Gemma Owen has revealed she and Luca Bish have been making the most of their long-distance romance after finding love on Love Island.
The couple, who came runners up on the 2022 series of the reality dating show, have since been living in opposite ends of the country since leaving the villa, but have found it easy to make it work regardless.
Gemma told Metro.co.uk: ‘It’s been really good. Really good. I think we’ve managed to make time for each other with this obviously new mad life.
‘We’ve been supporting each other with what we’ve got going on and just trying to spend the most time with each other, which I think we’re managing quite well. But it’s all going really good.’
Despite Luca living in Brighton and Gemma in Cheshire, the pair have not decided to go down the route of other Love Island stars and move in together straight away,
She explained: ‘At the moment, we’re making it work really well. Whenever we have a free weekend or free day we’re either in Cheshire or Brighton. But in the immediate future, I think we’re going to continue as we are as it’s working really well for us.’
Gemma, who is PrettyLittleThing’s latest ambassador, revealed that Luca has ‘fitted in really well’ with her family after his long-awaited meeting with her dad, Michael Owen.
During the course of the show, fans also spotted a likeness between Luca and a young Michael – but it’s not something Gemma can spot herself.
She joked: ‘I don’t see the similarities between him and my dad – I’d rather not think of that!’
With her new fashion partnership under her belt, there’s one thing Gemma has imparted on Luca since leaving the villa.
‘The fish flops are gone!’, she confirmed. ‘We got rid of them, but he’s got quite good style by himself so I don’t have to give him any tips!’
When Gemma entered the villa, her dad vowed not to watch the show – but she more than did him proud with her time on the show.
Gemma admitted that Michael has likely not watched more than a handful of extracts from the show, adding: ‘I’m not sure to be honest. I think he might have watched a few clips here and there but I don’t think he’s sat through and watched all of it – he’s too busy!
‘I definitely would say from what he’s told me, I think he is really proud and happy with how I came across which is obviously lovely to hear.’
After leaving the villa, Gemma was announced as PrettyLittleThing’s latest ambassador, and has launched her first edit with the brand.
She revealed: ‘My style is very much neutral tones, which I definitely think this is, and there’s some lovely colours in there. I love it and I’m so excited for everyone to see everything. I think there’s definitely something for everyone – the sizes go from 4 to 30, so everything is very inclusive. For my first edit, I couldn’t be more happy with it.’
Revealing why she decided to partner with the brand, Gemma added: ‘I already have a great relationship with the team at PLT already and I think they have a really good understanding of my vision and how I saw things.
‘Anything I wanted to tweak or wanted adjusting, they were fully supportive of. We have my full collection coming in January after this edit, and I’m really excited for it. It couldn’t be a better fit, really.’
While Gemma’s signing follows in the footsteps of Molly Mae Hague’s hugely successful ongoing tenure with the retailer, the pair have yet to meet since Gemma left the villa, as she revealed: ‘I’ve not actually met Molly yet, so we’ve not had any conversations, but I’m sure that will come at some point.’
Love Island has also garnered a huge following in the US, especially since Covid pandemic began, and Gemma has her sights on heading to the US – and dressing one of their biggest stars.
She revealed: ‘I think seeing one of the Kardashians in my collection would be amazing, that’s a very big goal.’
Gemma remained tight-lipped on where else we are going to see her in the coming months, teasing: ‘I can’t say too much but there definitely are some really, really exciting things coming up, some TV opportunities. Some exciting things that I can’t wait for.
‘There’ll absolutely be more in horse-riding as well, coming out of the villa made me more determined to get back to it. It made me realise how much I’ve missed it and miss competing. So I think definitely, that’s on the cards and I’d love to carry on with that.’
Gemma has also felt the love from viewers of the show since flying back to the UK, adding: ‘The response has been really, really positive and supportive from what I’ve seen. Everyone that I meet seems so lovely and so genuine.
‘And it’s really nice to see both young girls and then some older people in their forties, fifties and sixties coming up and saying “oh, it’s the first year that we’ve watched it,” so that’s really nice to hear as well. But I’m just really grateful for everyone that’s been so lovely.’
Gemma Owen’s edit with PrettyLitteThing is out now in sizes from 4-30, with prices ranging from £12-£75.