Love Island 2019 Episode 1 – what happened? Recap, gossip and highlights from the first episode
LOVE Island made its return to ITV2 - and the first coupling ups have taken place.
But was it an easy choice as the highly anticipated show returns to ITV2? Here's what happened in the series opener...
Amber Gill and Amy Hart are the first to arrive at the famous villa
What happened in the opening episode?
Here we go for a summer of fun.
The cast of Love Island 2019 arrived in the famous Spanish villa... ready to embark upon the summer of a lifetime.
So, we've already found out that that Amy has never had a boyfriend, Amber apparently never gets rejected by guys, Anna is incredibly conscious about the men she dates, Yewande wants everyone to know she’s a scientist while Lucie says she's annoyed by men with ugly feet and flip flops.
We discovered all this as the girls - Amy Hart, Amber Gill, Anna Vakili, Lucie Donlan, and Yewande Biala - were given some time to become more acquainted with one another before Caroline Flack made her entrance at the luxurious property.
Caroline quickly gathered the ladies around the fire pit ahead of the first coupling up.
Caroline got straight to the point and quizzed them on their ideal man.
Amber reacted by saying: “I would say tall, dark and handsome, that’s standard, isn’t it?
"Someone that goes to the gym and someone that makes us laugh. I think I want to go for looks now because I haven’t previously!”
Amy added that she couldn't be with somebody that was arrogant.
She said: “Arrogance and a wandering eye. I want someone that is devoted to me as much as I am devoted to them.”
The women all lined up awaiting the arrival of the handsome boys - and were told to step forward if they "fancied" the lad standing in front of them.
And every male hopeful also had the choice to pick any girl that they wanted to couple up with.
Instantly, there seemed to be plenty of worrying among the Islanders - as they met their fellow Islanders for the first time.
So, the game began...
Anton Danyluk was the first out and it’s clear he’s a ladies’ man.
In his interview, he even admitted to having a wandering eye - a no-no for Amy then!
But just as we're all thinking that, guess what?
Yes, Amy stepped forward - and Anton picked her too, so the "wandering eye" lover and hater are coupled.
Amber is completely turned off by Anton saying she chose not to step forward because she didn’t like that he shaves his legs.
Sherif Lanre was next in line and absolutely nobody stepped forward for him.
Caroline demanded an answer from the girls as to why they refrained from moving forward and they all seemed to agree that they simply didn’t like his fashion sense.
So it was up to Sherif to choose the girl he wanted to couple up with - and his choice was Amber.
Michael Griffiths was the third male Islander to be introduced.
He prides himself for having an education, stressing that he’s more than just about the good looks.
Lucy showed interest and Michael had to decide whether to choose her back.
Michael seemed rather pleased that Lucy stepped forward and agreed to couple up with her - it would’ve been pretty awkward if he didn’t, but he genuinely seemed interested in getting to know his Love Island partner.
Joe Garratt was the next man in line and he proved to be rather popular with the girls. Yewande and Lucy both stepped forward, which made things super awkward for her seeing that she had just coupled up with Michael.
And to make matters worse, Joe picked... you guessed it, Lucy.
She apologised to Michael for ditching him but he handled it well while making his way to the side to find out his fate.
Callum MacLeod was the handsome fifth male Islander.
Amber immediately stepped forward, despite already having been picked by Sherif.
And Callum picked Amber right back, forcing Sherif to join Michael on the subs bench.
Anna didn't step forward for anyone, and Caroline reminds her of the point of Love Island - to make a couple!
Sherif is then forced to pick his new partner and he chooses Anna while Michael is left with Yewande.
In the end, the couples consisted of Anna and Sherif, Yewande and Michael, Amy and Anton, Lucy and Joe and Amber and Callum.
After the five matches were made, Caroline praised the contestants for being able to pair up with their Island partners.
She gushed: “Congratulations guys, we now have our five couples! The choices you’ve just made could decide how long you stay in the villa.
“In your couples, you’ll spend time getting to know each other, taking on challenges together, living together and even sharing a bed together.
"In just eight weeks time, the public will be voting for their favourite couple. That couple stands to win a massive £50,000 cash prize and be crowned the winners of Love Island 2019”.
She then warned Islanders that the path to true love is never that simple, revealing that there’ll be a few surprises on the way and that the first bombshell was set to drop sooner than they had thought.
Does Sherif already know one of his fellow Islanders?
As the episode continued, Sherif made the shock revelation that he knows one of his fellow Islanders - but not on a personal level.
Yep, Sherif has been following Anna on Instagram.
Sherif said: “Genuinely. I wasn’t going to say out there!’ while referring to the first coupling.
On hearing the news Anna said: “He just brought it out so casually.
“Like ‘Yeah I follow you on Instagram’. I was flattered but I didn’t expect it coming in here, that someone would follow me on Instagram."
Yewande and Michael bond over their education
Meanwhile, Yewande and firefighter Michael appeared to have bonded extremely well, after discussing their education background with one another.
After Yewande mentioned that she’s a scientist and studied for a biotechnology degree, Michael chimed in by saying: “That’s quite interesting because I did biomedical science at uni.”
Yewande is stunned by the revelation but seemed extremely happy to know that there’s a contestant in the villa that shares similar qualities to those she possesses.
Lucie is proving to be popular with the boys
It didn't take long before Lucie bragged about her popularity with the boys.
The blonde bombshell made it known that she wanted a hunky surfer and seemingly already has two male Islanders competing for her attention.
Joe is one of them, who confessed: “I want to go get Lucie for a private chat but I don’t want to be the guy to go over and be over the top with it.”
The two ended up going on a chat shortly after, and Lucie wasted no time in asking Joe whether he has any experience in surfing.
He responded saying that he’s never tried it out before and would certainly need to be taught, leaving Lucie to gasp in surprise.
Joe asked Lucie what the gasp was for, to which she responded by saying: “I thought you said tall!”
The two laughed over their misunderstanding and chatted for a little longer before Anton demanded her attention.
Anton then took Lucie to the flame pit and despite the fact that he hasn't known her for that long, admitted that there's an unquestionable fascination about her.
Lucie responded by saying that the feeling is mutual, adding: “You walked in and we were all like ‘Oh my God, look at him’ You’re very good looking.”
Sherif admits to cheating in a game of Never Have I Ever
Never Have I Ever is the game that the Islanders agree to play in the wake of having gone through an entire day with each other.
And it appeared as though no one was really prepared for the questions that were coming their way.
Joe is heard saying: “Never have I ever cheated whilst in a relationship”.
But Sherif says that out of the four relationships he has had, he has cheated twice.
Two late arrivals take the Islanders by surprise
If the contestants had thought that their day had come to an end, they were wrong.
Now that everyone had settled into their new home, Amber suddenly received a text message which read: “Islanders, it’s time for the real games to begin. Please welcome your new arrivals. #DoubleTrouble #BoxFresh #HotToFoxtrot”
And as the Islanders tried to wrap their heads around the news, Curtis Pritchard and Tommy Fury entered the villa.
While Michael was quick to note that he didn’t expect there to be two new Islanders joining the contestants - at least not so soon.
Lucie appeared excited by the addition of two new men in the villa, saying: “It’s been such a full-on day. There have been bevs coming in everywhere and then two guys come in… who are also bevs [Lucie’s word for an attractive boy]!”
When is the next episode airing?
Love Island returns tomorrow (June 4) at 9pm on ITV2.
Unlike its premiere episode, the show’s length will be reduced to just over an hour and finish at 10.05pm.
If you happen to miss any of the episodes, make sure to check ITVHub to catch it again.