What happened between Luca and Gemma? Love Island couple's split explained
13 January 2025, 20:30
Here's a more detailed look into Love Island's Luca Bish and Gemma Owen's relationship, from meeting in the villa to their split.
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Luca Bish, 25, will return to the Love Island villa for Love Island All Stars 2025, three years after his first appearance on the hit reality show.
During his time in the villa in 2022 (series eight) Luca coupled-up with Gemma Owen, the daughter of famous footballer Michael Owen, and the pair lasted until the final.
After losing out on the crown to Davide Sanclimenti and Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, Luca and Gemma continued their relationship outside the show, however, split just three months later in shocking style after he admitted to being "blindsided" by her announcement.
As Luca re-enters the Love Island villa, here's a look back at what happened between Luca and Gemma during Love Island 2022 - and their split.
When were Luca Bish and Gemma Owens on Love Island?
Luca Bish and Gemma Owens both appeared on series eight of Love Island, which first aired in 2022.
Despite being coupled up with Paige by the public, by day five of the series, Luca had decided to couple up with Gemma.
The pair stayed together for the majority of the series and made it to the final. Sadly, they didn't win the show, missing out on the prize to Davide Sanclimenti and Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu.
Why did people complain about Luca Bish on Love Island?
During his time on Love Island in 2022, Luca Bish received a lot of criticism from viewers who accused him of misogyny and "controlling behaviour" towards Gemma.
After leaving the show, Luca acknowledged the complaints and apologised for his behaviour on the show, saying that he "didn't recognise himself" when watching it back.
Luca has admitted that his mum sat him down to re-watch his time on Love Island in 2022. He told the MailOnline: "I watched it back. I think my mum forced me to. Obviously there's some great moments and things I'd really laughed about, and obviously not so good. Sometime you come out the villa and think 'why are people writing this?'"
He said that he "couldn't disagree" with the complaints that had been made, adding: "I learnt lessons. It's the lessons we learn from that make us who we are today."
Why did Luca Bish and Gemma Owen split up?
Gemma Owen was the one who announced her split from Luca Bish three months after leaving Love Island.
In a statement shared on her social media, Gemma wrote: "To all my followers, I wanted to let you know that Luca and I are no longer in a relationship.
"It wasn’t an easy decision but ultimately this is what is best for us both right now. Many of you have been on this journey with us from the very beginning, and I want to thank you for your continued support as we start new chapters."
Luca, however, appeared to be blindsided by the public announcement, writing on his own social media at the time: "Switched my phone back on after taking some time out to clear my head after an emotional afternoon to thousands of messages and news articles about my break up.
"I would have liked some time to process this privately but as you all already now know, sadly Gemma and I made the mutual decision earlier today to go our separate ways."
Since splitting, Luca has been connected to Italian model Giulia Ciancio in 2024. Meanwhile, Gemma was reported to have been dating boxer Aadam Hamed in 2023 before confirming she was single.
