It’s official: fans are obsessed with Taku from Love Island Australia.
He’s cute, radiates positivity and he’s one of the only boys in the Villa who knows how to have banter without actually using the words ‘banter’ and ‘vibes.’ And when he’s not on the reality TV show he’s a barista, meaning he can make you a delicious coffee in the morning. What more could a girl want?
This was the question Jess found herself asking in episode four of Love Island, deciding she wanted to spend more time getting to know Taku. Which works out great for him, seeing as he’s been keen on her for a couple of days.
WATCH: Take a tour of the Love Island Villa
The duo seemed to be hitting it off, with Taku telling Abbie Chatfield on Love Island Afterparty that he was stoked by how things were going.
But this is a reality TV show, and what would that be without a little drama? In the first major blow-up of the season, Aaron and Taku had a fight over a fruit platter. Yes, this is indeed high-stakes stuff, and Taku emerged the clear winner in viewer’s eyes.
When Jess kissed Taku in the ‘New Balls Please’ game, Aaron was not impressed and spoke about feeling ‘led on’ by her. But context is important here.
Aaron – who initially appeared to be uninterested in her advances in episode two, but then let her pluck his eyebrows in episode three – was feeling frustrated that Jess was sending him ‘mixed signals.’
But, before the kiss with Taku in the tennis-themed game, Jess had spoken to Aaron about the fact that they didn’t have chemistry and honestly told him she wanted to speak with other contestants.
When Jess found Aaron speaking about it with Ari, she talked things through with him and apologised, but fans were divided over the exchange – with a majority siding with Jess.
On the one hand, it’s absolutely great for Aaron to share how he feels and be honest. If he felt led on, why not express it? On the other, he had still been keen on Lexy like 24 hours ago and only looked to explore his connection with Jess after Lexy had chosen Ryan. Upon spending more time together, Jess was honest and said she didn’t feel a spark. THEN she had a ‘date’ with Taku. They’re not a ‘couple’ so why does she owe him more than that? How was she leading him on?
But it didn’t end there.
The previously mentioned date between Taku and Jess literally involved sitting on a lounge chair, eating a fruit platter. But as Ted Lasso would say, it’s not about the end result, it’s about the effort! And this is basically as much effort as you can put into a date when you can’t leave the confines of your home.
Pretty much everyone in the Villa was involved in, or rooting for, the date between Taku and Jess. Ryan and Mitch helped him ‘set up’ by rearranging the outdoor space, Ari helped Jess get ready, Alex and Mitch brought the platter out and all the girls watched on from the other side of the courtyard with supportive commentary.
Aaron could have just stayed chilling in a corner while pretty much everyone else was keen to get involved. Instead, he joked about going outside and smacking the platter out of the boy’s hands as they delivered it, which earned a quick laugh and a ‘nah’ from Mitch.
Later finding out about the comment, Taku pulled Aaron aside for a chat, asking if he had done something wrong or if there was anything Aaron would like to discuss.
Instead of calmly explaining his feelings – as he had done with Ari and Jess – Aaron went on the attack straight away. Raising his voice and talking over Taku, he claimed he wasn’t going to apologise but also that apparently he doesn’t care about Jess moving on.
For some reason, Aaron also brought up the fact that Taku had been asked on one of the single dates by Lexy. But Aaron also went on one of those dates and actively pursued Lexy so what is the point in that being brought up? You may be wondering. We know we were. Honestly there seemed to be no point other than to turn the ‘drama’ back on to Taku.
Though both men exchanged barbs, Taku ended the chat by saying “I will have respect for you at the end of the day, but it was a stupid comment,” while Aaron walked off saying “he didn’t give two f—s” about the situation. Bit of a difference.
WATCH: Taku and Aaron face-off on Love Island Australia. Story continues after video.
Viewers were quick to take sides and, considering he was voted the fan-favourite earlier in the episode, it should come as no surprise that people were Team Taku.
“Taku carrying this show,” one fan wrote on an Instagram clip about the fight, while another added that the star “had class” in the situation.
“Aaron can leave. Taku literally pulled him up to have a mature chat and he just blasted,” said another.
Meanwhile on Twitter, fans were celebrating Jess for moving on with Taku.
While we eagerly await juicy new episodes next week, it seems Taku and Jess have cemented themselves as the Love Island Australia it-couple for 2021. And they haven’t even officially coupled-up yet!
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