Love Island ‘s Jake has come under fire for suddenly changing his mind when it came to the L word.
When having a chat with Liberty on the show, Jake made it clear as he said: “I’m not ready to say I love you.”
Then mere seconds later – after some questioning from his girlfriend – he admitted to Liberty: “I love you,” leading many fans to question Jake’s genuine feelings or whether he was game playing in the villa.
Many accused Jake of ‘Love bombing’ which is immersing your partner in ‘love’ even if it is not real or comes from a place of honest admiration.
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Talking to Cosmo, therapist Sasha Jackson explains that: “Love bombing is characterised by excessive attention, admiration, and affection with the goal to make the recipient feel dependent and obligated to that person.”
Scientifically, love bombing feels good because it boosts your dopamine and endorphins naturally.
The receiver feels special, needed, loved, valuable, and worthy, which all increase a person’s self-esteem.
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Love Island fans took to Twitter to express their outrage at Jake’s game-playing and lack of respect for Liberty.
One Tweeted: “NOT JAKE FORCING “I LOVE YOU” OUT OF HIS MOUTH, So desperate for the 50k.”
Referencing the Jim Carrey movie, one said: “Watching Jake tell liberty he loves her was like watching liar liar where he’s trying to say the pen is red.”
Some users even gave Jake a nickname, saying: “FINALLY THE GIRLS HAVE REUNITED AGAINST JAKE THE FAKE!!!!
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Fans believed they could tell Jake was not being real, with one posting: “Jake really said Imma gaslight the hell out of this girl.”
Another added: “not jake saying i love you after liberty bringing up that he’s never said it.”
Picking up on the unbalanced conversation, one said: “Liberty came with clear points and Jake is waffling. The pure deflection and doubting her when he should be reassuring her. A mess.”
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Another expert, Lori Nixon Bethea, PhD, owner of Intentional Hearts Counseling Services, told the mag: “Love bombers seek to quickly obtain the affection and attention of someone whom they are romantically pursuing by presenting an idealised image of themselves.”
Their goal is to enhance their ego by gaining power over those they are pursuing.