Love Island Australia 2023 by no means lacks spicy scenes, so how does it manage safe sex and consent in the villa?
As we’ve seen so far, the Islanders waste no time getting down and dirty (*ahem* Nate Page and Georgia Murray), but behind the scenes, there are plenty of precautions that make their intimate moments a pleasant reality.
Ahead of Love Island Australia‘s fifth instalment, it was revealed the series implemented the “Consent Heart” — a bedside button that, when lit up by the Islanders, indicates to producers that both parties consent to being intimate.
It’s an amazing addition to ensure the safety and comfort of Islanders.
“Consent is massive in there,” 2023 star Tyra Johannes told Refinery29. “It’s huge, which I think is really important.”
However, she did confess it could be “embarrassing” if you forgot to use the Consent Heart.
“I actually got in trouble one night because Ben [Richardson] and I were fumbling in bed and we hadn’t pressed the button,” she said.
As such, the producers — A.K.A the “Voice of God”, as Lucinda Strafford named it — would call the handsy Islanders out.
“The producers were like, ‘stop touching each other’, ‘turn on your buttons if you’re okay with it’,” Tyra recalled. “Everyone was asleep, it was real embarrassing.
“It was over the speaker, so you kind of get a little bit shamed… if you didn’t press your button,” she laughs. “[But] I think they do a really good job at that. Especially with the whole consent thing.”
Love Island Australia contestants undergo multiple STD tests
Tyra also explained that in order to appear on Love Island Australia, she and her co-stars underwent several STD and STI checks ahead of travelling to Spain.
“As part of the whole application process, I think we ended up doing about three STI checks before going in there,” the 22-year-old said.
“The last one was pretty much like the day before we flew out. So we’re pretty confident in knowing that everyone in there is negative.”
In addition, there were plenty of condoms on hand to ensure further sexual safety.
“There are condoms in all the drawers, like, it’s all provided there for you,” she said.
“We got the whole run-through.”
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