Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
‘Love Island U.K.’ Stars Gemma Owen and Luca Bish Split After 3 Months: ‘Best For Us Right Now’
It’s over! Love Island U.K. season 8 stars Gemma Owen and Luca Bish have split after three months together, she confirmed on Wednesday, November 16.
“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 right now,” Gemma, 19, wrote via her Instagram Stories. “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.”
Shortly after Gemma’s message, Luca shared his own statement after taking time to “clear his head.”
“I would have liked some time to process this privately but as you all already know, sadly Gemma and I made the mutual decision earlier today to go our separate ways,” the season 8 star wrote via his Instagram Stories. “We have been on such a journey together and have made some amazing memories that I will treasure.”
Luca ended this message by thanking his followers for their support, along with sending his best wishes to his ex.
“We will remain good friends and I wish nothing but the best for her,” he continued.
The couple’s last public appearance was on November 6, as the former reality TV duo celebrated a bonfire night together. “Experiencing another first with you,” the fishmonger captioned a photo alongside Gemma bundled up next to a fire.
Gemma and Luca announced their split just three months following their second-place finish on the August finale, where fellow islanders Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti were crowned the winners.
Luca and Gemma met during season 8 of the series and the pair stayed loyal to each other even when Gemma’s ex-boyfriend Jacques O’Neill was thrown into the villa. During their time on the dating show, viewers questioned Luca’s possessive treatment of Gemma.
Unlike their other costars on the show, Luca and Gemma waited until after their time on the series to make their relationship official. On August 29, Luca planned a romantic evening filled with candles, a violinist and roses as he asked the international dressage rider to be his girlfriend.
Only weeks prior to Gemma and Luca’s breakup announcement, fellow season 8 star Paige Thorne, who recently split from Adam Collard, seemingly called out one Love Island relationship for being a “showmance.”
“All I’m going to say on this right, is, there are how many couples left? Three,” the paramedic explained on the “Saving Grace” podcast when asked who the “fakest” Love Island couple was. “There are three couples left, really there’s only two – but that’s a secret I’ll never tell.” While the Welsh native did not name the couple, she added it was a secret she’d “never tell.”
