I was on Love Island and the producers made me wear a bikini when I entered Casa Amor

Coco Lodge claimed today that the producers of Love Island forced her to wear a bikini against her wishes, leaving her feeling ‘humiliated’.

The former islander, 28, told MailOnline she fought off bosses who insisted she couldn’t wear a swimsuit during her entrance despite her saying she felt “uncomfortable” with the look they had chosen.

She joined the 2022 cast as a Casa Amor bombshell and was filmed in slow motion entering the Spanish villa ready to take children away from their partners during the show’s dramatic loyalty test.

Coco was left mortified after the producers told her to go after Andrew Le Page, 27, who was dating his girlfriend Tasha Ghouri, 24, and they were intimate under the covers, only to be rebuffed by the estate agent. roots once the challenge is over. .

In scenes that never aired on the ITV2 show, Coco sobbed after being kissed on her breasts by Andrew and then tried to reduce the act of sex to ‘I licked her boob or whatever’ in what became the most notable quote of the Serie.

Producers ordered Coco to be a ‘bad bitch’ and not a ‘sad bitch’ and riled her up until she confronted Andrew, in a move she said was to create more drama when she was actually in pain. a ‘landslide’.

Coco explained: ‘When you first arrive to self-isolate, you have to take photos in three options.

“I wanted to wear this orange bathing suit that I had, which was flattering on my body. However, they decided that I should wear a bikini, so I went back and forth with them because I didn’t feel comfortable.

“They said they didn’t want anyone in a bathing suit and they wanted all of us in bikinis. I was forced to wear a bikini and when I got there one of the other girls was in a bathing suit so I thought…you told me it’s not allowed and I really didn’t feel comfortable walking around in a bikini.

I knew there were going to be slow motion cameras and I’m sorry, not all of us have perfect bodies. I wanted to feel really cool just for that moment walking in. You put a lot of pressure on yourself and forced me to wear a bikini… I was humiliated.’

For the first time since her appearance on Love Island, in which Coco became the victim of a horrendous trolling, she revealed that the producers told her to pursue a romantic connection with Andrew even though he was paired with Tasha.

Coco was attracted to Davide Sanclimenti, but turned her attention to Andrew after the bosses lured her into the idea.

She ended up having genuine feelings for Andrew, their chemistry unquestionable as they passionately kissed by the villa’s pool.

She said: ‘It was hinted to me that I shouldn’t go for Davide and that I should ‘explore’ Andrew. I didn’t feel like I wanted to do it, but it was the way they worded it.

“Casa Amor is essentially a massive game to stay and you don’t want to go home, you want to stay in bed with someone.

“There is already a lot of pressure, so when they told me that I thought ‘I’m going to have to do it because I want to stay’. He wasn’t my first choice at all. They knew what they were doing. I felt manipulated and didn’t realize it until I left the villa and saw things unfold.

When Andrew and Tasha later rekindled their romance and Coco was left vulnerable, not only in competition as a ‘single’ islander but after feeling used, the producers told her to stop crying and stand up for herself.

She said: ‘With the whole ‘tit’ thing… I was so upset. I felt like I had been ripped off and before entering the villa I had just gotten out of this horrible relationship, which had broken my self esteem.

“It was a traumatic response how upset he was. She was crying a lot and they kept taking me out to talk to me. I hadn’t eaten in two days and they told me “don’t be a sad bastard anymore, you have to be a bad bastard” that’s what the producer told me. “No more being a sad bastard, you have to be a bad bastard and tell everyone exactly what Andrew has done.”

You see me getting more and more angry throughout the episode because I was being pressured to say something.

“The producers promoted me to be this ‘bad bitch’ and said that in the outside world everyone was on my side, so I really thought the public loved me, but actually everyone already saw me as a villain, so they were trying to feed that narrative.

“You never saw me break down in tears, you just saw me being so cheeky, bitch, ‘yeah, he sucked my tit,’ but the reality is I was literally having a breakdown.”

It’s not easy being a Casa Amor bombshell.

To become a full-fledged cast member, you need to break up one of the couples who have already spent weeks bonding and sharing a bed together.

Coco says she felt like an “extra” in the main islanders’ story and insists that any would-be date recruited for the series’ cruel twist has “got the shortest straw.”

She explained, “You have a worse experience bombing Casa Amor compared to people in the original cast or the regular bombs, your experience is much worse.”

“Coming out, I’ve had a lot of amazing moments and I’m happy with everything I’ve received, but when you compare, and that’s something people struggle with once they come out, comparing yourself to other people’s experiences.

‘I don’t mean just silly things like followers and fame… the people who get in first, have the most time and are well liked by the public.

“Audiences hate bombs because they’re already connected to the other characters and the producers treat you like an extra in someone else’s story.

“I was being trolled to death, but they didn’t give me a chance to date or show my personality, so when I got out, things were much worse for me.”

However, a source close to Love Island claimed that the producers do not choose what the contestants wear and that the islanders make their own connections on the show.

“The islanders can wear whatever they want and we would never let anyone come into the villa feeling uncomfortable,” a TV source told MailOnline.

“Viewers watched Andrew and Coco explore their bond and the contestants must make their own decisions in the village.”

An ITV spokesperson said: ‘The islanders are never told what to wear. The decisions they make and the connections they form are theirs and theirs alone.’