Love Island UK fan-favorite Toni Laites has faced a rocky journey this season — and her mother, Leslie, is well aware of the villa turmoil.
As the sole American bombshell makes a splash on the ITV dating show, Leslie is recapping the daily episodes starring her daughter and sharing her “observations” via social media.
“My husband was sitting next to me, and he said, ‘[The boys] are like toddlers. It’s, like, they’ve never seen a girl before. It’s kind of mind-blowing,’” Leslie said in a Monday, July 7, TikTok video. “It is what it is. They’re there living their experience. That’s what we’re gonna say: They’re living their best life.”
Toni, 25, was the first late arrival to appear on Love Island season 12, which premiered in June. After briefly coupling up with Ben Holbrough and Conor Phillips, respectively, she found a connection with Harrison Solomon. Their romance, however, was far from smooth sailing as Harrison, 22, was simultaneously getting to know fellow Islander Helena Ford. Harrison even kissed Helena the day before Toni’s 25th birthday, setting off a blowout argument with his partner.
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Toni eventually issued Harrison an ultimatum, and he chose to recouple with her and cut off any solo communication with Helena, 29. The pair seemed to put any drama behind them until Harrison and the boys set off for Casa Amor in an episode earlier this month.
“Toni gave the greatest pep talk to all the girls, and I literally sat there saying, ‘Just listen to your own advice [and] don’t be a mug,’” Leslie said of her daughter, encouraging her fellow Islanders to get to know the new bombshells instead of blindly staying loyal. “We don’t use that saying over here, so I can sort of figure out what it means. … She still seemed a little hung up on Harrison, and I’m hopeful she lets that go.”
The two villas went head-to-head in a series of intimate challenges during Monday’s episode, where Toni got to hear (via read-aloud texts) that Harrison kissed another girl multiple times.
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“You saw a little light went off in her head, and she needs to roll with that,” Leslie quipped. “I’m excited and hoping that tomorrow there’s a big difference.”
Toni started getting to know new arrival Cach Mercer during the Tuesday, July 8, episode, leading to a romantic kiss outside of a challenge before they decided to share a bed that night.
Toni will next decide whether to recouple with Cach, 24, or stick with Harrison in the Wednesday, July 9, episode.
Love Island UK airs almost daily on ITV2 and is available to stream stateside on Hulu several days later.