Yes-yes dear reader - I'm hooked! I'm loving Love Island so much that it's become like Big Brother to me - I need a daily dose to fix my addiction.
Before it started on M-Net (weeknights at 23h05) I didn't understand what all the fuss was about - I was convinced the international hype was overhyped and I only tuned in to become familiar with the format.
I was a bit: "Yeah, schmeh, meh," during the opening episodes and then next thing wham! I realised I was addicted. Why?! How did it happen?
It's because it's such light hearted fun but with real reality TV relationships that I've always loved so much.
The format
In case you aren't familiar with the format, it's simple: a group of guys and girls move into a villa together, they partner-up and undergo a series of challenges to see if they're right for each other.
At various intervals they have to choose whether they want to stay with their partners or swap and incompatible partners get voted out through a combo of Islander and viewer votes.
The couple with the strongest relationship at the end wins £50,000, which I'm convinced will go to Tommy and Molly-Mae - or Unitooth as I like to call Molly 'cos she looks like she only has one big tooth.
The fab
The relationships are fascinating to watch, and so are their butts! One of my favourite things about the show is how unpolitically correct it is when it comes to flaunting bods.
Both the girls and guys only wear swimming cozzies, except for special dates and night-time parties. Other than that it's boobs, booty, brawn and butts all over the place and there's a freedom to it that I find very liberating.
My best is how confident they are with their bodies - and how non-judgmental they are. Sometimes you see a close-up of a butt that doesn't look media "perfect" and everyone seems so happy about it.
Overall the show celebrates the concept of sexiness BUT it also pokes fun at it, which I love. It doesn’t take it seriously and yet it still enjoys it. It's tricky to explain in exact words except to say that it's uplifting.
It presents life as funny and playful while still acknowledging that our relationships are complicated and mess with our emotions.
The casting is excellent because every one of the Islanders has a unique personality and they really present their best sides. You can see they genuinely enjoy each other's company - the girls are very tight and loyal to each other.
Of course they're presenting their best sides but what's wrong with that? There's obviously a lot about them that we don't see but isn't that how things should be? Shouldn't we always try to be our best selves when it comes to our relationships with others?
The gameplay aspect is also intriguing - seeing how some of the couples definitely like each other while others are in it for the bucks. You have no idea how much I enjoy trying to work out who's being sincere and who's NOT (Side eye to Curtis!).
Other reasons to watch: the production quality's excellent and the voiceover is fully aware of how cheesy it is which keeps a smile on your dial.
I know I'm gonna feel very iffy when it finishes next week - on Monday, 2 September. It's being replaced by the returning Late Late Show with James Corden and then the American Love Island starts on Friday, 27 September.
I'm iffy about this because the Americans often turn subtle reality shows into brash game shows instead - it's what happened with their Big Brother.
I'll give it a shot obviously but will only feel really satisfied once the UK one returns - or we get our own version.
Interestingly the next British season will be filming in South Africa for a post-Christmas season. The current one we're seeing was filmed in Majorca, Spain and they'll be moving the production to South Africa for the next one because it's going to be winter in Europe.
I know I'll be very stressed about sunblock while watching. I'm finding myself stressing about whether the Islanders are wearing enough sunblock and I don't even know the Majorca sun but I do know the South African one and they're going to need sunblock up the wazzzzooo.
Bring it on!!
