My daughter Tasha has a secret weapon to win Love Island – and the boys had better watch out
LOVE Island’s first deaf contestant Tasha Ghouri could use her lip-reading “superpower” to figure out what the fellas are saying, warns her dad.
Blonde Tasha, 23, is coupled up with Andrew Le Page — and Luca Bish is also keen to win her over.
She was born deaf but can hear through a cochlear implant, as well as using her other “skills”.
Dad Tarek, 55, said: “Her aid is very directional. It’s got a microphone at the front.
“So if people are talking behind at a distance, she probably won’t pick that up. But between that, her lip-reading and body language, she’s very good.”
Tarek also told how Tasha, of Thirsk, North Yorks, was top billing at pub quizzes.
Read more on Tasha Ghouri
He said: “She’s brilliant because she can see what the answer is when somebody else is whispering an answer!”
Speaking exclusively to The Sun to support the National Deaf Children’s Society, Tarek added: “By definition a superpower is ‘an exceptional or extraordinary power or ability’.
“And for Tasha it gives her the ability to inspire others into understanding they are not hindered by any disability or insecurity, they should believe in themselves and that anything is possible.”
Tarek recalled handling Tasha’s teenage boyfriends and how he and his son Alex, now 29, would pretend to intimidate them at the door like Martin Lawrence’s police officer dad Marcus in Bad Boys 2.
Most read in Love Island
He added: “In her younger days, you know, there were always boys knocking. Alex and I would play the ‘Bad Boys’ boyfriend comes to the door’ scene. She didn’t find it funny, but we did.”
As yet, none of the villa action has made Tarek consider resurrecting the routine. He added: “It’s a pressured environment. In the early days, everybody’s trying to find out everybody’s angle.”
When Tasha told Tarek and her mum Nikki she hoped to apply for the ITV2 show, they were concerned over the online trolling.
Aged 14, anonymous online ghouls branded Tasha and her friends fat and told them to “get cancer and die”.
Tarek, now based in Marbella, Spain, said: “You know, the trolling worried me because of what happened in the past.
“And she said, ‘Dad, I don’t look at them’.
“I turn it around and I look at them and I worry and think, ‘What’s going on in their life that makes them want to do that?’
“We’re extremely proud, especially in the way that Tasha is conducting herself in the villa and making friends and relationships that will probably last a long time.”
As the first established couple, Tasha and estate agent Andrew, 27, may well find themselves in The Hideaway private bedroom.
Tarek added: “I mean, she’s 23, she’s a woman, but I’m still her dad. And, you know, Mum’s involved as well. So we’re all catching what’s going on, and we’re happy with that situation.
“Tasha and I have always had a strong, close relationship so she’s very open about everything, including her relationships.
“So far nothing’s shocked me. She’s behaved exceptionally well.
“Let’s put it this way, she knows where she is. And she knows if it’s right or is wrong and if it felt right for her, I support it. If she feels it was wrong, I support it.”
Tarek has already had to handle tales linking her to celebrity exes such as Strictly playboy Giovanni Pernice, 31.
Tarek said: “For me, it’s another boyfriend. It’s in the past and she’s in the villa to find love.
“So far Andrew is looking like a contender. Luca perhaps. There’s a way to go yet.
“The idea was that, ‘Dad, this is a chance that I might be able to find something’ — that was honestly the crux of it. She’s desperate for love. And that’s what Love Island is all about.”
For now Tarek will be tuning in each night to watch his girl, manning the various WhatsApp groups of family and friends who are all backing Tasha.
He said: “I would love to see her as soon as I can. I think I’d be delighted if she leaves with somebody that she’s fallen in love with. That would be the ultimate for me.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Read More on The Sun
“You’ve probably already seen Tasha’s caring and compassionate manner that she has for the people. Tasha, she just worries about other people. That’s her nature.”
- Watch Love Island, tonight at 9pm on ITV2.
Love Island 2022: Meet the islanders
Read all the latest Love Island news, gossip and exclusives
- Meet the Love Island cast of 2022
- Who is contestant Paige Thorne?
- Who is deaf Islander Tasha Ghouri?
- Meet Michael Owen's daughter Gemma
- Amber Beckford will be looking to win the prize
- Who is Indiyah Polack?
- Meet Islander Davide Sanclimenti
- Who is Nottingham's Ikenna Ekwonna?
- Who is tattooed hunk Luca Bish?
- Meet microbiologist Dami Hope
- Andrew Le Page will look to scoop the prize
- Who is Liam Llewellyn?
- Take a look at the new-look Love Island villa
All the latest Love Island news, gossip and exclusives