“It’s not something any father wants to watch” – Liverpool hero Michael Owen reacts as daughter Gemma makes Love Island debut

Liverpool legend Michael Owen has reacted to his daughter Gemma participating in this year's edition of Love Island. The British dating game show is one of the UK's most popular TV series and the latest season is currently just a week in.

The show involves five girls and five boys being 'coupled up' with one another as they look to finish the season finding love and splitting a prize of £50,000.

Gemma Owen, 19, has made her debut on the show much to the ire of her father Michael Owen. The former Liverpool striker has admitted it is tough to see his daughter participate in the show. He told Mail (via LiverpoolEcho):

"It's not something any father wants to watch, is it? I said to [my wife] Louise, 'Do they really have to sleep together, like in the same bed?' She said, 'Yes'. I said, 'I did not bank on this.'"

He continued:

"Luckily for me, there was no physical contact. Gemma had her back to the guy. There was space between them. I thought, 'Good girl.' No father wants to see physical contact, do they? I certainly don’t. If there is physical contact, I think I’ll be throwing something at the screen. I don’t want to see kissing. Do not make me see kissing!"

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Liverpool legend Michael Owen explains how his daughter got his family's blessing before the show

Gemma Owen is the youngest participant in Love Island history.

Michael Owen continued to explain how he had given his daughter his blessing to participate in the show. He said:

"She wanted our blessing. She would never do something if she thought we’d be ashamed or disappointed in her, or her grandparents would be disappointed. You have two choices. You can either say, 'No way. No daughter of mine...' or you can be supportive."

The Liverpool hero continued:

"I think being supportive is always the better option. I suppose it comes down to love and trust. Eventually, I looked at it like this: 'This is the test. If we’ve done everything right in bringing her up, which I think we have, then we shouldn’t be scared of this.'"

Gemma is the youngest participant in the show this season at 19 and there has been backlash over her participation. She was 'coupled' with 27-year-old Davide Sanclimenti this past week, which caused an uproar among viewers who cited the Italian's age as an issue.

Her father needn't worry, however, as Gemma has now coupled up with 23-year-old Luca Bish while her former boyfriend, rugby player Jacques O'Neil, has just entered the villa.