Love Island: Toni's Mum Shares Concern After Harrison Recoupling And Admits She 'Wouldn't Mind' If Toni Came Home

Graziadaily

16-07-2025

For audiences at home, it's hard to tell what hypnotic aftershave Harrison Solomon has been wearing in the Love Island villa, but the girls, especially the shows first American contestant Toni Laites, are intoxicated.
Ever since Toni and Harrison laid eyes on each other, Toni has been under his spell. For the first week or so it was sweet to witness; they have a natural chemistry and make each other laugh. However, Harrison quickly exposed himself as a serial playboy, and his favoured technique is to keep Toni interested while getting to know as many other women as possible.
When Helena Ford showed interest in him, he quickly brushed Toni and their connection aside. That was until Helena went back to Harry Cooksley and Harrison came crawling back to Toni. Then came Casa Amor. Toni and Harrison were on fairly good terms when the boys left the villa, but it took Harrison approximately 10 minutes to kiss someone else, and then recouple with a different person.
Last week, he returned to the main villa with Lauren Wood, which was a surprise to exactly no one. Knowing what he's like, Toni also re-coupled with Cacherel Mercer, much to Harrison's dismay. What followed in the week since Casa Amor has been difficult to watch with thousands of viewers taking to social media to say so.
After being flirtatiously questioned by Harrison, Toni admitted that she still has feelings for him and that she preferred being in a couple with him to Cach. At this point, Harrison decided to stay with Lauren and Lauren later revealed they had slept together on two different occasions. The next day, he returned to Toni and asked her to take him back.
Then in a shock re-coupling Toni decided to forgive and pick Harrison, still unaware that he has slept with Lauren. Another victim of the situation, Cach told Toni, 'That was one of the most embarrassing things I've been through in my entire life. You knew what decision you wanted to make, you were just waiting for the go ahead from someone else.'
Watching all of this unfold from home, Toni's mum Leslie has taken to social media to share her thoughts on the situation.
Breaking down in tears, Leslie said she was 'devastated' by Toni's decision to take Harrison back. 'I feel like I just watched my daughter walk out onto the train tracks and there is a bullet train coming for her, and I can't scream to her, I can't grab her from the tracks,' she said.
'I am really disappointed, and I'm sure there are many of you that are as well. I felt like at one point she really woke up and was like "I'm done". I feel like him doing this sneaky "come to the terrace" thing before the re-coupling is another really calculated move to keep him in the villa.'
Leslie added that her daughter is 'smarter than this' and has 'more pride than this', but she 'doesn't know what is happening in that villa'.
'I am devastated by this decision that she has made,' Toni's mum continued. 'I've devastated that Cach was so hurt in this and that she blew her chance with a really good guy, who would have treated her with respect.'
She also admitted that she's 'all for a comeback' but does not believe Harrison is genuine. 'Someone give me a best case scenario after this episode,' she concluded, 'because I've got nothing. If Toni came home now, I'd be ok with it at this point.'
Viewers at home agree. 'Harrison is genuinely one of the most sickening men ever to be on Love Island ,' reads on X post. 'All he has done is make Toni and Lauren feel crazy, and he fully enjoys watching them mentally struggle.'
Another viewer asked, 'Is Harrison the biggest villain we've seen?' While a third wrote, 'All jokes aside. I feel so bad for Lauren. I don't think men understand the emotional toll it has on women – when you give your body to someone and they move like Harrison.'
Leslie is not the only one to voice her concerns about the show. Jessye Werner, communications manager at Women's Aid, has said: 'In recent years, Love Island and other forms of reality TV have been repeatedly called out by viewers for allowing in contestants that had a history of abusive, coercive and manipulative behaviour in previous relationships. As a result, production companies have been more careful when it comes to selecting contestants and calling out toxic behaviours when we see them.'
'Despite these positive steps,' she continued, 'we still see unhealthy patterns of behaviour on these shoes, showing just how steeped in misogyny and sexism our society still is. Women are often lied to, slut-shamed and manipulated, as well as laughed at behind their backs. Misogyny and sexism lay the foundation for the tolerance of abuse and violence – it reinforces a culture that excuses and trivialises violence against women and girls. More must be done to educate contestants on sexism and misogyny, and it is a great credit to viewers who take to social media, continuing to call out these behaviours as soon as they see them.'
History has a habit of repeating itself and Love Island is once again becoming toxic and uncomfortable to watch. As Leslie's emotional video attests, it's not only the islanders who stand to get hurt from the toxic mind games and manipulation, but their loved ones and viewers relating from home too. Even after all these years, the producers seem to underestimate the level of support the contestants need while overestimating our appetite for schadenfreude. At what point do we switch off for good?
Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across entertainment, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things pop culture for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow with equal respect).