Love Island's Grace Jackson says she felt 'publicly humiliated' after Liv Hawkins unveiled alleged 'texts'
She's spoken out on a podcast
Last updated 27th Feb 2025
Bosses may have taken away the iconic Movie Night from this year's All Stars series, but Love Island certainly wasn't shy of drama. During the episode on Sunday 16th February, viewers witnessed some of the previously dumped Islanders return to send one couple home, but one former Islander dropped a bombshell which caused the villa to descend into chaos.
Claiming she's seen text messages from Grace, Olivia Hawkins accused the model of faking her romance with Luca Bish, accusing her of doing anything to win the show. But now, following the final which saw Grace and Luca take second place, Grace has spoken out about the accusations — which she says left her feeling "publicly humiliated".
Olivia said to the villa: "So I've seen text messages of Grace just saying to someone that she'll do whatever it takes to win the show this time from someone back home." But now, in a podcast recorded by Sophie Habboo and Melissa Tattum, Grace said she's seen the so-called texts, calling them "the most ridiculous screenshots she's ever seen in her life" and stating she's seen two different versions of them!
In Sophie and Melissa's Wednesdays podcast uploaded on Wednesday 26th February, Grace said:
"Whatever she was trying to do there completely backfired. I think you could probably tell from my reaction that I was so gobsmacked by it. I think if I'd said it I probably I would have looked a bit sheepish and I maybe would have tried to own it or I would have pushed it off as 'well it was banter', like 'oh I said it to a friend' but I know it's not in my personality and I know it's not in my character.
"But I felt so humiliated, like publicly humiliated, because I was sat there trying to defend myself. Everybody around the firepit was like nodding like 'yeah we've seen the screenshots'. So I just felt so embarrassed."
Luca then told listeners it was "Grace's low point", saying she didn't sleep for three nights after it happened.
What happened in the villa?
In the episode the night before the final Grace, who was visibly shocked at the allegations of sending texts claiming she would do anything to win, was quick to defend herself, saying: "Baby, that is absolutely not true. I do not care about winning this show."
With the villa descending into chaos with various rows, Grace added: "On my life, I have never written that sentence in my life. It's b------t, and someone's forged that, that's not true. I am gobsmacked."
Harriett Blackmore, who has had her own drama with Liv in the past, piped up to defend her friend, saying: "Liv's probably texted herself and used it as an answer. Babe, we all know you wouldn't do that."
Luckily for Grace, Luca completely has her back, with the former fish monger saying: "I'm always here for you, and I'll always protect you."
After seeing the drama unfold, viewers were quick to take to social media to have their say on the situation.
One wrote: 'Do yall not realize PHOTOSHOP IS A THING??? Liv has GOT TO GO. We Stan GRACE AND HARRIET. JUST WOWWWW', with another writing: 'Everyone’s seen the messages but the public hasn’t??? SHOW US THE RECEIPTS RN'. (sic)
A third wrote: 'There has been no messaged released?!??!?? If that was true it would be all over social media, the fact that only liv and Samir saw the messages from “someone” tells me everything I need to know. That someone would have already posted the screenshots!!'. (sic)
Another gasped: 'Sammie and Olivia r just bitter because they didn’t get Luca'. (sic)
Check out all of the former Love Island winners below:
2005 - Celebrity Love Island - Jayne Middlemiss
TV presenter and model Jayne Middlemiss was the first person to win Celebrity Love Island, alongside Fran Cosgrave.
Nothing happened between the pair when they left the villa, with Jayne continuing with work in TV, including shows such as Celebrity Masterchef and Pointless.
She's now a radio presenter!
2005 - Celebrity Love Island - Fran Cosgrave
Fran Cosgrave, who is the former Westlife bodyguard, went on to land his own spin-off TV show alongside Calum Best and Paul Danan, before releasing his autobiography in 2006.
Fran dated Atomic Kitten singer Natasha Hamilton, with the pair welcoming a son together, but they've since split.
Fran has since taken a step back from the world of showbiz.
2006 - Celebrity Love Island - Calum Best
Despite being on the show in 2005, Calum Best re-entered the Celebrity Love Island villa in 2006, this time winning the show alongside Geordie girl Bianca Gascoigne.
2006 - Celebrity Love Island - Calum Best
Since leaving the villa in 2006, Calum has kept himself in the spotlight, appearing on a number of other shows such as Celebrity Big Brother and Famously Single.
He also appeared on Celebrity Ex On The Beach in 2019. In 2021, Calum worked on a documentary about his late father, George Best, titled George Best: True Genius.
2006 - Celebrity Love Island - Bianca Gascoigne
Entering the Celebrity Love Island villa as a glamour model in 2006, Bianca won the show alongside Calum Best.
2006 - Celebrity Love Island - Bianca Gascoigne
Although nothing materialised romantically between Bianca and Calum outside of the show, the model went on to achieve success, appearing on shows such as Gladiators, Celebrity Big Brother and Celebrity Coach Trip. She even auditioned for The X Factor in 2012!
In May 2021, Bianca split from Katie Price's ex-boyfriend Kris Boyson after a year of dating. In early 2023, Bianca welcomed a baby boy called Blake Sunshine with her boyfriend Arron Wright.
2015 - Love Island: Jess Hayes and Max Morley
When Love Island returned to our TV screens in 2015, Jess Hayes and Max Morley were crowned the winners, taking home a massive £50,000 each.
Just 40 days after leaving the villa, the pair split up, leaving viewers of the show heartbroken.
2015 - Love Island: Jess Hayes
Despite splitting from Max, a few years later Jess found true happiness with her boyfriend Dan Lawry. The pair welcomed their first child together in 2019, a baby boy called Presley James Lawry. In 2024, Jess confirmed the birth of her second child, a baby girl called Zendaya-Rose with her partner Zeb.
2015 - Love Island: Max Morley
Max has kept himself relatively out of the spotlight since he won the show, but in 2019 he was dating Love Island 2018 star Laura Anderson... This soon fizzled out!
In November 2021, Max became a dad for the first time after his son was born.
2016 - Love Island: Cara de la Hoyde and Nathan Massey
After coupling up on day one of Love Island 2016, it was love at first sight for Cara de la Hoyde and Nathan Massey, who went on to beat Olivia Buckland and Alex Bowen in the series two final.
2016 - Love Island: Cara de la Hoyde and Nathan Massey
Despite splitting for a short period, Cara and Nathan rekindled their romance after discovering Cara was expecting the couple's first baby.
After Cara gave birth to baby Freddie, Nathan then proposed to his girl back in the Love Island villa, with the pair getting married in 2019.
Cara and Nathan then welcomed their second child, a baby girl called Delilah, in August 2020.
2017 - Love Island: Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies
It didn't take long for Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies to couple up on Love Island series three, with the pair going on to win the show ahead of Chris Hughes and Olivia Attwood.
Despite this, the pair ended their romance just before Christmas in 2017, but they have remained friends!
2017 - Love Island: Kem Cetinay
As well as landing a record deal with his Love Island BFF Chris Hughes (and a TV show to follow), Kem appeared on Dancing On Ice and had a stint on This Morning as their showbiz reporter.
In 2019 he was also unveiled as Primark's first ever male ambassador. Kem also took part in Soccer Aid in 2021, 2022 and 2023 playing for The Rest of the World.
2017 - Love Island: Amber Davies
Despite being romantically linked with the likes of Chris Clark and Liam Payne, Amber remained single since her split from Kem, until she went public with her new boyfriend in October 2020.
Pursuing her dream of being on stage, Amber landed her dream role in Dolly Parton's West End musical 9 To 5 alongside the likes of Louise Redknapp, and she received amazing reviews.
She took part in Dancing On Ice in 2024, and she's also starred in West End shows Bring It On: The Musical, Back to the Future: The Musical, and Pretty Woman.
2018 - Love Island: Jack Fincham and Dani Dyer
The nation fell in love with Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham when they coupled up and won Love Island in 2018.
Despite high hopes for the couple, Dani and Jack announced they'd split up in April 2019.
2018 - Love Island: Dani Dyer
Just weeks after her split from Jack, Dani started dating her ex-boyfriend Sammy Kimmence, and the pair welcomed a baby boy called Santiago into the world in January 2021. However, in July 2021 Dani reportedly split from Sammy after he was jailed for three years.
As well as this, the reality star has reportedly made more than £1 million since she left the villa, with various clothing deals, Instagram posts and her own eyelash product.
Dani also appeared in EastEnders in June 2021, joining her dad Danny Dyer. She's now engaged to West Ham and England footballer Jarrod Bowen, with the pair welcoming twin girls into the world in May 2023.
2018 - Love Island: Jack Fincham
After his split from Dani, Jack joined the cast of series seven of Celebs Go Dating, in an attempt to find his perfect girl.
Jack has also teamed up with brands like McDonald's and Protein World, and his debut clothing line was due out in 2019 but we've still seen no sign of it.
In 2020, Jack announced he'd become a dad after a brief romance with his friend Casey Ranger resulted in the pair welcoming a baby girl called Blossom.
Jack is now loved-up with former TOWIE star Chloe Brockett.
2019 - Love Island: Amber Gill and Greg O'Shea
After getting her heart broken by Michael Griffiths, Amber Gill was swept off her feet when Irish hunk Greg O'Shea entered the villa with just two weeks to go!
Despite only knowing each other for 12 days, Greg and Amber were crowned winners of the 2019 series, beating Tommy Fury and Molly-Mae for the Love Island crown.
Unfortunately, the pair split just five weeks after leaving the villa, with Amber going on to secure a £1 million clothing line deal with Miss Pap. Greg returned to Ireland to complete his Law degree and play rugby and even took part in the Tokyo Olympics for Ireland. He's now engaged to his girlfriend.
Amber went on to date Arsenal Ladies footballer Jen Beattie, but it looks like this is now over.
2020 - Winter Love Island: Paige Turley and Finn Tapp
Paige Turley and Finn Tapp were the first ever winners of Winter Love Island at the start of 2020! The pair fell in love quickly in the villa and quickly moved in together back in the UK.
After three years, the pair announced they'd split in June 2023. After the pair both appeared on Celebrity Ex On The Beach in 2024, a number of fans accused the pair of 'faking' their split, but Paige was quick to shut them down.
2021 - Love Island: Millie Court and Liam Reardon
Despite their hiccup during Casa Amor week, Essex girl Millie and Welsh lad Liam totally fell for each other in the villa! During the final, Liam asked Millie to be his official girlfriend and the pair moved in together back in the UK.
The pair shocked fans in July 2022, announcing they'd decided to split. HOWEVER, in May 2023, the couple rekindled their romance, much to the delight of fans. Since then, they've been totally smitten!
2022 - Love Island: Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti
Although they had a number of ups and downs during their time in the Love Island villa, 2022 contestants Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti were crowned the winners ahead of Gemma Owen and Luca Bish.
After they went 'exclusive' days before the final, the pair enjoyed an 11-month romance in the UK, before announcing they'd split in June 2023. However, in a huge twist, just weeks later the pair were back on!
HOWEVER, in another twist, Ekin-Su released a statement in January 2024 to confirm she'd parted ways from Davide once again, admitting she chose to end the relationship. One year later and Ekin-Su returned to the Love Island villa for the second series of All Stars, and Davide introduced to the world to his new girlfriend on Instagram.
2023 - Winter Love Island: Sanam Harrinanan and Kai Fagan
Sanam Harrinanan and Kai Fagan were crowned the winners of Love Island series nine in early 2023, beating Lana Jenkins and Ron Hall. Sanam made history by becoming the first ever Casa Amor bombshell to go on to win!
The pair are still together now and in April 2024 Kai proposed to Sanam!
2023 - Love Island - Jess Harding and Sammy Root
During the final on Monday 31st July, Jess Harding and Sammy Root were crowned the winners of series 10 by host Maya Jama. The pair went official with their romance in the villa and had big plans on the outside.
However, Jess and Sammy released a statement in October 2023 to confirm they'd decided to split. Sammy went on to appear on the second series of All Stars in 2025, making it to the final alongside Elma Pazar.
2024 - Love Island: All Stars - Molly Smith and Tom Clare
The first ever series of Love Island: All Stars aired for five weeks in January-February 2024, with Molly Smith and Tom Clare coupling up and going on to win the show during the final on Monday 19th February.
Just a few months after winning, Tom moved back up North to be closer to Molly, with the pair also enjoying a number of holidays together. They've now bought a house together and are renovating it.
2024 - Love Island - Mimii Ngulube and Josh Oyinsan
Mimii Ngulube and Josh Oyinsan were crowned the winners of the 2024 Summer series, beating Nicole Young and Ciaran Davies during the final at the end of July. However, the pair announced they'd split in October 2024.
2025 - Love Island: All Stars - Gabby Allen and Casey O'Gorman
On his third attempt of appearing on the show, Casey O'Gorman was crowned the winner of Love Island: All Stars series two alongside Gabby Allen!
As if that wasn't enough drama in one episode, the former Islanders chose to dump Harriett and Ronnie after they found themselves in the bottom three following a public vote.
Speaking to Maya Jama after their exit, Harriett said of being dumped by their fellow Islanders: “The easiest thing to say is that we did it had a relationship before. I was just a bit hurt because my friends were sat there and the people who helped me through my journey and tried to make me trust Ronnie again, threw it back in my face and said it wasn’t going to work.”
Ronnie added: “I don’t think there’s a stronger couple than us, I really don’t. I’m happy with the whole journey, coming in from day one. I feel like I’ve grown as a person, become a better person, that’s what I wanted to do. Long may it continue with Harriett.”
The Love Island final aired on Monday 17th February on ITV2/STV2 and is available to catch up on ITVX.
Now read:
Everything you need to know about Love Island host Maya Jama
Love Island fans slam bosses for 'scraping the barrel' with All Star bombshells
Love Island viewers in hysterics at Curtis Pritchard's dancing to Jason Derulo
Rayo Premium