What happened on Love Island summer 2023 last night? Episode 38 recap

There are more twists to be announced in tonight’s instalment - but if you missed out on all of the action from Wednesday, RadioTimes.com has you covered with our handy recap video above.

Read on to find out everything that happened in episode 38 of Love Island…

What happened on Love Island summer 2023 last night? Episode 38 recap

Tensions were still a bit fraught after the Islanders took part in the challenge Life’s a Beach earlier in the day - and things only got more heated when Kady McDermott was tasked with giving a toast at the start of the evening.

“Let’s cheers to an eventful day, a good day. Great people. Honest opinions, maybe not-so-honest opinions, but let’s have a good night,” she said, referencing her earlier snipes with Tyrique Hyde and Ella Thomas.

But things got awkward when Kady went on to congratulate Zachariah Noble and Molly Marsh “for being officially closed off” after a conversation she had had with the actress that day - which came as a surprise to the other Islanders, and also to Zach himself!

After Molly led him to “their firepit” to have a chat - with Zach exclaiming: “What’s wrong with that girl?” - he seemed to calm down, and told his actress partner: “I still don’t technically know what ‘closed off’ means, but now that it’s out in the open, we can have that conversation. Any bombshells come in, I am not getting to know them.

“What we’re doing is perfect. Something good’s going to come of this, I know that.”

Afterwards, Molly cleared the air with Kady, while Zach chatted to the boys and awkwardly admitted that they had never had that conversation!

“I’ve never said: ‘We’re closed off,’” he told them. “I think there’s definitely a spice of she’s claiming her territory. I’m surprised by that speech, but I'm taking it bro. I’m a closed off man.”

Scott also wanted to air his thoughts with Abi after she had thrown shade at him (literally, with a parasol!) in the challenge by saying he only wanted to get to know her now because he was single and vulnerable.

Telling her how he felt, the Welsh footballer said: “We had flowing conversations as friends, we both like the look of each other - why not? In here, right now, you’re the only person I see a possibility with, so I’ve got to explore that.

“We’ve got to see if there’s something more there.”

Abi went on to tell Scott that he was physically her type, and later seemed confused as she revealed in the Beach Hut: “It’s a sticky situation for me!”

While they were talking, Abi’s current partner Mitch watched on, and even asked his former flame Molly for advice on how to handle the situation.

After Abi had finished talking to Scott and revealed to Mitch that their talk had gone well, he didn’t seem best pleased.

“I’ll be honest, I wanted to talk to you all night tonight and we spoke for about ten minutes,” he berated. “By all means, get to know Scott, but I feel like there’s a level of respect to that and you didn’t give me any.

“I like you a lot. You’ve got to do what’s right for you, but I can only stand watching it for so long before I go: ‘I know what we’ve got is good. You either want to pursue it with me, or do it with him.’ And it will get to that point a lot sooner than you think. I don’t know how long I’m going to give you.” Eek!

The next day, viewers were surprised to see Scott and Catherine Agbaje - of all people! - having a discussion about how things were going with Abi.

The former couple - who had a series of fierce rows when Catherine recoupled with Elom Ahlijah-Wilson post-Casa Amor - looked relaxed, and Cath told him: “I’m happy that we’re at a place where we don’t feel awkward with each other, we’re at a place where we can speak. I do still care about you.”

And Catherine may need Scott’s shoulder to cry on sooner than she thinks, because while her pal Whitney Adebayo and Lochan Nowacki headed out on their romantic first date - where they both admitted they make each other happy, and Whit later told the girls that she could see him becoming her boyfriend! - Elom dropped a huge revelation on the Dublin beauty.

Beginning the chat by telling Cathy that he “really rated” her and “likes where things are going”, personal trainer Elom then dropped the clanger that he feels “too comfy” and that he’s “not getting [himself] out there”.

“I’ve always said that right now, in this villa, I’m closed off with you,” he explained. “But at the same time, if a bombshell was to walk in, I’m not going to say: ‘No, I’m not going to speak to them.’ But I’ve built a connection with you and I rate that as well and I don’t want to throw something like that away.”

Speaking to Jess Harding and Sammy Root after Elom’s brutal honesty, Catherine seemed quite upset, saying: “I feel like you shouldn’t be thinking about ‘what ifs’ right now. You may be cool, you may be comfy, but just enjoy it, because in here you never know what happens. It was very random.

“It just makes me think that maybe I am showing too much emotion, maybe I am showing I like him, maybe I need to stop and pull back.”

She continued in the Beach Hut: “If you have something good, why ruin it? Why have you been thinking about that? It just scares me a little, because obviously my feelings are in it. S*** situation.”

The conversation was far from over, though, as Elom tried in vain to clear the air with the real estate agent.

Apologising for “how it came across”, he said: “The connection that we have is very strong and I wouldn’t want to chuck it away, but at the same time, I don’t want it to seem like a surprise.”

Firing back, Cathy told him: “One thing about me, I trust my connections and I trust the way I feel about you. So the fact that you’re premeditating it, made me be like… confused.”

Visibly upset, she took refuge in the Beach Hut again. “It’s so hard, because you open yourself up to someone and get to know them,” said Catherine. “A bombshell might not come in for another week, they might not come in at all from here, but you’re still thinking: ‘What if?’

“It means you're not really living in the moment, it means that i should basically pull back, which is s***.”

Scott and Abi had another talk, where the flight attendant revealed that their chat the night before had left Mitch feeling “muggy”.

But Scott was quick to put her at ease and told her: “You’re going to Mitch for advice at times, and Mitch is only going to give you his side of the story. You just have to think: ‘Right, I have to do things now that I’ll regret not doing in a few weeks’ time.’”

While she did refuse to workout with him for fear of infuriating her current partner, Abi did continue: “I find it attractive when a guy grafts me. Obviously I’m going to enjoy it, two fit guys going after me - but I’m slightly not enjoying it because it’s a stressful situation!”

“If your head’s spinning and I’m making your brain tick, then I’m doing something right,” Scott replied, cheekily. “That just means this is going well.”

While he pretended to be nonchalant about the situation as he watched on from the pool, the rest of the boys winding him up had clearly got in Mitch’s head, and he was quick to pull Scott for a chat when the evening came around.

“I don’t appreciate my name being brought up, I don’t need to be mentioned,” he told the Welshman. “I think you think that this is a triangle - she’s single, and me and you are battling it out. We’re not. Me and Abi are going really well, and I'm giving you the time of day to get to know her, respectfully, as a friend. If you’re going to chat to her, then don’t mention my name.”

While we all cringed at the telling off, cool-headed Scott calmly explained that he was just trying to tell Abi to make her own mind up without either man getting involved - and that sounded exactly like what she was doing, as the Hampshire-born beauty told Amber Wise: “I’m not sure [if there’s potential with Scott]. I’m giving him time, I’m giving him a chance.” But who will she end up choosing?

Elom had a final crack at making up with Catherine, and took her to the terrace.

Telling her the reason he brought up his earlier thoughts was because he “never wants to see [her] get hurt” (so maybe just stay who you’re happiest with then..?), Elom added: “In this present time, I just love being around you, I love spending time with you, I love everything about you.”

His words were enough to get back into Catherine’s good books (sigh), as she told him she forgives him and the pair shared a kiss.

But their happiness was short lived, as Ella then received a text to say that the public had been voting for the most compatible couple… and the pair with the fewest votes was Catherine and Elom, who were immediately dumped from the villa.

The Islanders - especially Whitney and Ella - were gutted to see them go, and they waved them off from the entrance of the house.

But shockingly, Mitch then got a message asking the contestants to gather all around the firepit.

Sneakily, producers had arranged a double eviction, and the three couples who also had the fewest votes - Jess and Sammy, Kady and Ouzy See, and Leah Taylor and Montel McKenzie - were all asked to stand in front of the firepit.

Scott was the Islander to say who would be leaving - but the episode ended on a cliffhanger, so we’ll have to tune in tonight to see which other couple will be dumped!

The end of the episode also teased that two new bombshells, Ella Barnes and Josh Brocklebank, will appear as late entries to the show - but who will they have their eye on, and are they set to ruffle a few feathers?

Love Island airs on ITV2 at 9pm. You can watch all previous seasons of Love Island on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial.

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