Love Island 2025: A Winter-Summer of Drama, Romance, and Reality TV’s Most Unpredictable Show. But Has Love Island Outgrown Itself?

Maicey Navarro Griffiths on 11 March 2025

Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu is the standout Queen of Love Island All Stars 2025. Whilst we all enjoy the drama, has Love Island lost its original entertainment value after so many seasons?


Ekin-Su is cementing herself as the undeniable queen of the villa once again. While Ekin-Su is undoubtedly a master at creating chaos, what truly sets her apart from other contestants on Love Island is her ability to think strategically. She’s not just playing for a potential romance; she’s playing the long game. Her gameplay is calculated, but it’s also sprinkled with moments of authenticity—whether it’s her emotional moments in private chats or the genuine connection she shares with Curtis Pritchard and the girls.

Has Love Island gone on for too long?

As the UK’s most notorious reality TV dating show, Love Island has earned its place in the pop culture hall of fame. Whether you’re watching it for the drama, the romance, or the utterly ridiculous moments, Love Island continues to hold its audience captive season after season. But in 2025, with the second season of Love Island All Stars, the show has reached a new level of excitement, reuniting some of the franchise’s most iconic contestants. With the likes of returning fan-favourite contestants Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, Curtis Pritchard, Casey O’Gorman, Gabby Allen, Kaz Crossley, Elma Pazar and Luca Bish it has been a good season, but with its 12 th season overall has Love Island simply been going for too long?


Love Island arguably reached its peak on season 5 – aka Molly Mae’s season. Molly Mae emerged as the most successful of all love islanders, with multiple companies, a docuseries and a net worth of 6 million and counting. Many girls have eagerly followed her path in hopes of her level of fame, and whilst girls like Ekin-Su, Molly Smith, Maura Higgins and Millie Court have done very well post-love Island, none have done as well as Molly Mae. An issue with Love Island in recent years is the increasing number of people going on for fame, and therefore are too aware of the cameras, and wanting to avoid a bad rep and thus damage their chances of money and fame, they become staged. The dramas of the earlier seasons cannot be recaptured. The drama is still entertaining but lacks a feeling of genuineness.


Love Island is a battle for fame, followers, and long-term relevance. Arguably with Love Islanders returning the race for clout, it is more intense. Though according to Ekin-Su on Sunday 9 th ’s episode “I don’t need clout”. The contestants finding “true love” seems almost secondary to their desire to stay relevant and famous, a second grab for fame. Some feel a bit too aware of the cameras, trying to become meme-worthy or likeable, which detracts from the authenticity that made the show so compelling in its earlier seasons. Ekin-Su creates some much-needed excitement, but it’s hard not to wonder if the formula has grown stale. For those still invested in the drama, it remains unmissable television, but years of controversies have dampened it. The show has faced repeated scrutiny over its portrayal of relationships, body image, lack of diversity and mental health. Despite its efforts to address these issues in recent years—through casting some more diverse contestants and increasing psychological support for its stars, there is still far to go.

Love Island All Stars 2025

Watching Ekin-Su re-enter the villa, it’s impossible not to appreciate her evolution as both a reality TV star and a social media powerhouse. She is playing the game like a seasoned pro. Ekin-Su is a name that has become synonymous with Love Island after her unforgettable appearance and eventual winner of the 2022 season. Her fiery personalityand unapologetic attitude made her a standout figure. Let’s be real—Ekin-Su was never shy about stirring the pot and arguably made season 8 and now All Stars season 2 what it is. Between her sneaky moves and explosive confrontations, she is always at the heart of the drama.


Ekin-Su, who is arguably the best known from this year’s line-up, walked in as the first night bombshell, with a dazzling pearl dress, and immediately got to pick 3 newly coupled up men to triple date with. True Ekin-Su fashion. If you watched Love Island on the 3rd of February, aka- the infamous heart rate challenge, you would have seen Ekin-Su wow the audience and fellow love islanders alike. Saving the best for last, she entered the fire pit, dressed in a fiery red devil costume, she recreated her season 8 balcony crawl. Whilst all the women performed impressive and sexy dances, Ekin-Su was arguably the standout and certainly put in the most effort out of the girls. However, it was Curtis who won the challenge, raising 6 out of 8 of the girl’s heart rates. The two of them are certainly this year’s dramatic power couple. This heart-rate challenge additionally caused more drama than in previous years, with Ekin-Su kissing Sammy – Elma’s partner, despite saying she would not kiss him at Elma’s request. This caused some arguments, but she did apologise in the end. Where would Love Island be without a bit of drama anyway?


Whether you love her or love to hate her, Ekin-Su’s time on Love Island All Stars 2025 has provided plenty of explosive moments, undeniable chemistry, and, of course, drama that only a star like her can deliver. Moments such as kissing Curtis mid-argument, swirling her drink at him and her love triangle with Curtis and Danielle. Plus, who can forget the drama over the kissing challenge with Curtis announcing ‘I haven’t kissed this girl’ after every kiss, have held us to the screen. While Ekin-Su’s fiery nature and Curtis’s suave, smooth-talking demeanour seem like an unexpected match, their dynamic has quickly become one of the most intriguing storylines of the season. Curtis has always had a more laid-back persona compared to Ekin-Su’s fiery presence has complemented each other well.

Highlights of the season

At first glance, Ekin-Su and Curtis might seem like an unlikely pairing. However, Curtis, who competed on Love Island 2019,  known for his dancing, romance with Amy Hart and Maura Higgins, and his coffee making, provided the same level of drama himself. But as the season progresses, it becomes clear that their chemistry is more than just surface-level, there’s an undeniable spark between them. What makes their connection even more intriguing is the fact that both Ekin-Su and Curtis are seasoned Love Island veterans—meaning they’re aware of the public scrutiny and the game mechanics at play. But despite the strategic element, it’s clear that their relationship, at least for now, feels more authentic than expected, with her crying after Elma took the pie challenge too far and Curtis rushed to her defense, Ekin-Su and Curtis became a pairing we didn’t know we needed. Though I have doubts about their ability to stay together in the long term, they make for good TV.


Another surprising couple to come out of this year are Casey O’Gorman and Gabby Allen. With this being Casey’s third winter love island in a row, he finally seems to have grown up.

When Casey O’Gorman first entered the Love Island villa in 2023, he was one of the most talked-about contestants of the season—not just because of his good looks, but due to his infamous “playboy” persona and flirtatious ways. Flash forward to Love Island All Stars 2025, and Casey, now a three-time Love Island contestant, is showing a side of himself that viewers have never seen before. What makes the pair so compelling is how much Casey have evolved since his previous stints. Known for being somewhat immature and entangled in a few dramatic love triangles, his third season feels different. No longer the man-child who plays the field, Casey has shown a level of maturity and introspection that adds depth to his relationship with Gabby. Gone are the shallow flirtations and self-centred antics of the past. Instead, we’re seeing a more grounded, thoughtful version of Casey—someone who’s
ready to settle down and is now closed-off and, perhaps more surprisingly, is genuinely connecting with Gabby on an emotional level. Gabby and Casey to win!


Plus, Luca Bish’s emotional side seems to have been drawn out this winter too, being more open, raw and honest. During his 2022 stint, Luca was often perceived as being somewhat emotionally guarded and was criticised for his rude persona at times. He was the “cool” guy who kept his emotions in check, which at times made him hard to read. He’s done something that very few male reality TV stars are willing to do—he’s cried on camera twice. 
A season full of Love Island’s signature drama and romance has kept us entertained, but with a sense that the show is starting to wear thin. Still, fans of the series won’t want to miss the chaos and chemistry that only Love Island offers.

The Girls Got Guts: The Fabulous Friendship Lessons of Bridget & Samantha Jones

Amba Tilney on 10 March 2025

‘Do you think I am a Gen Z Bridget Jones?’  

Lillie took a long sip of the £5 Malbec that we picked up from her local corner shop in a desperate attempt to keep us warm in her single-glazed bay-windowed Edinburgh flat.

Layered in pyjamas, dressing gowns, blankets and snap hand-warmers down our bras, wine glasses in hand, I felt an urge to look around the room for a camera crew and a director ready to yell ‘CUT!’.   

‘Oh, where has this come from?’ I asked, crossing my legs on the cream sofa. ‘I guess this could be a scene from the new Bridget movie though. Cue Leo Woodall!’ I laughed, leaning my head against the back of the sofa. 

It was clear to me that someone, probably an aunt or a cousin, had asked Lils the inescapable, ‘How’s the love life?’ question over the winter holidays. I don’t know why young women thriving in their singledom requires an analysis but that’s just how things are.

 I too had been subjected to the seemingly incessant probing about when I would bring someone to family game nights, where we played The Traitors until ‘banishments’ became a little too personal. 

It’s funny, as Lils was being crowned Bridget in Edinburgh, I was sipping cosmopolitans in London like a true Samantha. 

Now here we were. Two best friends, the Jones Sisters. 

There was something about this unintentional singleton sisterhood that made me feel empowered. Yes, I did think about how many couples are categorised into their silver-screen compatibility doppelgangers on an average night out. But, I will admit, I’ve never felt more at peace in my singledom than when I allowed myself to sink into the role of a Jones sister, half-Bridget and half-Samantha.

I feel like so often, when we make ourselves cringe or if someone has been single for a while, the default pop culture reference we reach for is, ‘You’re such a Bridget Jones’. 

Let me tell you why this is the highest compliment you could possibly receive.

Bridget Jones is everywoman and everyone! Embodying the unapologetic awkwardness in the pursuit of happiness in everyday life is something to be admired, especially in a world that continuously craves the image of perfection. 

She represents the versions of us that we suppress because we feel like society has imposed on us an expectation to have it all together – the career, the perfect place to live, the friendships, the self-belief and the kick-you-in-the-stomach-romance. Sometimes, I think we get so carried away with the idealised image of ourselves that we expect that we forget to just be.

Being unapologetically herself is a key component of Bridget’s charm. 

I can guarantee that almost every person reading this column right now has sat in their room blasting a power ballad through speakers, lip-syncing in your comfiest cotton button-up pyjamas, pretending you’re on the final leg of your world tour serenading the ‘one who got away’ to millions of adoring fans. No? Just me and Bridget? 

There is a reason why Bridget Jones is so beloved by many – because she represents us.

Now, the key to being a Jones sister is security. Like Bridget Jones, I believe Samantha (the other Jones) is the epitome of a secure woman. She knows herself entirely; one of the greatest lessons we can learn from Samantha is that we are whole on our own. I remember watching Sex in The City for the first time, and everything I thought I knew about love was dismantled by the simple line:

‘I love you, but I love me more.’

Samantha Jones, the woman that you are. It felt almost revolutionary to my 20-year-old self, that the love and self-worth you feel when you focus on feeling whole in solitude can help you determine whether a relationship truly serves you or not. I’ve never looked back. 

A friendship forged between Samantha and Bridget would be remarkably iconic. Their morals relating to womanhood, sexuality, and friendships align as they seek to empower these aspects of their lives. Holding loyalty to their friends at the core of their being, the Jones sisters mould their world around platonic relationships, recognising that the love felt through these connections is arguably stronger than fleeting fellas. 

Everything I have come to learn about unconditional love has come from my friendships, especially with my girls. I think that society can really put a lot of pressure on us to find that connection that we see so often in media or read about in great romantic novels and ultimately this leaves us feeling a little lost. A little deflated. Where are they? My soulmate?

Well, as cliché as this sounds, a soulmate isn’t always romantic. My platonic soulmate is my Jones sister. Lillie just has to look at me for a split second and she can see my soul and heart clearer than I see myself in a mirror. I think that’s what love should feel like.

So, my lovely reader, this February, I invite you to join me in redefining the type of love you are seeking. Become a Jones sister, it’s fabulous!

All my love from your favourite column girl, 

Amba x

Gallery: The Rabbitts grace the stage at HPBC

Jade Pharoah on 7 March 2025

Last month The Rabbitts, a Norwich-based folk band, gave an ethereal performance at Hyde Park Book Club. The cosy snug was full as the genre-blending band performed songs from their most recent EP Salthouse (2024).

Words and Images by Jade Pharoah

Image Credits: Jade Pharoah

Gallery: Adwaith Live at HPBC

Jade Pharoah on 4 March 2025

Adwaith, a post-punk rock band from Wales, recently kicked off the UK leg of their tour to mark the release of their new album Solas (2025). Last month, they performed at Leeds’ Hyde Park Book Club, selling out their first headline show in the city. The basement was buzzing from wall to wall and filled with a lively atmosphere. My personal favourite was ‘Coeden Anniben’, a song they described as the “rock version of Mario Kart’s Rainbow Road”.

The band consists of Hollie Singer (vocals, guitar), Gwenllian Anthony (bass, keys, mandolin) and Heledd Owen (drums).

Words and Photos by Jade Pharoah

Image Credits: Jade Pharoah

Squid: Cowards – An Inky Exploration of Evil

Seb Coltrane on 27 February 2025

Squid’s slippery tentacles are encroaching Britain’s underground rock scene with their newest and perhaps most invigorating album, Cowards (2025). Previously synonymous with Brixton’s Windmill scene, the Brighton five-piece have since evolved from their maximalist, math-rock sound to a much more coherent and mature album-craft. Lead singer and drummer, Ollie Judge, remarked that it was a relief not to have to “perform with a calculator.” Cowards takes a vigilant step-back from the leftfield virtuosic musicianship, complex polyrhythms and sophisticated guitar melodies integral to their previous releases, Bright Green Field (2021) and O Monolith (2023) and instead offers a sweeter approach. With their musical talents already established, a newfound simplicity facilitates a much more sustainable way of approaching music.

“Am I the Bad One?” Cowards takes us on a journey through the human condition, wrapped up in tales of evil and cowardice, and leaving us in a state of self-reflection. What does it mean to be human? Judge deconstructs our humanity in the investigation of evil. Cannibalism, murder, exploitation, corruption, and greed all permeate through Squid’s inky introspection into the cowardly self.

No, ‘Crispy Skin’ is not a song about calamari, but instead takes inspiration from Tender is the Flesh, a novel where cannibalism and human domestication becomes the norm in a dystopian society. The song sets the conceptual tone for the album, spineless complicity and the rationalisation of evil. Embarking from the domestic troubles of their previous work, Squid internationalise their social commentary, as the murderous “true American” navigates a hypnotic Tokyo suburbia in ‘Building 650.’ 

Subsequently, Judge deconstructs our humanity in ‘Cro-Magnon Man’, contrasting modernity and technology with our pre-ancestral human nature, singing about the “chemicals that turn tomatoes red.” ‘Showtime!’ exposes the exploitation of artists, the track emerges in the characterisation of Andy Warhol and his egotistical abusive behaviours. Finally, ‘Well Met’ takes the metaphorical form of the town of Dunwich, on the coast of Suffolk. As the beaches and cliffs characteristic of this town gradually erode and disappear, so do all the aspects which make us human, as we gradually separate from nature.

While Judge hypotheses this dystopia, the musical elements strike a stark juxtaposition to the lyrics. For example, ‘Cro-Magnon Man’ features industrial guitars, code-like keyboard arpeggios, and dreamy vocals, combined with Judge’s pre-human lyrical concepts; all hinting at the notion of the de-evolution of humanity through technology. ‘Fireworks I’ features a harpsichord, juxtaposing the “playful, childlike, and whimsical” with evil and cowardice. Successively, ‘Fireworks II’ dissects the selective memory of humanity. In an interview with Bandcamp, the group addressed this song as a love letter to evil, saying “sometimes you live in a fantasy land,” but “we’re all guilty.”

Cowards introduces woodwind, horns and strings to the band’s repertoire, providing a warmer and heartier timbre. Despite this, Squid’s masterful musicianship is not lost, offering moments of elaborative performance but more subtly. Experimenting with a more traditional sound, by shedding the layers of sophistication, Squid offer a more focused perspective into their lyrical affirmations. The dynamics range not from quiet to loud, but instead sparse and dense, as the band builds in and out of its musical motifs. Cowards demonstrates the normalization of evil, juxtaposing lush, tasteful baroque pop with existential, apocalyptic language.

The band’s hard work certainly pays off in the album, demonstrating that Squid are certainly one of the most verbose and eclectic rock bands out there, leaving an ink-mark on the underground rock scene. However, while impressive, the album seems to lack a direct substance. The continued multifaceted nature of their songwriting does tend to alienate some audiences, while also serving to make their work less memorable, or even catchy. Squid could be even more explicit and articulate in their musicianship, delving deeper into the best aspects of their songwriting by focussing on developing coherent motifs. Nevertheless, Cowards demonstrates the band’s ability to maximise their creativity and conceptually organise their work.

The diversity of Cowards is what makes the album so great. In just 45 minutes, Squid deconstructs humanity through a sequence of otherworldly dispositions. Meanwhile, the contrast of hearty natural orchestration and technological synthetic instrumentation emboldens Judge’s lyrical assertions. Squid’s more conventional approach to song-craft, juxtaposed with Judge’s outrageously evil lyrics exemplifies the complicity and cowardice of humanity. 

Through listening to the album, we become more accustomed to the shocks of evil, resulting in our self-cowardice. Cowards is not telling the story of a coward, but it breaks the fourth wall, making accusations of not just humanity but also the listener. We are all aware of the evils of the world, so what are we going to do about it? Ignorance is bliss, and through cowardice, “The future is perfect, From the backseat.”

Written by Seb Coltrane

Lights, Camera, Fashion?

Sofia Garapetian on 27 February 2025

Sofia takes a look at some of the most iconic movie fashion moments that continue to inspire style today. From Scarface’s bold 80s power dressing to the Old Hollywood glamour of Burlesque, film has long been a runway of its own.

Preacher’s Daughter or Pervert’s Son?

Cassia Bennett on 27 February 2025

In a radio session where she played her whole 90 minute new album, Ethel Cain instructs listeners to ‘lie in a dark room and think what you want about it’. I would have to agree that this is probably the best way to experience the newest project Perverts (2025). It’s the kind of music that you just have to let wash over you while you allow your mind to wander through the slow instrumentals and mournful vocals. Reminiscent of a bleak January day, it feels drawn out, cold and grey but in a way that somehow manages to be comforting and unsettling at the same time. Long periods of distorted noise and ambient instrumentals melt into soft melodies with simple, repetitive lyrics that have the effect of seeing shapes through a thick fog. 

Back in 2022, Cain’s debut studio album Preacher’s Daughter garnered critical acclaim and widespread internet fame with the single ‘American Teenager’ becoming popular on TikTok and even making it onto Obama’s favourite music list of 2022. Where Preacher’s Daughter was a concept album with a strong narrative, Perverts is not a continuation, though Cain has maintained the same uniquely Midwestern horror that makes her music so dark. Where Preacher’s Daughter told a tale of family trauma, sexual assault, murder and cannibalism, drawing on inspiration from her own relationship with identity and religion, her latest record seems to lean more into an exploration of religious and philosophical ideas.

Cain’s opening track Perverts is a 12-minute track of distorted vocals reciting the hymn ‘Nearer, My God, To Thee’. This is followed by periodic, electronic drones before melting into ‘Punish’. First released as a single back in November, Cain returns to her darker storytelling with the sound of a creaking swing and simple piano chords overlayed with distorted electric guitar, which will become a recurring presence throughout the album. ‘Houseofpsychoticwomn’ has a sort of pulsating white noise with hushed voices that make it hard to distinguish what’s being said, other than the repeated phrases of ‘I do’ and ‘I love you’. It feels like you’ve jumped into a washing machine whilst trying to eavesdrop on a conversation, but someone turned it on and now you’re stuck in an hour-long cycle of soapy water. This transitions into the slow drum beat and soothing vocals of ‘Vacillator’, with a melodic repetition of ‘If you love me, keep it to yourself’. ‘Onanist’ continues with distorted electric guitars and vocals that build to become a static climax and ‘Etienne’ is a much more peaceful instrumental of piano and acoustic guitar. ‘Thatorcia’ is fully instrumental with Cain’s gentle humming that makes me picture myself walking through an echoey church, which leads into the final track, ‘Amber Waves’ – one of my favourites – that flows, soothing and supine.

In ‘Pulldrone’ Cain speaks over a droning siren-esque noise listing her ‘pillars of Simulacra’, a concept based on Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation (1981) a cornerstone of modern philosophy which proposed that our sense of the real has been superseded by the ‘hyperreal’ – that is, an understanding of the material world based not on first-hand experience, but memories of replications of material reality. Baudrillard explained that, due to the modern nature of media and marketing, the line between reality and re-presented reality has become increasingly blurred. Whilst in the context of the album these pillars likely refer to a sort of spiritual ascendance, this could also be seen as a continuation of her response to Preacher’s Daughter’s reception. After publicly rejecting the fame she received for her first studio album, Cain criticised the internet for nurturing an ‘irony epidemic’ that tends to treat art with flippancy, stating ‘Don’t let the joke about it overtake the source material’. This album seems to resist the ‘irony epidemic’ Cain criticises, and the idea that meme-ified iterations of her artistic output could reduce, or replace, the impact of her work likely echoes Baudrillard’s theory.

Interestingly, Cain seems to mostly communicate with fans through her Tumblr account (yes, I did make a Tumblr account for this and it did crash my laptop). Considered by many as a dead form of social media and mostly associated with dramatic teenage girls of the late 2000s and early 2010s, it may seem like an odd place for an artist to share their work. However, following this sentiment that we dismiss too much as ‘cringe’, embracing this form of media that stereotypically has this ‘cringe’ reputation may be her way of combating this new lack of sincerity in social media.Whilst fans still seem to appreciate the new album, it hasn’t captured the larger audience that Preacher’s Daughter did and that was probably intentional, given Cain’s disdain for the attention she previously received. This seems to be a common theme amongst artists who quickly amassed internet fame on a platform that reduces attention span and promotes sound bites over full songs, with Chappell Roan famously shunning the limelight earlier this year. Creating 10 minute slowcore songs does seem like a logical way to reduce your fanbase to those who simply appreciate your music. For this reason, despite Cain’s popularity with the past US President, I doubt Perverts will make it to the White House, though it may be more fitting, considering the current US government. Even though I initially liked the album, it’s grown on me the more I’ve listened to it and I highly recommend listening the whole way through once, though I do understand that it’s not to some people’s tastes (housemates have told me to turn off my scary music before).

Written by Cassia Bennett

Albums Turning 25 in ’25

Joseph Macaulay on 27 February 2025

As the 21st century reaches the quarter-decade mark, its time for a look back at the albums that heralded in the new millennium and have left a lasting musical impact. Here’s five of the most important records that turn 25 this year!

Kid A – Radiohead

Between 1997’s OK Computer and Kid A you can hear a millennium sized sonic shift that left many Radiohead fans bewildered. This wildly experimental LP is a far cry from the Britpop sounds of their 90s releases, and it was with this album that the enigma of Radiohead was consolidated. Cited by many of your favourite electronic artists as their favourite album, it remains as intriguing as ever 25 years on. 

The Marshall Mathers LP – Eminem 

With his third release, Slim Shady is at the height of his lyrical powers. Ringing in the new millennium with the opening ‘Public Service Announcement 2000’, with an attitude as abrasive as ever and a vocabulary just as vulgar, Eminem cemented himself as the man ‘God sent to piss the world off’. Which he did.

Parachutes – Coldplay 

It’s hard to reconcile the intergalactic-arena-soundscape of modern Coldplay with their quieter beginnings, but their debut launched the band into instant stardom. Chris Martin’s tender voice and the bands heart-string-tugging composition marked a sonic departure in British guitar music, away from the bombast of Britpop and into a more emotional age. Parachutes remains their best-selling record to date and helped usher in a new age of indie music. 

Stankonia – Outkast 

Stankonia set the bar for 21st century hip-hop Olympically high with Outkast’s funk filled medley of eccentricity, brilliantly catchy pop, and some of the most highly acclaimed lyrical delivery of all time. This was a new sound for a new millennium, and one that can be heard in countless hip-hop records of the last couple of decades. Big Boi and André 3000 at their very best. 

Hybrid Theory – Linkin Park 

The astronomic success of Linkin Park’s debut saw nu metal reach dizzying heights as the millennium began. It’s hard to think of a more raw performer than frontman Chester Bennington, who put mental health battles in the spotlight in a very profound way. Following his tragic death in 2017, the band was on hold until late last year as they returned with their eighth studio album From Zero. Extending their immense legacy into the 2020s, Hybrid Theory was the record that started it all.

Written by Joseph Macaulay