'Love Island' hit with complaints amid Gemma and Davide age gap backlash

Love Island has been hit with complaints as things heat up between Gemma Owen and Davide Sanclimenti.

Owen — who is the daughter of former England footballer Michael Owen — has been getting close to the Italian contestant and they kissed in one episode earlier this month.

But fans of the ITV dating show have been saying from early on that they are "uncomfortable" with the age gap between the pair — Owen is 19 and Sanclimenti is 27.

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Broadcasting watchdog Ofcom has now confirmed that it received 167 complaints about the instalment on 7 June, which is when the pair locked lips.

It received a further 93 complaints for the episode on 12 June, which saw Owen's ex Jacques O'Neill, 23, enter the villa.

Ofcom confirmed to Yahoo that the majority of complaints 'relate to the age of a contestant'.

Love Island started earlier in June and since then many viewers have posted messages on Twitter saying they think the age gap between Owen and Sanclimenti is too big.

"Sorry but Gemma and Davide’s relationship is CREEPY," one posted.

"Can you get Davide and Gemma off my screen?" said another. "How is that age gap not an issue?"

One fan tweeted: "Gemma is 19. This seems inappropriate."

"Gemma & Davide equals cringe and inappropriate as hell," said someone else.

Another viewer wrote: "Can’t even deal with Davide and Gemma, it’s embarrassing and creepy."

However, others have said people are making too much of it.

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"If this Gemma is 19 and Davide is 27 or even 37 they’re both 2 legally consenting adults!" one person tweeted.

"Would people be causing this much fuss if Gemma was 27 and Davide was 19? No. Probably not.

"Get a grip."

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