Love Island S10 - The Most Diverse Cast Yet, But the Winners Prove the Show Still Has a Long Way to Go

Image: Courtesy of ITV

Whitney and Lochan stand there holding hands, just two weeks ago voted the public’s favourite couple, with fans hailing them as their winners all over social media. Surely they are a shoe-in for the win, surely it can’t be - 

‘Sammy and Jess!’

Cue the kind of shock where your mouth actually hangs open.

When Whitney Adebayo and Lochan Nowacki made it to the last two couples alongside Jess Harding and Sammy Root in Love Island’s season 10 finale on Monday night, fans were convinced this would be the day that we would see a dark-skinned black woman win the series.

But then, this is the UK after all, so maybe we should have seen it coming…

There will be those that say, ‘it’s Love Island, it’s not that deep’. It may just be a reality show, but many will have been left feeling totally deflated after that result. This is just reflective of the way the UK votes on a lot of things - so is it a huge surprise that those people would rather have a toxic white man win over a black woman?

This is not a comment on Jess, by the way, I love Jess. She’s kind, funny, and has kept it extremely real throughout the series. She is a worthy winner and I wasn't mad that she was up there. I just struggle to grasp how Jess and Sammy’s love story is better than Whitney and Lochan’s. Sure, they’ve had their ‘ups and downs’ and people like a journey, but Sammy’s downs have been many. 

From making four women cry on separate occasions, questioning whether woman of colour Catherine Adbaje was found desirable by the guy she was coupled up with, to constantly putting Jess down and saying that she isn’t his type, putting her in countless love triangles and never really committing until the end of the show when he made a huge show of making her his girlfriend for the benefit of the public.

When the parents entered the villa, Jess’s mom informed her that her friends didn’t really like Sammy, and Jess admitted just a few episodes ago that she was hesitant to tell Sammy that she loves him. So why were they voted the top couple over Whitney and Lochan, who have had smooth sailing?

Sure, Whitney had a row with Ella, which upset me as that wasn’t the Whitney we know and love, but they made up and besides that Whitney has been honest, funny, and amazing TV. Lochan has been nothing but accepting and kind since entering the villa at Casa Amor, and they’ve had no doubts and eyes for only each other. 

Tyrique Hide and Ella Thomas were worthy finalists and they have taken viewers on a rollercoaster of their love since day one. But amidst accusations of Tyrique’s misogynistic behaviour, including the way he speaks to women, and their constant toxic arguments, I wasn’t entirely surprised they didn’t win. But Jess and Sammy weren’t even on my radar. 

Love Island has made strides in diversity over the years, and this year has given us the most diverse line-up yet. Seeing the friendship between Whitney, Catherine and Ella has been wonderful to see showcased on screen, and having Whitney and Catherine seen as desirable women has been incredibly important in terms of representation for darker skinned women.

Love Island UK has seen people of different ethnicities take home the crown, including season 5’s Amber Gill, and season 9’s Kai Fagan and Sanam Harrinanan in the winter season earlier this year, of Jamaican and Indo-Trinidadian descent respectively. This is an incredible step forward from the first few series, yet Love Island USA has awarded two dark-skinned women the winning spot in just five seasons, and Love Island France has seen a dark-skinned black woman win in just the second season. So the fact that the UK is on season 10 and this hasn’t happened yet is somewhat telling. 

ITV revealed the final voting stats as:

1st - Jess & Sammy (34.57%)

2nd - Whitney & Lochan (26.85%)

3rd - Ella & Tyrique (24.21%)

4th - Molly & Zachariah (14.37%)

While winning isn’t everything, and many finalists go on to do amazing things no matter where they come in the final rankings, it is important to have not just a diverse line-up at the start but to see these islanders go on to win, especially when they deserve it.

I’m sure that Whitney will have an amazing career after the show, due to her infectious personality and ‘it’s giving’ catchphrase.

But Whitney was robbed of her crown, and for what reason?

Not gonna lie, ‘it’s giving’ racism…

Written by Ally McLaren
Editor

Hi, I’m Ally, Editor of This Modern Struggle Magazine.

You may have seen my writing in Mouthy Magazine or Darling Magazine. I currently work in Marketing and PR and do freelance copywriting on the side. I also have experience in journalism and feature writing for women’s magazines and national press.

When I’m not writing you can find me eating pizza, stroking my cat and watching true crime documentaries.

I started this magazine for all the fellow strugglers who feel the same way that I do; like everyone else has it all figured out and you just don’t know what you’re doing in life.