Love Island’s changing Casa Amor: just being a lad doesn’t mean your head will be turned

Listen to our Love Island recap show, I've Got A Text, now.  Streaming every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on Spotify, Soundcloud, or wherever you get your podcasts.  https://open.spotify.com/episode/4fxWkHiPunPRxpp9ZBbEny?si=4zDEJ3H_R9GNECxq5-7zrQ

Boys will be boys... but will they, really?

The divide between the Love Island villa and Casa Amor last night was clear: the girls were worried, and the boys were excited. Yesterday's instalment of the show saw the guys head off on what has been internally dubbed a Lads' Holiday, where they will meet new contestants, test their relationship, and have a grand enough time, probably. Back at the main villa, the exact same situation is unfolding for the girls, as they were presented with six new boys, all willing (and desperate) to gain a place on the show. The #LADSONTOUR augury contrasted almost perfectly with the "When will my husband return from war?" impression that the girls were radiating from the second the guys left. The scenes were a far cry from the Casa Amors of past series, where the girls' heads have been successfully turned too and, in some cases, the lads as worried as they are. This time though, things are different. It was during last night's show that the wildly entertaining Shaughna expressed her grievances about Callum heading over to Casa Amor. Sat on the bed with the girls lamenting the fact that her fella forget to leave her a memento before heading off, she admitted that she didn't trust him to be around other women. "Every single bed had stuff on it apart from mine," she said, pretty much in tears. "I go for the idiots all the time. I just feel like it’s happening again. It’s just annoying.” Shaughna later added that she didn't think any man would be able to keep his eyes to himself while surrounded by a group of beautiful women - and miles apart from his girlfriend. In reality though, they would. And if previous series of Love Island - and general real life experience - has taught us anything, they have. Instead of being (rightfully, let's be honest) concerned about her own couple, Shaughna's comment seems to suggest that she would expect most lads' heads to be at least swayed in a similar circumstance - and that it's just bad luck that she has ended up with one of them again. But Casa Amor wasn't built to destroy relationships, it was built to test them. And only those that weren't all that strong in the beginning are the ones that are going to be jeopardised. Callum and Shaughna have had a decent enough relationship in Love Island so far. He's been kind to her, he's given her his attention, he's reassured her that he's into her and only her. Despite this, any faults that Shaughna has found so far she has explained away with the simple fact that he has never had a relationship before - or that he is, in fact, just a lad.  It's this presumptive attitude that totally undercuts any sense of trust that the rest of the girls in the villa have regarding their boys. It also expects the lads to lose interest just because a new group of women have appeared before them, undermining any kind of agency a man does actually have when left alone by a pool with some rather attractive members of the opposite sex. Boys will be boys - but boys can still make their own decisions.