Love Island: Luca jokes about being ‘so protective’ over Gemma after criticism

‘You want Gem? You want Gem? No chance. I’m so protective. Nah,’ Bish joked in a live video

Love Island star Luca Bish made light of the criticisms he’s faced for being “overprotective” of his partner Gemma Owen in a live video.

During the series, which ended on Monday (1 August), Luca was called everything from “possessive” and “manipulative” to “controlling” and “protective” by fans who didn’t approve of the way he interacted with Gemma.

During a live video from the holding villa after the finale with Andrew Le Page, the estate agent asked where Gemma was: “Where is Gem? Oi, people are requesting Gem. People are requesting Gem, go get her.”

Appearing self-aware of the comments made about him, Luca responded: “You want Gem? You want Gem? No chance. I’m so protective. Nah.”

Luca’s “protectiveness” of Gemma was addressed several times on the show, and he was also accused of “overreacting” on occasions such as the show’s infamous Movie Night challenge, when he watched Billy flirting with Gemma and later told her she was “entertaining it”. Or, the Mile High challenge when Gemma chose to lick Adam Collard‘s chest, which Luca took issue with.

The 23-year-old fishmonger’s family stepped in after fans berated Luca on social media for his behaviour following the Mile High challenge.

In an Instagram Story posted to Luca’s official page, they wrote: “Nine/10 weeks of no contact wth any family and friends. It’s a crazy intense environment where emotions are heightened.

“Learning to have disagreements and resolve them is part of all successful relationships. Society preaches for men to not bottle things up and to open up???

“So proud of how vulnerable and in touch with his emotions he’s been. Nothing but real.”

Gemma and Luca on ‘Love Island’ (ITV)

During the series, Women’s Aid confirmed it was in talks with Love Island producers to address “controlling and misogynistic” behaviour on display.

Furthermore, Domestic abuse charity Refuge also released a statement on 18 July, saying: “The misogyny and casual sexism witnessed on this series of Love Island is extremely concerning.

Ekin-su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti won the final Love Island 2022 final by a landslide on Monday night.

The pair, who beat out couples including Luca and Michael Owen’s daughter Gemma, received a staggering 63.69 per cent of the total vote.