Sinead Butler
Aug 30, 2022
ITV 2
Love Island's Luca Bish has gone official with Gemma Owen after he asked her to be his girlfriend in an extravagant display of affection that has divided the web.
In a post to his 1.5m followers, the 23-year-old pulled out all the stops for the 19-year-old with red roses galore, a cello player, and lit candles to set the scene along with big red lettered balloons floating on the pool that read: "Be my girlfriend."
Bish also gifted his new girlfriend a £6,500 Cartier bracelet and the pair hugged and kissed in celebration of becoming boyfriend and girlfriend.
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The couple found love on the most recent series of the ITV dating show and came second behind winners Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti.
For the post caption, the fishmonger simply put "Finally." with a love heart emoji to confirm his new relationship status with Owen, who is the daughter of footballer Michael Owen.
Of course, the pair's Love Island pals were happy for them and sent their congratulatory messages in the comments.
Andrew Le Page who placed fourth with girlfriend Tasha Ghouri commented: "About time," and Dami Hope who came third with girlfriend Indiyah Polack wrote: "Ran over here to see this beauty [love-heart emojis] you didn’t lack at all."
While Love Island winner, Davide Sanclimenti added: "Was about time, congrats."
Owen also posted snaps of the occasion to her 2m Instagram followers, with the first photo being of Bish holding a bouquet of roses followed by photos of the girlfriend proposal.
"Finally official Thank you @lucabish for such a special night!" the caption read.
Fans of the couple shared their delight at the news and loved Bish's grand gesture.
\u201cLuca outdid himself honestly it was so cute glad Gemma is getting the princess treatment she deserves\u201d— \ud83e\udd0d (@\ud83e\udd0d) 1661788770
\u201cCongratulations to Luca and Gemma,may your love story be filled with lots of happiness and joy.wishing you guys all the best in the future.lots of love\ud83e\udd79\ud83d\ude0d #loveisland #lemma\u201d— ladyelle (@ladyelle) 1661789040
\u201cHonestly I love how Luca asked Gemma to be his girlfriend #loveisland\u201d— - (@-) 1661800404
\u201cLuca is so Sweet... that video is so beautiful \u2764\ufe0f\u2764\ufe0f. Congratulations to my favourite #LoveIsland couple; Luca and Gemma.\u201d— Nuellita (@Nuellita) 1661795686
While others were left confused and thought the fanfare was an actual proposal.
\u201cthe way i thought this was gonna be a marriage proposal\u201d— chesa\u02e3 \ud83e\uddf8 (@chesa\u02e3 \ud83e\uddf8) 1661830223
\u201cluca done a full proposal just to ask Gemma to be his gf??\u201d— Angela (@Angela) 1661788357
\u201cLol The gemma and Luca proposal is giving theatrical, is it marriage?\u201d— \u00a3 (@\u00a3) 1661788288
\u201cI thought this was an engagement announcement \ud83d\ude05\u201d— Laurennn (@Laurennn) 1661853503
On the other hand, there were also people who weren't huge fans of the proposal and described the couple as "PR driven" as the video included different camera angles (including a drone shot above the pool) which a third person off-camera would've captured.
\u201cLuca and Gemma are the most PR driven couple this far - every single moment captured with a 3rd person and angles pre-determined #loveisland\u201d— legally brunette \ud83d\ude42 (@legally brunette \ud83d\ude42) 1661810225
\u201cThey think they\u2019re still on love island\u201d— nollaig (@nollaig) 1661855308
\u201cLuca and Gemma are like a deranged cult this is hell\u201d— Harrison Brocklehurst (@Harrison Brocklehurst) 1661797436
\u201cI wonder how many takes this took.\u201d— The Odd One Out \ud83d\udeb6\ud83c\udfff\u200d\u2642\ufe0f (@The Odd One Out \ud83d\udeb6\ud83c\udfff\u200d\u2642\ufe0f) 1661830751
\u201cwhat in the hallmark christmas movie is this- #LoveIsland\u201d— basic T (@basic T) 1661824582
Though fans of the couple defended them in light of the criticism on social media.
\u201cluca\u2019s girlfriend proposal to gemma jus proved how y\u2019all are so used to receiving the bare minimum that y\u2019all can\u2019t stand another person getting the treatment they deserve\u201d— shane (@shane) 1661842597
\u201c@harrisonjbrock y\u2019all jealous\u201d— Harrison Brocklehurst (@Harrison Brocklehurst) 1661797436
\u201cThey are sharing happy moments! unless you are viewing from a jealous point of view. Go fix yourself!\u201d— Zara Denise (@Zara Denise) 1661845245
\u201cDunno why everyone is soo pressed abt something a man is doing for HIS woman\u2026 Grand gesture sure.. but I don\u2019t see the issue here\u201d— 9 Mill (@9 Mill) 1661864314
\u201cVery hateful comment section. Not y\u2019all hating on a lovely moment\u201d— lydia (@lydia) 1661842253
Elsewhere, Owen recently made headlines after signing a “six-figure” deal to partner with fast fashion brand, PrettyLittleThing.
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