EXPLOSIVE feuds, shock sex stories and a VERY surprising DM from a hot Hollywood A-lister – the Love Island girls let loose in our exclusive chat.
In their ONLY interview since leaving the villa, winner Toni Laites and her fellow finalists, Shakira Khan and Yasmin Pettet also lift the lid on what the other girls were really like and have a dig at ITV.
The trio reveal all to Fabulous’ KELLY ALLEN. Let’s crack on…!
FOR the past decade, Love Island has followed the same winning formula: girl meets boy, then they face various challenges and bombshells in a bid to find love.
But this year was different. Instead, all everyone is talking about is the friendship between winner Toni Laites and her fellow finalists, Shakira Khan and Yasmin Pettet . Dubbed “The Big Three”, they are the undoubted stars of the series.
“‘Outcasts’ is what we called ourselves,” says Shakira, 22, who came second with Harry Cooksley .
“I can’t believe we’ve gone from that to being ‘The Big Three’. This is a win for the weirdos! The real love story from this season has been our friendship.
“We always say we were never meant to be friends. We’re all so different, but we were always authentic to who we were, and we would always protect each other.”
‘Win for the weirdos’
Toni, 24, who is a cabana girl in Las Vegas and won the show with 24-year-old Cach Mercer , nods and says: “It’s been overwhelming, but there’s been so much love surrounding us three.
“I think people really liked that we were ourselves, 100%, through the whole eight weeks.”
Yas adds: “We were all holding hands at the final. I had to look away from Toni and Shakira as I was trying so hard not to cry. I was so proud of us. We did it!”
It all could have been very different. Toni – the first American to appear on the UK version of the ITV2 show – arrived as a bombshell and “stole” Shakira’s partner Ben Holbrough on the first night, leaving her at risk of being dumped.
But instead of being resentful, Shakira bonded with Toni, who encouraged her to “graft” the other men to stay in the show.
“We’ve always been on the same wavelength,” explains Burnley-born Shakira.
“We understood why we were there. I think us three individually were quite vulnerable in the villa, but together, we were bulletproof.”
“We all agreed that no one should be isolated there,” adds Toni.
“That quote: ‘It’s not friendship island’, is used a lot. And people can use that as an excuse to treat others poorly. But we made it a friendship island.”
It was the same with Yasmin, 24, who also came in as a bombshell: “We were always direct and honest. All three of us appreciated that from each other. We always used to call each other out.”
Friendship island
The trio didn’t have the same bond with some of the others though, including Meg Moore and Helena Ford .
It was particularly difficult for Shakira, who was in a love triangle with Helena and Harry, which saw the Guildford footballer, 30, flip-flop between the two girls, before finally ending up with Shakira.
While Shakira tried to be mindful of Helena’s feelings, the latter often laughed at the situation with some of the other girls, even wearing Shakira’s bikini as she stole Harry from her.
“I don’t think Helena gave consideration to my feelings,” she explains.
We constantly felt like villains. Every chance they got, they tried to kill us off
Shakira
“I’ve said that to her a few times. When it was the other way around, I knew how I felt and I wouldn’t have wanted her to feel that way. I guess that’s why I was quite annoyed with her – she didn’t really care.
“When Harry and I were back on again, I didn’t want to be all in her face, because I knew it would be hurtful. But bikini-gate really irked me. I was like: ‘Is she f**king for real?’ Come on now.
“I don’t think it was shown, but I called them out twice in that first week. And I said: ‘When it’s your turn, I really hope someone doesn’t treat you that way, because it’s not nice.’
“But me and Helena don’t actually have any beef. We got on really well and had good banter.
“It’s a shame, as in another world, we would’ve been good friends, but we got caught in conflict with boys.”
‘No bad blood’
“We’re amicable with everyone,” Yas says.
“There’s no bad blood. But we know who our close friends are. And that’s what matters to us.”
Viewers also criticised the edit, particularly during Movie Night and the Grafties – an awards ceremony in which the public vote for various categories – claiming it made the trio look bad.
“Yeah, they’d never show the other side of things, which was frustrating,” says Shakira. “We constantly felt like villains. Every chance they got, they tried to kill us off.”
Toni adds: “During the first public vote, Shakira and I were both in the bottom. We spent weeks thinking that it was us against the world, because that’s how everyone in there made us feel.”
The in-fighting among the girls meant that the boys’ bad behaviour often went unnoticed, too.
“The girls were so busy going at each other that the boys would get away with whatever they wanted to. They’d say: ‘Let’s not interrupt this because the heat’s not on us,’” says Shakira.
Toni nods: “A lot of us really just didn’t get along. For weeks and weeks, there were no solid couples, because no one could even stand to speak to each other!”
We spent weeks thinking that it was us against the world, because that’s how everyone in there made us feel
Toni
Things got so bad for the girls that Toni and Shakira even discussed coupling up with each other.
“They cut out our love story!” Shakira laughs.
Thankfully, the girls all overcame their hurdles to find love. So, how are things going for the couples back in the real world?
“My favourite part of the week has been sitting in my hotel room with Cach,” explains Toni.
“Just being able to enjoy time with each other and not being listened to or watched 24/7. Cach and I know where we stand.
“We are exclusive, but he wants to do something big when he asks me to be his girlfriend. Nothing too extravagant, because it doesn’t matter.”
Toni is so committed that she is planning to move to the UK permanently.
“It’s not that easy to leave your home and pick up and live somewhere else, even in terms of immigration , but I’m working on it.
“Cach has his own place and we’ve been spending 24 hours a day together.
“I don’t think it would be a bad thing to have my own place, though. I’ll live with this little one,” she says, pointing to Shakira.
“We’ve been thinking about it,” Shakira adds. “Harry is in competition with you!”
“He’s got nothing on me,” Toni laughs.
“We’ll see, but since leaving the villa, it’s been unreal,” says Shakira. “After the final, Harry told me he loved me. Coming off the experience, you don’t know what’s reality and what’s not.
“I was thinking: ‘God, is this real?’ So to hear this from him, I was so emotional. I knew very early on I felt that way about him. That’s why I had to fight my feelings and I struggled. It was constantly head over heart, but heart won in the end.
“We’ve got a lot to work on. We’re not on the same playing field as everyone else with sunshine and rainbows, but we are not interested in anyone else. I’m excited to see where it goes,” adds Shakira.
Yas says of her relationship with Jamie Rhodes , 26: “We feel really bonded, there’s no rush or pressure. Things are going in the right direction, but he knows I find it hard to talk about my feelings.
“I’ve been going through grief [Yas’ 11-year-old cat Miaow Miaow died from cancer during filming] and Jamie will just sit there when I cry on him.
“He’s such a sweet man, showing up for me and checking in and doing nice things.”
We were always direct and honest. All three of us appreciated that from each other. We always used to call each other out
Yas
During the show, Yas shocked the villa by confessing that she has only ever slept with two men – and had never had an orgasm . Has that been remedied?
She says: “No, because I’ve just come out of the villa and had the news of my cat and everything. I’ve taken a lot of time to process my emotions, so Jamie and I haven’t been intimate yet.”
“Same, sister!” Shakira interrupts.
Yas continues: “He’s so patient. He’s never rushed that, because he knows it will happen at the right time.”
Despite reports it was the sexiest villa ever and show bosses had to replenish condoms, the girls aren’t convinced.
“I don’t think so. None of us did anything,” confesses Shakira. “Three couples [had sex] the whole time I think.”
Toni adds: “To our knowledge. . . They don’t tell us, we don’t know anything. The one promise that I made to myself before I got in was I would never have sex on television .”
Before coupling up with Cach, Toni was left devastated after learning Harrison Solomon had had sex with Lauren Wood before recoupling with him – which led to domestic violence charity Women’s Aid calling out his behaviour, saying the men were “treating relationship boundaries and women like a game”.
“ I agree with Women’s Aid – I think a lot of the behaviour from the men was wrong,” she says.
“But Women’s Aid also only saw 45 minutes of the day and I don’t think that any of the men in the villa are inherently bad. They make bad choices and forget about some of the morals that they should possess.
‘I think a lot of the behaviour from the men was wrong’
“The way that I handled the Harrison situation – going back to him again and again – is the way that I’ve handled men in the past.
“Maybe I was in denial that I deserve better, but now I’m so aware that I do. A lot of young women do the same thing.
“You can teach a man how to be the best version of himself, and he’ll leave you for the next b**ch.
“But I don’t regret anything. I did what I wanted to do, and it all worked out. I learned a lot. You can’t really regret learning from your mistakes.”
At the final, Harrison was spotted rolling his eyes when series host Maya Jama was interviewing Toni and Cach – what did she think of that?
“I think that was the best part of the season,” she laughs.
We are in a group chat with Cara Delevingne – she wants us to go to Ibiza with her for her birthday and says she’s our biggest fan!
Shakira
“I don’t think anything of him. He has not reached out and I hope he doesn’t. Are he and Lauren going to last? That’s none of my business .”
There’s no doubt the three girls don’t have the typical appearance of Love Islanders – all brunette and no fake boobs. Did that make them more relatable?
“For me, that was an important factor – to represent that. There is a huge pressure that if you don’t like something about yourself, you’ve got to fix it,” says Shakira.
“If it’s going to make you happier, absolutely do it. But I think if you dissected the insecurities, probably someone else has said something that’s made you want to change. I hope it gives people a little bit of confidence.”
‘It’s been bonkers’
Representing her Pakistani heritage was also hugely important to Shakira. She says: “There aren’t a lot of spaces for people of my ethnicity. Growing up, I never had someone [on TV ] I could see myself in.
“I’ve had a lot of South Asian girls come up to me, nearly cry and say: ‘Thank you so much.’ It makes me feel very proud.”
Yas also won praise after being honest about her lack of desire to have children.
She says: “I didn’t think it would start a conversation. I felt like I was voicing my own opinion. I’m always upfront about it with guys, and I don’t believe that my mind will change as I get older.
“I have so much that I want to achieve in life. And I can appreciate other people’s children – I’ll be the fun, rich auntie. I just know that I don’t want to have my own, and that’s OK. You’re not a monster for thinking that way.”
It’s clear that the trio are on top, with Maya choosing to follow only them on social media .
“She’s so genuine and nice,” says Yas. “After the final, all three of us were really emotional and Maya started to tear up, too. She was giving us hugs and everything. We haven’t gone out properly yet, but we want to.”
And she’s not their only celebrity fan – there have been a few other A-listers sliding into their DMs.
“It’s been bonkers,” Shakira says. “We’ve had so much support from people you don’t expect.
“We are in a group chat with Cara Delevingne – she wants us to go to Ibiza with her for her birthday and says she’s our biggest fan!”
And with £25k prize money in the bank, Toni has said she wants to spend the money on clearing her student loans, as well as treating her gal pals.
“I’m buying Shakira a Mazda ,” reveals Toni. “She probably won’t let me, but I owe this girl the world. Yas is getting a Birkin! I’d need a bit more than £25k.
“We’re all going to be treating each other. We’ve got plans – I think we’re all open to taking any opportunity that comes our way in the future.”
Love Island winners - where they are now
EVERY year Love Island opens its doors to more sexy Islanders who are hoping for a holiday romance that could turn into more.
Here we take you through all of the Love Island winners so far and what their relationship statuses are now:
2025 – The summer series of Love Island saw Toni Laites and Cach Mercer win the ITV2 reality show . STATUS: Still together.
2025 – The second series of All Stars saw Gabby Allen and Case O’Gorman scoop the crown . STATUS: Broken up.
2024 – The summer Love Island saw Mimii Ngulube and Josh Oyinsan were crowned the winners . STATUS: Broken up.
2024 – The first ever All stars spin off show was won by Molly Smith and Tom Clare . STATUS: Still together.
2023 – Jess Harding and Sammy Root took home the 50k, and won the summer 2023 Love Island . STATUS: Broken up.
2023 – The first series of 2023 saw Sanam Harrinanan and Kai Fagan crowned Love Island winners in South Africa . STATUS: Still together.
2022 – Davide Sanclimenti and Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu’s time in the villa was anything but a smooth ride, but they managed to win the public’s hearts – and the ITV2 reality show. STATUS: Broken up.
2021 – Liam Reardon and Millie Court were announced winners of Love Island 2021. STATUS: Still together.
2020 – The first ever winter Love Island saw Paige Turley and Finn Tapp crowned winners after falling in love on the show. STATUS: Broken up.
2019 – Series 5 saw Tommy Fury and Molly-Mae Hague runners up to winners Greg O’Shea and Amber Gill, who met in the last few days of the series. STATUS: Broken up.
2018 – It wasn’t surprising fan favourites Jack Fincham and Dani Dyer won the show , as they were strong throughout. But sadly things didn’t last. STATUS: Broken up.
2017 – Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies had lots of ups and downs in the villa but went on to win . STATUS: Broken up.
2016 – Nathan Massey and Cara De La Hoyde were together from the start of the series, and since they won the show they’ve had two kids and are married. STATUS: Still together.
2015 – Despite poor Jess Hayes being Max Morley’s second choice on the show, they did win – but they didn’t last as a couple. STATUS: Broken up.
