What Love Island tells us about the changing face of dating

On the fourth series of Love Island UK in 2018, Megan Barton-Hanson pulled fellow Islander, Wes Nelson, for a chat.

Just moments earlier, she had ended her relationship with Eyal Booker after admitting the pair had little more than physical chemistry. Now, sitting opposite Wes, who had been coupled up with Laura Anderson since the start of the competition, she decided not to wait for him to make the first move.

“I think it’s pretty obvious that I do really fancy you,” she told him. “And I just felt like, if I didn’t say something, I’d regret it massively.”

By the end of the episode, viewers had a new nickname for her: “Muggy Megan”. Critics accused her of moving too quickly between relationships and breaking “girl code”. Others admired her honesty.

At the time, Barton-Hanson argued that she had been treated differently to her male counterparts. “People definitely do give girls a harder time than men… It’s sexist.”

But eight years later, scenes like Barton-Hanson’s no longer feel quite so out of the ordinary. Until this series, the opening coupling had always seen the men choose first. This year, the shows rules were changed, with the women making the first choice.