Marcel Somerville Reveals Why He Rooted for His Ex To Win ‘Love Island: All-Stars’ Season 2

When some people reunite with their ex, it’s not ideal. But for Marcel Somerville of Love Island: All-Stars Season 2, his experience was different. In an exclusive interview with Collider, he revealed where things stand between him and Olivia Hawkins, and why he was rooting for Gabby and Casey to take the win the reality competition series.

For Somerville, saying yes to All-Stars was a no-brainer. After a tough year that included the end of his marriage, the reality star looked at the opportunity as a paid vacation in South Africa with some of his closest friends. “I get to take my mind off of the realities of what’s going on in life,” Marcel recalled. “There were a lot of my friends doing it, so it was like, ‘This is perfect!’ It was a nice break away from everything.” He says it was a welcomed distraction that allowed him to put things back into perspective.

Marcel’s Reunion With His Ex Wasn’t Uncomfortable on ‘Love Island: All-Stars’

Stepping back into the villa came with a few unexpected challenges – including reconnecting with his ex Gabby Allen. “We had to play that red flag game, and it was like baptism by fire,” Marcel recalled. “I’m very chill so when there’s drama it’s in me to just naturally be like, I need to resolve this as soon as possible because I’m not trying to be dealing with this for a long time. That’s why when the whole Gabby situation happened on the first day, I was like,’ I need to talk to Gabby. I need to have a conversation with her so we can clear the air.’”

It turned out that a single conversation wouldn’t suffice. Marcel says he and Gabby had multiple conversations on the first day because he wanted to make sure her Love Island: All-Stars experience wouldn’t be negatively affected by his presence.

“I think we had three conversations on the first day, then I gave her the day off, and I think that’s when I gave her a hug and the pat on the back, and from then on we were just cool,” Marcel said. They initially met and dated during Season 3 of Love Island, back in 2017. The relationship lasted around 10 months, but the pair had not spoken since Gabby caught Marcel cheating on her while vacationing together years ago. The public voted to match them up again on All-Stars but it was clear from the beginning of the season that things had run their course and within a few days, Marcel connected with series 9 stunner, Liv Hawkins.

Trying Love Again Can Be Reinvigorating, Even If It Doesn’t Work Out

Marcel was nervous when realizing he caught feelings for someone else. “I think at the start I was a bit shy, I was a bit timid,” Marcel told Collider. “I think it took me two days to acclimate to it, then I was like, ‘Alright, cool, I’m ready to start chatting to girls and stuff now , and then me and Liv hit it off.”

Since leaving the Villa at the beginning of episode 10, Liv and Marcel decided they were better suited for friendship. “When you’re in the villa and you’re getting to know someone and you’re in that enclosed space, you just have time to focus on that one person, to get to know them and build it and you’re fully focused on that relationship, but when you come out there are work responsibilities and I’ve obviously got my son who I love spending my time with,” Marcel admitted. “Not saying it wasn’t a priority, but I think spending three weeks away and then coming back I just wanted to spend as much time as possible with my son.”

While Marcel and Liv made a good connection in the villa, they didn’t want to force things once their time in South Africa came to a close. “There were a lot of things that were making it harder for us to go on dates,” Marcel added. “We were getting messages on social media like, ‘We hope you stay together,’ but I think for ourselves we had to clearly say, ‘Look, it’s very early days in this.’ It’s not like we’re never going to talk to each other again. We still chat all the time. We’re still talking about the show, talking about football, all the things were talking about in there anyway. It’s just without the added pressure of being like, ‘We’re together.’”

There Was Plenty of Other Drama to Delve Into in the Villa

While Marcel kept drama to a minimum on All-Stars, he didn’t hesitate at all when asked to identify the biggest pot stirrer of the season. “Ekin-Su is a massive pot stirrer,” Marcel said. “I can’t lie. I feel like she even stirred the pot a bit with Liv when she told her, ‘If you think there’s something with Luca, go and find out.’ And having that conversation led to there being that question mark. She was always getting herself involved. If you watched Ekin on Love Island the first time she did it, she loves to be involved.”

Marcel also spoke to the massive global success of Love Island, noting the enormous growth of the franchise since his initial appearance on the program. “Love Island’s global influence. It’s actually crazy how far it’s gone because I’m pretty sure my season, in 2017 was the season when it popped off in England massively. Then I think that’s when they started doing spin offs – there was Australia and a few other ones and then obviously when it hit the U.S., you know it’s massive. You know it’s massive when it’s over there. It’s nice to be part of something that’s globally known.”

Unlike some of the younger contestants, Marcel wasn’t worried about changing his approach to Love Island this time around – because he didn’t feel like he needed to. “The first time I did it, I was Dr. Marcel,” Somerville laughed. “Wisest man in the villa, everyone’s advice guy, being a gentleman, staying out of the drama. That’s just who I am. That didn’t change.”

Marcel was 31-years-old during his first stint on the series, and is currently 39, so his mature take to the show should come as no surprise. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that Marcel was rooting for his ex Gabby and her new match Casey O’Gorman to win this season of All-Stars. “It might sound weird because she’s my ex, but I wanted Gabby and Casey to win,” Marcel admitted. “Seeing her happy makes me happy. She deserves happiness, and I know Casey’s a good guy. He’s my friend from the outside. Seeing them get on has been really nice.”

And there you have it – Marcel Somerville, always the gentleman, even when it comes to cheering on his ex.