‘It works if you have a real connection’
OLIVIA BUCKLAND & ALEX BOWEN:
They may have missed out on winning Love Island 2016, but Olivia Buckland and Alex Bowen certainly won in the romance stakes, getting engaged the following year and becoming the show’s most stable couple.
And they believe having absolute trust is the secret to making things last outside of the villa.
Olivia, 24, says, “Love Island is a bubble and sometimes couples come out and think they have this connection, but really their connection is just about their shared experience. The couples that do work have more than just the show in common, they have a real connection. “There was so much attention surrounding Love Island when we left, and it resulted in a massive lifestyle change for us both. If we didn’t have each other, we wouldn’t have coped as well as we have done. If you’re meant to be together, then you should be there for each other and it should be easier. I don’t think our relationship actually changed at all once the cameras weren’t there. “It’s very hard to survive without trust. People often leave different comments on our pictures, and on Alex’s pictures there’ll be millions of girls commenting on how “fit” and “sexy” he is. While it’s weird at first, you do get used to it. We trust each other – it’s not a bad thing that your man is fancied by other women.
“The main thing is to remember why you’re together – it’s not for sponsored posts, it’s about love and having a connection.”
Alex, 26, adds, “Having your relationship in the spotlight is quite daunting and you always think there’ll be people out to get you. It’s all down to trust. We get jealous in a jokey way, but there isn’t anything to be jealous about when you trust each other.”