Love Island viewers have been left pretty stunned at the realisation of Gemma Owen’s age when Adam Collard first entered the villa, back in 2018.
Adam, who formed quite the reputation for himself during his first Love Island stint on series four, has returned to the villa looking for love, and already set his sights on Paige Thorne, Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, and Danica Taylor.
His bombshell return sparked immense surprise from fans, who are now even more stunned at the realisation that Gemma hadn’t even sat her GCSEs when Adam was first on the show.
That’s right, in 2018, when Adam was 22, Gemma was only 15.
Now, the eldest daughter of ex-footballer Michael Owen is 19 – which fans already weren’t too impressed with, as many labelled her too young for the show, and she’s even admitted that, despite the age gap, Adam could be her type.
In a chat between the pair last night, Gemma admitted: ‘I have two types. Like, Luca and Jacques is one type and then my other type is kind of like Davide – tall, dark, handsome, muscles kinda vibe.’
26-year-old Adam quickly shot back: ‘So I’m your type too?’, leading Gemma to confess: ‘Well yeah, you’re a good looking guy, obviously.’
But, despite being her type, fans can’t get over how young Gemma was during Adam’s first stint.
‘Can we please all remind ourselves that Gemma was 15 and in year 10 when Adam first appeared on the show,’ one viewer wrote.
Another commented: ‘Gemma was literally 15 during Adam’s season he needs to behave,’ while a third penned: ‘If Adam tries to move to Gemma I will vomit. She was 15 when he was on his season.’
Someone else wrote: ‘Gemma was 15 when Adam appeared on Love Island the first time. Very scary stuff. They really need to set clear boundaries or make the show21+ cause it’s very uncomfortable.’
A similar debate was sparked in the earlier days of this series, when Gemma, who is now coupled up with Luca Bish, shared a kiss with Davide Sanclimenti, who is eight years her senior.
The eight-year age difference between the two sparked an ongoing debate as many felt Gemma, 19, was too young for Davide, 27, which led to more than 200 Ofcom complaints.
In one episode, the two addressed the potential issue, with Davide saying as they chatted beside the pool: ‘What do you think about the fact that I am much older than you? I mean, you are not bothered by that?’
Gemma replied: ‘No, it’s not an issue for me at all. I feel like if it was I wouldn’t have wanted to get to know you in the first place.
‘And, as I’ve said, I have been speaking to guys and seeing guys that are much older. It’s not something that I’m not used to or that you’re the only one or anything like that, it’s very normal for me.’
When Gemma asked Davide the same question, he explained: ‘For me, it’s not an issue about the age. I actually think sometimes you are more mature than me.’
Although Gemma now seems pretty happy coupled up with Luca, will Adam’s entrance cause her head to turn?
Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITV Hub.