Reality dating competition Love Island is all about finding a romantic connection, but if season 8 is lacking anything, it’s a strong platonic couple. Previous seasons have seen friendships that have made it all the way to the final, and islanders who saved their friends from dumpings by coupling up with them.
Some of the best friendship couples in the show’s history include brother-sister bonds, friendships that have continued beyond the villa, and friendships that just missed out on winning the 50k prize together.
Hugo Hammond and Sharon Gaffka (Season 7)
Sharon and Hugo certainly looked cute together when they first coupled up at the start of the season, but it quickly became apparent that the latter was in no rush to crack on. What started out as a strong friendship quickly turned rocky when the pair clashed over Hugo’s distaste for “fake” women.
When the pair later re-entered into a friendship couple, Sharon again confronted Hugo for avoiding her and giving her the cold shoulder. It would seem that in the real world, the pair would not have made compatible friends and their relationship inside the villa appeared to be a means of survival. Though, Sharon did confess that she had hoped for something more from their relationship following her dumping.
Alex George and Samira Mighty (Season 4)
Day-oners Samira and Alex had been coupled up from the very beginning, but purely on a platonic basis. Despite being good friends, their lack of a romantic connection put them at risk when their fellow islanders were tasked with dumping the least compatible couple.
Samira later expressed concerns about what would happen to her if Alex recoupled with Ellie Brown, leading viewers to believe that she was deliberately preventing him from finding love to secure her own place in the villa.
Danica Taylor and Jay Younger (Season 8)
Danica has not had the easiest of rides so far, despite being one of the most popular contestants in Love Island season 8. She initially caused a stir when deciding to couple with Luca Bish, who was happily coupled up with Gemma Owen, then again when she coupled with Jay after he had gently tried to turn her down.
This caused a stir with fellow bombshell Antigoni Buxton, who had expressed an interest in getting to know Jay. Despite this, the pair’s short-lived friendship couple was sweet and supportive, with both having nothing but nice words to say to each other when they both decided to twist following Casa Amor.
Michael Griffiths and Yewande Biala (Season 5)
Michael and Yewande entered into a friendship couple from their first day in the villa. After getting to know each other, the pair formed a brother-sister bond and supported each other through their later recouplings with Amber Gill and Danny Williams respectively.
Yewande later revealed that Michael’s treatment of Amber during Casa Amor was “shocking” and “disappointing”, which naturally might have lessened her opinion of her friend, but they have stayed in contact following their stint on the show.
Nas Majeed and Siânnise Fudge (Season 6)
Siânnise was very upfront about the lack of a spark between herself and Nas but seemed happy enough to explore their connection as friends. However, it is clear that the platonic element was one-sided; Nas hoped for something more to come from their relationship, but outside the couple, their friendship was able to flourish.
Siânnise later decided to couple up with Nas again to save him from being dumped from the island, calling him “the life and soul of the villa,” when bombshell Rebecca Gormley explosively chose to couple with Luke Trotman before she could.
Aaron Francis and Kaz Kamwi (Season 7)
Another platonic couple with a sibling-like bond was season 7’s day-oners Kaz and Aaron, with the latter referring to the fashion blogger as his “sister.”
The friends shared a steamy kiss during the cat and mouse challenge which saw fans calling for them to take their relationship to the next stage. However, Aaron decided to recouple with Lucinda and was subsequently dumped from the island when the couple received the fewest votes from the public.
Hugo Hammond and Chloe Burrows (Season 7)
Hugo shocked his fellow islanders when he decided to couple up with Chloe after her own partner Toby Aromolaran decided to recouple with Abigail Rowlings. Pulling no punches, Hugo gave his piece on the situation when he said Chloe “doesn’t deserve to be treated how she has been in these last 24 hours,” which caused an explosive argument between the boys later on.
Fans theorize that Hugo actually fancied Chloe from the get-go, and that this was a declaration of his affections rather than a simple friendly gesture. Regardless of his motives, Chloe kept him firmly in the friendzone, but their platonic connection was undeniable.
Lauren Richardson and Josh Ritchie (Season 1)
Lauren and Josh were the first ever friendship couple to make it to the Love Island final, finishing in a very respectable third place. The pair began their journey as a couple before exploring their connections with other islanders but found their way back to each other in the end.
While Josh endured a couple of failed romances, Lauren failed to find a connection with anyone at all but was happy to reunite with her best friend, saying “It was great to start this journey with Josh and I couldn’t be happier to finish the journey with Josh.” Fans consider their relationship to be “friendship goals.”
Ovie Soko and Amber Gill (Season 5)
Ovie and Amber were two of the most popular personalities in season 5. Amber’s popularity alone saw her take the Love Island crown with final bombshell Greg O’Shea, so the friends almost certainly would have won together if they had remained in a couple.
Following the fallout with her ex Michael, who shockingly decided to twist at the Casa Amor recoupling, Ovie was a great support to Amber. Their friendship warmed the hearts of viewers around the world, with many calling for them to get out of the friendzone and make it official, but some platonic relationships are just too perfect to complicate with romantic feelings.
