Love Island’s Billy has suggested Gemma’s relationship with Luca may not be as strong as is portrayed on screen – despite Gemma insisting she and Luca are ‘exclusive’ during Sunday night’s episode.
Luca was enraged after seeing Billy flirt with Gemma in footage shown during this series’ Movie Night last week, prompting him to question the strength of their relationship.
And, when asked by host Laura Whitmore if things would have been different between him and Gemma if Luca was not in the villa, Billy insisted during an appearance on Aftersun this weekend: ‘She was giving me a vibe.’
Tease: Love Island’s Billy has suggested Gemma’s relationship with Luca may not be as strong as is portrayed on screen, as he insists she gave him a ‘vibe’
He said: ‘It’s not about whether he’s there or not to be fair. If someone’s giving me a vibe, I will bounce off it. She was giving me a vibe.’
During the main episode of Love Island on Sunday, Gemma revealed she and Luca were ‘exclusive’ after Davide and Ekin-Su solidified their relationship.
After Italian Stallion Davide asked Ekin-Su to be his girlfriend while offering her a tiramisu dessert with the words ‘are you mine’ written in Italian, Gemma insisted she and Luca did not have to make such a statement about the nature of their union.
Coupled-up: Gemma insisted she and Luca are ‘exclusive’ during Sunday night’s episode of the show
Speaking out: Billy appeared on the spin-off show with Summer Botwe, who was also booted off Love Island last week
It comes after the residents of the Love Island villa were left reeling amid the fall-out from the remainder of Movie Night during last Sunday night’s episode.
Luca was left seething after watching Gemma have a ‘flirty’ chat with Billy during Casa Amor.
The second half of Movie Night saw a clip entitled Good Bill Hunting show Billy and Gemma chatting in the villa.
Billy quizzed Gemma on whether options were open when it came to pairing-up with another person despite her being in a couple with Luca.
Shock: Luca was left seething last week after watching Gemma have a ‘flirty’ chat with Billy during Casa Amor, prompting him to question the strength of their relationship
Luca fumed as he watched the clip: ‘Just bring me a f**king bird in and watch.
‘Trust me when I say, if she wants to f**king play games with me, I’ll play with it.’
He added: ‘I can’t be with someone like that, I’m sorry.’
Later that evening after the films aired, Luca pulled Gemma for a chat, saying: ‘You were entertaining it,’ to which Gemma replied: ‘No I wasn’t.’
Hitting back: The second half of Movie Night saw a clip entitled Good Bill Hunting show Billy and Gemma chatting in the villa, but Gemma said she didn’t think Luca had anything to be angry about as they clashed over the clip
Luca called Billy over to the fire pit to join them and asked: ‘Did you feel like she was flirting with you?’
Billy answered: ‘Yeah, it was just flirty banter,’ prompting Gemma to interject: ‘Did we have a flirty chat? Yes.’
Luca replied: ‘But just a minute ago you said you didn’t have a flirty chat, you literally said I wasn’t flirting.’
As the conversation continued, Gemma said: ‘I don’t think any lines have been crossed.’
However, Luca did not back down, insisting that the real source of his anger was not that he flirted but instead how he came out of the situation.
Addressing: Luca’s family urged people to note that he is in an intense environment and doesn’t deserve to receive abuse but were aware that his behaviour towards Gemma was not acceptable after he became enraged
He explained: ‘I’m not angry that you flirted. I’m angry that when I pulled you on the situation, you made me out to be an idiot.’
Luca’s family took to Instagram Stories on his account on Monday to say they didn’t condone his behaviour towards partner Gemma.
Fans had called for Gemma to break off her relationship with the fishmonger, after he raged at her for ‘flirting’ with Billy on Sunday night’s show.
And his family have said that while he would be ’embarrassed’ by his actions and will no doubt apologise, he doesn’t deserve the abuse he has been getting.
They say his behaviour is not reflective of the boy they ‘know and love at home’ but noted that his Love Island experience is an intense one.
Fuming: Love Island fans have called for Gemma to send Luca packing, after he raged at her for ‘flirting’ with Billy Brown in last Sunday night’s show
Cheeky chap: Billy caused a stir during his time in the villa over his claims of a ‘flirty chat’ with Gemma in Casa Amor
They wrote: ‘I want to apologise on behalf of Luca for his insensitive reaction on last night’s episode.
‘I know that when he watches it back, he will be embarrassed and deeply apologetic.
‘We as his family don’t condone his behaviour last night, but we do understand he is in an intense environment where his actions are heightened. Last night was not reflective of the boy we all know and love at home.
‘Please be aware death threats and nasty comments totally overstep the mark and something we as a family should not have to endure, for this reason we have turned off the comments and messages.
‘For all those who have sent messages checking in on us, we would like to thank you very much and we see you.’
It comes after domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid said it was in talks with ITV over ‘misogyny and controlling behaviour’ it says has been displayed on Love Island.
Women ’s Aid said ‘specific information on abusive relationships and an understanding of controlling behaviour in relationships’ seems to be absent from the broadcaster’s ‘inclusive training’ ahead of the ITV2 dating series.
The women’s charity Refuge issued a separate statement saying ‘gaslighting and coercive control’ was being shown by this year’s male contestants.
Women’s Aid said on Tuesday: ‘At Women’s Aid we are being tagged into a stream of Twitter posts, with viewers of Love Island highlighting the misogyny and controlling behaviour being shown on screen.
‘This is clearly more than talking about any individual contestants, and a programme based around the formation of romantic relationships must have guidelines on what behaviour is acceptable and unacceptable in those relationships.
TV favourites: Billy and Summer were joined on the show by Josh Samuel Le Grove
‘We are talking to ITV, and they have shared with us information on their inclusion training, but what appears to be missing is specific information on abusive relationships and an understanding of controlling behaviour in relationships.’
Recent controversies have included fishmonger Luca accusing his partner Gemma of flirting with Billy.
Davide branded Ekin-Su a ‘liar’ for her brief dalliance with George at Casa Amor even though he kissed two girls during the time away from his partner.
Dami also caused outrage for branding Summer ‘fake’ and hitting out at Indiyah after he had wandering eyes at sister villa Casa Amor.
Women ’s charity Refuge said on Twitter in a statement: ‘The misogyny and casual sexism witnessed on this series of #LoveIsland is extremely concerning.
‘The double standards, gaslighting and coercive control being displayed by the men in the villa is hugely problematic.’
Love Island airs at 9pm on ITV2 and ITV Hub. Episodes are available the following morning on BritBox.