-Su vs. Nathalia
It all started when Nathalia said that she could make better pancakes for Davide than Ekin-Su. The pancake cook-off was intense but not as intense as the intro leading up to the event. The islanders treated it like the beginning of a boxing match with Ekin's friends as the paparazzi and bodyguards. All of this to make a statement: you don't mess with her man and her pancakes.
It seemed like the two were in a real feud, making it somewhat hard to watch. Many Reddit contributors agreed that it seemed like a skit or parody and that maybe the producers just didn't have much to work with this episode. User, yo-snickerdoodle commented "Nathalia's face when she says 'Ekin-who', she's doing too much." Yikes.
Paige And Gemma's Rap
White women rapping: a joke as old as time. Paige and Gemma decided to join forces for this season's Talent Show and give the people what they want or at least, what they think they want. They did their best version of Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps" that had the crowd going wild.
Although it was somewhat of a hit, it seemed that there were many cringe talent show acts. Reddit user, ClintonMuse felt that it "was weird that Gemma was judging other performances when hers was cringe." In their defense, it was probably the most fun "talent" of all of them.
Padam's "Chemistry"
Ever since Jacques left the villa earlier in the season, people have been quite critical of Paige and Adam coupling up. Jacques's exit was so unexpected that it's now considered one of Love Island's most shocking walkouts. Osman2793 said that "Adam and Paige are so forced" and that "it's painful and boring to watch."
It could be said that Adam is trying to make up for lost time and find a genuine connection as fast as possible but making plans for the future just after a week might be a bit much. chweety-x commented, "Paige's giggly response makes me cringe sometimes because it's obvious she doesn't want to say something that she doesn't mean." Time will tell if these two are endgame or if Jacques will be there waiting for Paige at the airport.
First Impressions
Taking it all the way back to the beginning of the season when the public was still asking "Ekin-who?" Andrew and Ekin-Su were getting to know one another as potential partners. Andrew is telling Ekin about himself and where he went to school. She somehow skews the conversation into a SpongeBob SquarePants reference when she tries to repeat what he said.
This gave some fans "the ick" straight away, but she quickly solidified herself as one of the more popular contestants to ever be on the show. Redditor, crepe991 said "I was cringed out of my skin when I first saw this - one of the highlights of the season for me definitely." Audiences never would have guessed that the same girl who went well out of her way for a Spongebob impression would also end up ranking among the sexiest Love Island heart rate challenge performances on Love Island UK.
Next: Love Island UK’s Season 8 Contestants On Instagram
