Love Island fans have worked out ‘real reason' behind Conor's brutal recoupling decision
But some fans think the surprise move was actually motivated by another girl.
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Conor shocked fans as he ditched Billykiss during tonight's recoupling
Credit: Eroteme
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Billykiss was left stunned by his decision
Credit: Eroteme
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Conor decided to recouple with Yasmin
Credit: Eroteme
Earlier in tonight's episode, Conor encouraged Shakira to end her romance with Harry after being mugged up over the past few days.
Shakira then pulled Harry for a chat and told him that they were over, paving the way for Conor to make his move.
Shortly after a recoupling was called, with Conor deciding to couple up with Yasmin, and ultimately dumping Billykiss.
During Conor's speech he said: "The last couple of days have been interesting, I've obviously been getting to know one person, we have loads to talk about.
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"I would like to couple up with this girl because I don't really know her as well as I probably should and I this will be a good opportunity to get to know her.
"Obviously I find this girl attractive and over the last while she's really changed my opinion on her and I never really got the chance."
The move left Billykiss surprised and was forced to couple up with only single lad Gio.
But some fans think Conor is secretly using Yasmin as a placeholder until he can get with Shakira.
Most read in TV
One wrote: "Okay but Ben should've went last cause Conor would've chosen Shakira then."
A second posted: "The couple that would make the most sense is Conor and Shakira."
A third said: "I think Conor is just using Yasmin and really wants Shakira," while a fourth added: "Conor doesn't want Billykiss or Yasmin, he's got his eye on Shakira."
Later that evening, Conor and Yasmin headed to the terrace and enjoyed a kiss.
Elsewhere, Harry recoupled with Helena and Ben picked Shakira.
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Fans think Conor is using Yasmin until he can get with Shakira
Credit: Eroteme
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The producers in The Compound come off as manipulative, faceless people who push the participants to do terrible things. 'I wanted to put a little bit of finger-pointing towards the people who create these really toxic situations and pass it off as entertainment,' she says. As readers, we know the producers have the power, but we recognise that the viewers are culpable too. Rawle watched a lot of Love Island during the covid lockdowns. 'I think that reality television shows normalised having people that we don't know inside our house as entertainment, which I think probably also paved the way for influencer culture, which I also wanted to criticise a little in this book,' she says. Aisling Rawle, author: 'I think that reality television shows normalised having people that we don't know inside our house as entertainment, which I think probably also paved the way for influencer culture." Photograph Moya Nolan While she sees influencing as a valid way of making a living, the 'transactional nature' of it can feel inauthentic and lead to people second-guessing what is a genuine human interaction or not. 'We all know that social media is fake, and we've known that for years, but I think the more it creeps into our lives, the more we've normalised that fakeness is the exchange of reality,' she says, adding later with a laugh: 'I feel like we're living in The Truman Show … I feel like that's just the norm now,' referring to the 1998 film starring Jim Carrey about a man whose entire life is filmed. She says that with reality television shows, 'there is a strange line between entertainment and exploitation', something that Lily discovers in the house. In The Compound, the participants know that to win the approval of the producers and viewers they must adhere to certain rules. These reflect larger societal expectations on people, says Rawle. 'The three driving forces of the reality TV show were, the driving forces of young adult life. Which is, you have to find a partner, you have to get a house, and then you have to get nice things. That's what it means to be a successful adult. I wanted to turn that up to the extreme.' Aisling Rawle, author: 'Once someone is told they are 'stupid' — and I don't like that word — it is so incredibly difficult to unburden them, and you'll find adults who are 50, 60, 70, still having it in the back of their head, because someone told them [once] 'you're stupid'.' Photograph Moya Nolan Lily is a character who thinks a lot about how people view her, and adjusts herself to meet their expectations. But she also has negative ideas about herself, believing she is stupid. She sees her worth as being tied up in her looks. Lily's belief that she is stupid is something Rawle noticed in students: how judgement can have a lasting impact. 'Once someone is told they are 'stupid' — and I don't like that word — it is so incredibly difficult to unburden them, and you'll find adults who are 50, 60, 70, still having it in the back of their head, because someone told them [once] 'you're stupid'.' The competition in The Compound pits beautiful people against beautiful people, creating a hierarchy of attractiveness. Lily believes she has to be the most desirable person in the compound, and compares herself to everyone else, 'which I think is a horrible way to be', says Rawle. The book is written in the first-person so that the reader could potentially 'understand Lily's experience, but also feel removed enough that you would confront your own associations of judgment'. Aisling Rawle, author: 'It can be a very despairing place, social media.' Photograph Moya Nolan The book helped Rawle work through some of her own frustrations about the issues she explores in it. 'It was very cathartic,' she says. She never knew what the next scene was going to be, comparing herself to an 'evil producer' of the show. 'But I also felt like a viewer of the show going 'who's going tonight?'' The book is underpinned by Rawle's feminism. Growing up with a younger brother and older sister, she says her teenage feminist awakening was spurred on by books such as Jane Eyre. More recently, the novel Detransition Baby by transgender writer Torrey Peters further helped her ideas of gender evolve. Though she once joined Facebook, she isn't on social media. Why? While she says there is a lot of good on the apps, for her staying focused is a priority. She adds: 'It can be a very despairing place, social media.' This gentle refusal of social media is a sign of how Rawle is able to decide what social norms she does and doesn't want to take on board. Part of the book is influenced by her experiences of earning more money after college, and finding that 'life revolved around what was the next thing to purchase, which to me didn't feel like there was a lot of fulfillment or meaning in it'. The Compound by Aisling Rawle The characters in The Compound undertake tasks in order to win expensive items. The tasks can be deeply unpleasant but are seen as worth it because of the result. As someone in her late 20s, she is part of a generation dealing with multiple stresses, most notably the housing crisis. She feels extremely lucky to be able to rent on her own, but recalls teaching piano in the evenings while being a teacher by day. 'I knew teachers who would go home on the weekend and do carpentry jobs, or personal trainer jobs,' she says. Excitingly for an Irish author, The Compound is being published in America and was recently chosen for the Good Morning America book club for July. Rawle remains sanguine: 'The book was the success for me. Everything else was secondary.' While The Compound does end at a moment that's a good jumping-off point for a sequel, Rawle's next book is about something totally unrelated. 'It's funny, the protagonist of the next book is very superstitious, and I've become superstitious — so I'm reluctant to say too much,' she offers. It's an exciting time for Rawle, but she seems well capable of dealing with the whirlwind of publishing a book on both sides of the Atlantic. All that's left is to ask the burning question: would she ever go on a reality show herself? 'It's a definite no,' she says, laughing. 'You couldn't pay me enough!' The Compound by Aisling Rawle, published by Harper Collins, is out now Read More Diary of a Gen Z Student: The differences between Irish and Portugese men when it comes to flirting
