Love Island stars involved in car crash on way to friend’s birthday

Couple are recovering following the incident

Love Island stars Sophie Piper and Joshua Ritchie are recovering after being involved in a car accident over the weekend.

Piper, 25, is the sister of Loose Women presenter Rochelle Hulmes, and met Ritchie, 30, on the show’s inaugural All Star season earlier this year.

“We’ve turned up to my mate’s 30th, my mate isn’t there, and now we’ve just f***ing crashed in the taxi,” Ritchie began in a video on his Snapchat stories.

“Soph have you got whiplash?” he asked.

Ritchie said his neck was hurting, as he laughed and kept his spirits up.

“How are you all feeling in there?” he shouted out of the taxi window to check if passengers in the other car were ok. “Oh god. Well, honestly my f***ing neck is hurting.”

Ritchie continued to rub his neck as he laughed and asked other passengers if their neck was hurting too.

“That really hurt that. I seen it coming as well.”

Josh shared the update alongside images of the crash (Snapchat/Josh Richie)

Piper appeared in good spirits as she chatted to the driver of the taxi following the collision. She had been seated in the front passenger seat, while Ritchie and a friend had been seated in the back of the vehicle.

The incident appeared to involve two taxis as passengers and drivers left each vehicle to exchange details following the collision.

Josh first gained recognition after appearing on the first ever series of Love Island in 2015 at the age of 21. Meanwhile, Sophie joined the show in 2020’s winter season. They eventually met each other and have been in a relationship ever since meeting on the show again in January this year.

Josh shared live footage from the incident (Snapchat/ Josh Ritchie)

Despite rumours they’d broken up, the couple are still going strong as they celebrated Joshua’s birthday together earlier this year. During their time in the villa, they often received complaints that their journey had been “too smooth”.

Sophie Piper sat in the front seat and chatted to the driver following the incident (Snapchat/Josh Ritchie)

They came third place in the series, which was eventually won by Tom Clare and Molly Smith after a surprising journey which included Smith having to share the villa with her ex Callum Jones.

Piper and Ritchie recently shared they were “taking things slowly” since telling each other they loved each other, shortly after they finished the series.

“Still can’t get my head around not knowing you less than four months ago and now I can’t imagine life without you! I love being your best friend and I’m so lucky I get to laugh with you everyday,” wrote Sophie in a birthday post dedicated to the OG islander earlier this year.