Exclusive: Love Island’s Ayo Odukoya lifts the lid on those secret girlfriend rumours

The Love Island 2024 finalist has set the record straight

Ayo Odukoya

by Nathan Katnoria |
Published on

Love Island’s Ayo Odukoya was involved in one of the biggest love triangles of the series with Jessica Spencer and Mimii Ngulube, but it wasn’t just his love life inside the villa that got fans talking.

Shortly after the Love Island 2024 final, it was claimed that Ayo had a secret girlfriend in a viral TikTok video. The clip showed a woman jumping into a pool and was captioned, “Jump in the pool fully clothed or admit your boyfriend went on Love Island and came fourth.”

Although Ayo wasn’t named in the video, he and Jess did finish the series in fourth place so when the loved-up finalists paid us a visit at Closer HQ last week we had to get to the bottom of the rumours.

Jessica Spencer and Ayo Odukoya
Ayo and Jess made it all the way to the Love Island final ©ITV Pictures

Clearing things up once and for all, Ayo told us, “I don’t have a girlfriend. I didn’t have a girlfriend when I was [in the villa], before, after. Not yet, I should say.”

Turning to Jess, he added, “This will be my girlfriend. I don’t have a girl. This is my girl,” and AWW.

When asked how he reacted when he saw the TikTok, Ayo said, “It’s a laugh. I got sent it and I was creasing. I was like, ‘say swear, I had a girl?’”

Ayo Odukoya and Jessica Spencer
Ayo and Jessica met in Casa Amor ©ITV Pictures

As for what she thinks about the rumours, Jess said, “I think people want me to be riled up as well and it’s just like, what do you want me to do?

“I had a past as well before I went in the villa. I was seeing people before I went in the villa. It is what it is.”

Branding those behind the video as “clout chasers”, Ayo added, “It’s f**king boring.”

Ayo Odukoya and Jessica Spencer
Ayo's revealed plans to make Jessica his girlfriend ©ITV Pictures

Although Ayo told us he plans to make Jess his official girlfriend, he wouldn’t reveal exactly when he’s going to pop the question.

“Don’t ask me questions on this,” he joked.

“I’ve got everything planned. I’m really about to set something up. She tried to flip it on me today as well.

“We’re going to take our time, but it’s going to happen very soon.”

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Nathan Katnoria is heat and Closer online’s senior digital writer. He became obsessed with Love Island when Malin Andersson came back to confront Terry Walsh in series two and hasn’t looked back since. When he’s not interviewing former Islanders, Nathan is scrolling through their Instagram feeds for relationship updates and piping hot tea.

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