After 58 sizzling summer days in the Spanish sun, Liam Reardon and Millie Court emerged victoriously to be named winners of Love Island UK Season 7. Proving their true love for one another, both contestants agreed to split the prize money rather than keep it for themselves. At last blush, the Love Island couple is still together and going strong.
While Liam and Millie spent more than 40 consecutive days together as a couple inside the villa, several other contestants were summarily dumped from the island before they got a chance to find love, while others spent far too long gallivanting with romantic partners in a way that deserved an early dismissal.
Hugo: Stayed Too Long
As the resident bad boy of the season, it seems Hugo was only spared time and again in order to maintain his dramatic arc as the lecherous heel that everybody loved to hate and hated to love. But the fact remains, Hugo was a brash inconsiderate playboy who coupled with four different women before being dumped on day 38. He made no real attempt to find love.
Without an ounce of compunction, Hugo went from being coupled with Sharon to Chloe to Sharon to AJ back to Chloe, and finally cracked when he fell for Amy at Casa Amor. Hugo broke Sharon and Chloe's hearts and was clearly playing the game to win money, not love.
Shannon: Left Too Soon
Bearing the inglorious distinction of being the shortest-lived contestant in season 7, Scottish TV personality Shannon Singh was dumped from the island on Day 2 before she even had a chance to say hello, much less find love. Worse, she was dumped on a lame rules technicality when Chloe entered after coupling took place and chose Shannon's man, Aaron F. As the odd woman out, Shannon was dumped immediately.
In addition to having no good reason for being dumped so early, Shannon's online popularity as an Instagram influencer could have helped Love Island boost the show's rating had she stayed longer.
Chloe: Stayed Too Long
Although she parlayed her winning personality into a respectable second-place finish, Chloe's romantic ambivalence and obvious gamesmanship were rewarded far too often and she was frankly lucky to stick around long enough to realize her connection with Toby.
Fans really wanted Chloe to stay with Hugo, with who she was coupled to start and seemed to share genuine chemistry, only to recouple up with Toby, then Hugo again, then Dale, and back to Toby again. How she wasn't voted off the island for his is anyone's guess.
Jake: Left Too Soon
Although he did not win the grand prize, Jake was part of the best and longest-lasting Love Island couple of the season with Liberty. The two were paired on day one and remained loyal until they mutually decided to walk away four days before the finale. And they still left too early.
While it's extremely admirable that they were able to recognize and admit to each other that a real long-term romance was not in the cards, as the strongest couple that even everybody in the villa was rooting for, they had as legitimate a shot at winning the championship. Had they waited four days longer before calling it quits, they might be $50,000 richer.
Tyler: Stayed Too Long
Due to his dramatic Casa Amor betrayal of his original partner Kaz, Tyler should have left the island far sooner than he did. He not only broke Kaz's heart by choosing Clarisse after returning to the villa, but he was also extremely fortunate not to be voted off by his fellow islanders as soon as it happened.
Worse yet, it was Kaz's decision to recouple with Tyler after Clarisse was dumped from the island, bailing him out when he least deserved it. As a result, their fourth-place finish felt disingenuous at best.
Chuggs: Left Too Soon
Much like Shannon, Oliver "Chuggs" Wallis was victimized by a mere number's game and was voted off the island for nothing he did wrong. Rachel was given 24 hours to choose between Chuggs or Brad, and once she chose the latter, Chuggs was asked to leave after just three days in the villa since he was the only person left to not be in a couple.
Without being given much of a chance to find love, the man who derives his nickname from a combination of "cuddles" and "hugs" got a raw deal, as he had a very kindhearted and easy-to-like personality that could have gone a long way in the competition if he didn't leave so early.
Toby: Stayed Too Long
Many fans felt that Toby should have been dismissed after his poor treatment of Kaz in the first week of the show. After dumping Kaz to be with Chloe, Toby's uncontrollable wanderlust led him to choose Abigail, then Mary. The only reason he made it as a runner-up is that Chloe chose him, not vice versa. If he had his druthers, Toby would still be with Mary.
While dating around is certainly part of the Love Island experience, mistreating women and toying with their emotions in such a flippant way is anything but cool, and never should have been rewarded with a second-place finish.
Liberty: Left Too Soon
For the same reasons cited for why Jake left too soon, Liberty had the best opportunity to win the grand prize due to being part of the most durable couple all season long. Partnered with Jake on day 1 of the popular reality dating show, Liberty showed the utmost fidelity to her partner for 54 days before voluntarily walking away.
And with only four days remaining, Liberty still left before her time was truly up. She did not get voted off the island for anything she did wrong in terms of gameplay, she left on her own volition, which was noble but also premature.
Faye: Stayed Too Long
Of the top three female finishers, none had more romantic partners in season 7 than Faye. After dating Brad, Liam, Teddy, Sam, and going back to Teddy in the end, Faye proved she was more interested in coupling with whoever was available during a given week simply to avoid elimination. By contrast, Teddy remained loyal the entire time and dating no one but Faye.
As such, Faye's behavior was tolerated far too long, with fans in the end loudly decrying that she did not deserve someone as good-hearted and loyal as Teddy.
Matt: Left Too Soon
It's hard for fans not to wonder what would have become of the coupledom between Matt and Kaz had he stuck around a bit longer. After entering the villa on day 29, Kaz chose Matt to be her partner and doubled down on her feelings when she re-chose him again a week later. Alas, her gnawing feelings for Tyler left Matt in the cold.
With a good attitude and gentlemanly demeanor, it was sad to see Matt leave for reasons out of his grasp. Once Kaz focused on Tyler, Matt failed to recouple and was left as the odd man out.