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Love Island’s Gemma Owen set for shock as TWO of her exes prepare to enter the villa
LOVE Islander Gemma Owen will do a double take — when she spots two old flames in the villa.
Viewers saw a teaser clip on Friday of rugby player Jacques O’Neill arriving and Gemma exclaiming: “That’s my ex!”
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But The Sun on Sunday can reveal another of the 19-year-old dressage rider’s former hook-ups — Wrexham footballer Cameron Green — is now waiting on the sidelines.
However the shock could well be worth it for Gemma, after experts predicted she could cash in on an unintentional link between the show’s tagline and her own swimwear brand.
She is wearing bikinis from her OG Beachwear line — named from switching around the initials of her name.
And the series styles itself The OG of Love — meaning the Original Gangster, or the first and best.
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Experts now reckon the show could give her firm a boost of at least £5milllion.
Tonight’s episode will see 23-year-old Jacques enter the villa after being released from his contract with Castleford Tigers to allow him to “pursue another opportunity”.
And he admitted in an interview that he is “not a***d at all” about stepping on toes to get the girl he wants.
Jacques, from Cumbria, added: “We all think we’re a catch, don’t we? I’m loyal, I’m respectful and I’ve got good manners. I’ll look after someone close to me to the full extent I can.
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“I would have a baby in two or three years. I think I’d be good with babies too, they’d be good looking, wouldn’t they?”
Still waiting to make his entrance is Cameron, also 23.
He has spent time at Gemma’s home and met her family after they hooked up.
He also modelled for her beachwear brand and appeared on a promotional post on dad Michael’s Instagram account.
A pal said: “Her family really liked him, especially as he was a sporty, hard-working footballer.
“His entry into the villa later in the season could tug on her heart strings.
“He and Gemma have a great connection, and they look great together.”
Canny Gemma’s future looks good too after launching OG Beachwear in 2020, and set up OG Promotions after signing up for the hit ITV2 series.
She is understood to have insisted that she should be allowed to wear her own brand bikinis on the show.
This week Gemma has been seen modelling her £97.50 Oslo bikini in blush and latte shades.
We all think we’re a catch, don’t we? I’m loyal, I’m respectful and I’ve got good manners. I’ll look after someone close to me to the full extent I can.
Jacques O'Neill
Following the episode’s airing, links to the two-pieces flooded social media accounts dedicated to sourcing celebrity looks.
In promotional shots for the series, Gemma wears her brand’s £105 Valencia bikini in dove grey.
Branding expert Marcel Knobil said: “Love Island has been a phenomenal platform for sales, and for some brands it has been worth millions of pounds.
“When Missguided partnered with the show, their sales increased by around 40 per cent.
“If a popular contestant wore an outfit, the increase in sales there could be more than 300 per cent. That is the power of Love Island.
“A lot of that power is dependent on how much someone is liked by the audience — how magnetic their personality is.
“But if Gemma manages to create an appeal for the Love Island audience, that will immediately translate into commercial appeal for her.
“And if that happens, the show could be the catalyst that turns her small, niche brand into one that turns over as much as £5million, in as little time as a year.”
Accounts for OG Beachwear filed in January showed that in April 2021 it had assets of £7,262 but owed £8,018, leaving it £756 in the red.
Writing on the website, Gemma said: “My aim is to offer a brand that provides luxury, designer quality garments that ooze class with a hint of youth and sexiness.”
Her family really liked him, especially as he was a sporty, hard-working footballer.
A friend of Gemma's on Cameron Green
And in interviews ahead of the show, she cited her business inspiration as Kim Kardashian.
She said: “I am a big fan of Kim. I find her very inspiring. She is a businesswoman who has achieved so much and I would love to do what she does.”
Since its return to screens, Love Island has become a commercial juggernaut, raking in £73.5million in lucrative sponsorship deals last year.
This year ITV signed partnership deals with Boots and 02 Virgin Media, as well as Just Eat, eBay and online forum Reddit.
The Majorca villa garden was decked out by garden company Screen with Envy and Emmi Caffe Latte is the official coffee partner of the show.
An ITV spokeswoman said: “There’s nothing to prohibit Islanders wearing their own brands or other commercial brands.
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“The fact that Gemma’s swimwear range is of a similar name to The OG’s of Love promo campaign is completely coincidental.”
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They added: “Gemma and Cam are friends.”
A spokeswoman for Gemma said: “Gemma and Cameron have never dated and are friends.”
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