For Tareq Ferguson, a long-time Love Island viewer and TikTok commentator with more than 50,000 followers, one of the biggest changes in recent series has been watching male contestants become more passive.
“The men want to be passenger princesses,” he says. “They want to sit back, kick up their feet, while the women do the grafting and do the work.”
On this year’s show, Lorenzo Alessi was reluctant to make Julia Majchrzak a morning coffee, something many contestants see as an act of care for the person they’re coupled up with. It become a flashpoint on the show and sparked debate among viewers.
For Ferguson, moments like those reflect a wider shift in modern dating, with some men appearing increasingly hesitant to take the lead.
But some research suggest that men’s reluctance may stem less from disinterest and more from uncertainty about how to navigate dating today.
In a recent Cosmopolitan survey, men said online dating had made then feel judged on their appearance. While others said repeated rejection and lack of matches had damaged their confidence.
Research like this echoes what Coco believes is happening both inside and outside the villa.