Love Island Games sees franchise’s second same-sex couple

‘I was crossing my fingers and screaming for them to couple up,’ fan says

Fans are praising one of the newest couples on Love Island Games: Kyra Green and Megan Barton-Hanson.

In the first season of the reality programme, viewers saw the two female cast members begin their growing connection. In Love Island Games, former Love Island contestants make their return to the villa, where they couple up and play a series of games in order to prevent being eliminated. In the season finale, the last couple standing will walk away with the $100,000 prize.

In episode five of Love Island Games, which was released on Peacock on 6 November, viewers saw contestants or “Islanders” couple up for the first time. While four people were already eliminated from the season, the remaining Islanders still had the opportunity to explore new connections. As for contestant Kyra Green, who was a new arrival to the Fiji villa, she took the opportunity to get to know Megan Barton-Hanson, who was on season four of Love Island UK.

As Barton-Hanson – who’s been open about identifying as bisexual – was seen having a one-on-one conversation with contestant Callum Hole, Green asked if she could “steal [her] for a chat”. The two women went on to have their own conversation, in which they spoke candidly about their sexuality and people they’ve dated.

“Have you ever had any long-term relationships with girls before?” Barton-Hanson asked Green, who was previously a contestant on season one of Love Island USA. “It’s mostly been with girls,” Green replied. Barton-Hanson then added that although her first sexual experience with a woman was in a couple, she realised she was “only invested” in the woman and acknowledged that she’s “very openly sexual” in general.

“I feel like it’s not fair that men get to just be applauded for being players and living their best lives,” Barton-Hanson said, as she hit back at the criticism she’s faced for her sexuality. “But as women, it’s like: ‘Oh you’re a slut,’ or you get slut-shamed.”

She also opened up about being a stripper prior to appearing on Love Island UK, as she shared what she wants fans to gain from her being open about her sexuality. “You can imagine in the UK, people are still quite conservative. To be able to help one girl be like: ‘OK, I can be authentically myself,’ whether that’s working in the sex industry or coming out as bisexual. I just think it makes it all worth it,” Barton-Hanson said.

Green agreed, as she explained that being on Love Island Games has given her the opportunity to be herself and “talk about being fluid” when it comes to her sexuality. “A lot of people are, like, sort of coming out to me before they were coming out to their parents,” she said. “So I just feel like: ‘Oh this is what I’m meant to do.’”

Towards the end of the episode, Green had to pick which contestant she wanted to be in a couple with. As she stood up in front of the group, she explained why she wanted to couple up with the specific contestant, before ultimately choosing Barton-Hanson. “I want to couple up with this person because coming into the villa, I feel like right off the bat, I kinda had a genuine connection with them,” she said. “It was just so easy to talk to them and just felt like something, I feel like I could see over time turning maybe into something. So the person that I would like to couple up with is… Megan.”

Barton-Hanson agreed to couple up with Green, and the two hugged. On X, formerly known as Twitter, fans have since expressed their excitement over the two reality stars coupling up on Love Island Games.

“I was crossing my fingers and screaming for them to couple up,” one person wrote, while another added: “Kyra and Megan hands down hottest couple in Love Island history like it’s not even a competition.”

Other people emphasised how thrilled they were to see a same-sex couple on the reality dating series.

“I was screaming at the top of my lungs when Kyra coupled up with Megan. Love to see a same-sex couple on Love Island!!!” one person wrote.

“Pretty bisexual girlies coupling up on love island, call that HERSTORY!” another added, while a third fan said: “Wait they look amazing together ABOUT TIME we got a same-sex couple.”

Since her rise to fame on Love Island UK, Barton-Hanson has continued to speak candidly about her sexuality. In an essay for Metro UK published in 2022, she addressed how she rarely saw any representation for LGBTQ+ people growing up, which is why she thinks “being so open about [her] sexuality can be so helpful to others”.

“Stigma about bisexuality will sadly always probably exist. I’ve had people assume I’m just talking about it for attention or to make headlines, then demanding I prove it to them somehow. It shouldn’t matter what others think or say about you,” she wrote. “But there is no cardboard cutout of what a bisexual person should be. You can dress how you want and date who you want, too.”