I don't understand why Love Island UK introduced a twist so meaningless — I feel bad for Shakira

Love Island UK season 12 premiered on June 9, 2025, with 12 hopefuls who entered the villa in Marbella looking for love. Six women arrived first and were each asked by host Maya Jama to pick a man based only on their dating profiles. Soon after, the men entered the villa and paired with the women who had chosen them.

The blind pairing resulted in some mismatched couples, but others were pleased with their choices. However, not long after the islanders got comfortable and started to get to know one another better, Maya returned with the season's first 'bombshell' (newcomer), Antonia "Toni" Laites, and a daring twist.

Toni was asked to pick one male islander as her partner, which meant she would have to break apart one couple, leaving the female contender single. She eventually paired with Shakira's partner, Ben, leaving Shakira single.

According to the twist, Shakira now had to convince someone else to couple up with her or get eliminated after 24 hours. If she succeeds in sparking a new connection, someone else will get eliminated in her stead.

The twist in the Love Island UK episode was quite meaningless, if you ask me. It unnecessarily put Shakira in a vulnerable position right at the start of the series, depriving her of a reasonable chance at finding love. With elimination looming, her journey quickly became about survival rather than anything else. The twist added needless drama that sabotaged one islander's journey before it even started.

It turned Shakira's stay in the villa into a timed task that she must complete to avoid elimination. Moreover, if Shakira manages to break another pair apart and convince the male islander to couple up with her, it would send his original partner packing. Either way, one innocent woman will get eliminated.

What the twist has done is turn Love Island UK into Survivor Island UK, where women, until the next fire pit meeting, have to keep their men close, while competing in a Hunger Games-type competition.

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Love Island UK could have done without the 24-hour time limit

Shakira is a 22-year-old marketing engineer from Burnley. While describing herself in her introduction tape, she called herself a "dating connoisseur" who had been on "the prowl" looking for her ideal match. Shakira wanted someone talkative and physically attractive to be her partner.

The Love Island UK star added that girls were often intimidated by her, as they gave her the "stink eye." However, she remained unfazed, saying:

"Cling onto your man, honey, 'cause I'll take him. Whoopsie."

Little did Shakira know that she would have to prove her skills within the first two days of being inside the villa, while running the risk of elimination. The reason why I feel the twist is meaningless and quite unfair for Shakira is that it puts her in an extremely challenging position.

With only 24 hours in hand, and the boys already coupled up, I wonder how much work she would have to do to change their minds. Moreover, she would have to face resistance from the ladies, which would eventually impact the bond she had created with them.

Even if Shakira manages to convince a male islander, I seriously doubt that the connection will be genuine because her advances are motivated by a purpose, an agenda, which is survival.

In her introduction tape, Shakira further mentioned that she wanted Love Island UK to find her a "Prince Charming" who would marry her and be willing to start a family. However, the 'bombshell' took away the opportunity from her to explore her connection with her initial partner, Ben.

Shakira and Ben described their connection as a "love-hate" relationship and seemed playful around one another. Now that the twist is in effect, I will never know if their connection could have developed into something long-term. Maya, while explaining the terms of her task, told Shakira that she could not steal Ben since he was a newcomer's partner.

It was unfortunate to see Shakira being put in a predicament right at the start of the series. Rather than being entertaining or dramatic, the twist seemed unfair not just to Shakira but also to the other ladies, Meg, Alima, Sophie, Helena, and Megan, who were now forced to protect their connections under a time crunch.

Even from the perspective of the 'bombshell' Toni, the twist is meaningless. Unlike the usual, where the Love Island UK islanders would chat and then, based on their initial conversations, choose their partners, Toni was asked to pick one without any discussion.

There is a possibility that Ben is not the type of man Toni wants. While Toni will have the time and opportunity to explore other connections, if that were the case, Shakira would not. She not only had to give up the man she had paired with, but now had to urgently couple up with someone new to avoid elimination.

According to me, the twist added unnecessary tension that could have been avoided in the first episode of Love Island UK.

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Love Island UK season 12 airs new episodes at 9 pm on ITV2.