ITVMitchel Taylor and Ella Barnes have been dumped from the Love Island villa a day before the finale of the ITV reality show.
On Sunday’s episode, the contestants discovered who the public had decided to save from elimination after two pairs were put at risk following the islanders’ vote for who they felt were the least compatible couples.
Mitchel and Ella B received the fewest votes from the public, meaning they have just missed out on making the grand final on July 31.
It leaves Molly Marsh and Zachariah Noble, Jess Harding and Sammy Root, Whitney Adebayo and Lochan Nowacki and Tyrique Hyde and Ella Thomas to battle it out to be crowned the winners of Love Island 2023 and take home the £50,000 prize.
Before the dramatic dumping, host Maya Jama asked the couples to gather around the fire pit so she could reveal who had been voted the least compatible couple by the other islanders.
Mitchel and Ella B discovered they had received four votes from all the other couples in the villa, which they said they were expecting as they had not been in a relationship as long as some of the others.
While Whitney and Lochan gained one vote from Mitchel and Ella, which they were also unsurprised by due to Mitchel’s loyalty to other contestants.
Mitchel, who was one of the islanders who entered the villa on day one of the series, rounded up the other male contestants before leaving to tell them how much they mean to him, describing his time on the show as “probably the best eight weeks of my life”.
He also spoke to his close friend Jess privately to tell her that he wants her to win the competition alongside Sammy, saying: “I love you two to bits.”
After departing the villa, Ella B said: “Obviously it is sad being dumped from the villa. I’ve made some really good friendships in there and we’re definitely going to continue on our journey outside the villa.
Speaking after leaving the villa, Mitchel said: “I feel like I was on borrowed time, but I loved every minute of it and I’m ready to get back to the real world.”
Reflecting on what he had learnt from the experience, he added: “I loved every minute of it. You can have tough days sometimes. They take care of you well.
“I’ve learned I’m actually a bit more patient than I thought. And I’ve learned that there is more to life than living in Sheffield – I want to explore now.”
Elsewhere in the episode, the islanders went head to head against each other in a sports day competition.
Team captains Molly and Tyrique took it in turns to pick their teams which saw Mitchel, Jess, Ella B and Lochan join Molly’s blue team while the red team was made up of Whitney, Sammy, Zac and Ella.
The contestants competed in a number of challenges including an egg-and-spoon race and tug of war – but it was the red team which came out on top.
The Love Island 2023 summer final airs on ITV2 and the ITVX at 9pm on July 31.
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