While viewers have for a long time wondered when we might see more LGBTQ+ contestants in the hugely successful Love Island reality series, one evicted Islander shared that conversations she had where she discussed being bisexual were not broadcast.
In an interview with Metro, Sharon Gaffka, who lasted 19 days on the island, said that she had spoken with a fellow contestant about her relationships with women.
Following a challenge where Gaffka told the others she’d been in a threesome, she then went on to have a conversation with Faye Winter about her sexual encounters with women.
The Love Island star told Metro, “I had a conversation with Faye about it and she asked, ‘Are you bisexual?’ And I said, ‘It’s something I’ve explored but I’ve never been in a relationship with a woman.’
“A lot of the conversations I had were about modern dating on the show were never aired, but I was very open about sexuality and being a mixed-race woman in modern dating.”
Discussing the possibility of an LGBTQ+ version of the show, Metro asked Gaffka if she would consider returning, to which she replied, “I think putting myself through something like that again is quite intense, but I’m always open to seeing what opportunities happen.”
Back in May, we reported that Love Island bosses had suggested a desire to have greater queer representation. ITV sources had said they were looking for bisexual or pansexual contestants to make up at least 40% of the cast.
Since then, Amanda Stavri of Independent television who produce the show, said there were stumbling blocks to making that a reality.
“There’s a sort of logistical difficulty,” Stavri explained, “because although Islanders don’t have to be 100% straight, the format must sort of give Islanders an equal choice when coupling up.”
“With our dating shows, such as The Cabins, there is much more sexual diversity. The formats don’t have as much restrictions as Love Island. So we’re very sort of mindful of that across our programming on ITV and dating series. But that’s the difficulty with Love Island.”
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