In every series of Love Island there’s always an early favourite couple to win. This year, it was arguably Millie and Liam, or Milliam, as they were shipped as. Both starting their Love Island journeys as bombshells within the first couple of weeks, it wasn’t long before Millie and Liam found each other and coupled up. Not only did they look absolutely stunning together, Milliam’s natural chemistry radiated through the T.V screen, way more than any other couple so far in the series. Before long they were beloved by viewers across the nation, whether it was for their joint impressions of Lucinda, the way they brought out each other’s personalities, or even just that they seemed the most genuine couple.

It all goes wrong…

Things were going relatively smoothly until Casa Amor hit, and Liam changed from everyone’s dream boyfriend into the slimy lad you actively tell your friends to avoid. While Millie slept on the day bed while Liam was at Casa Amor, Liam spent his time getting to know bombshell Lillie, sharing not only a bed, but kisses outside of challenges too. Despite leading Lillie to believe he would recouple with her, Liam returned to the main villa single and choosing to stay coupled up with Millie. He probably thought he’d gotten away without her finding out about his antics in Casa Amor, until the Casa Amor girls who were being sent home were brought into the villa to meet the girls. Here, Liam was exposed by Lillie for leading her on and kissing her.

 

Liam’s reaction to this was questionable to say the least, trying to wriggle his way out of the situation by justifying it to Millie. However, the producers made sure that he couldn’t get off too easily, by sending Millie out to meet Lillie for a tell-all chat. Upon her return to the villa, Millie promptly ended her relationship with Liam, as Olivia Rodrigo’s Traitor played in the background. I personally was impressed by Millie’s strength in not listening to Liam’s sweet-talking and attempts at manipulation, she’s a stronger woman than me.

What happened next?

We all thought that was it for Milliam, as Liam started sleeping on the spare fold-out bed. However, he did not give up there. Liam tried many obscure ways of winning Millie back, from leaving a note under her duvet, and sending her flirty texts. None of these really did it for Millie, until Liam stood up in front of her and the other islanders and read out a cute speech he’d written in the hopes of winning her back. From then Millie decided that they could start rebuilding their relationship to what it was before Casa Amor. Since then they’ve only gotten stronger by the day, reclaiming their status as favourites to win!

So, what can this actually show us?

Somehow, despite how Liam betrayed Millie during Casa Amor, the pair have managed to deal with the situation and come out of it stronger than they went in. While we obviously wouldn’t wish what Liam did on ourselves or our friends, you could argue that Liam’s behaviour and Millie’s reaction will have benefitted Milliam in the long run. When Liam was caught out, Millie could have easily let her feelings for him take over instead of showing him that she wouldn’t stand for being treated badly. In doing this, Liam realised what he had lost in Millie and knew that he had to work hard to win her back. Because of this Millie could see that Liam was clearly willing to work hard to save their relationship, and would be unlikely to risk losing her trust again.

 

Since the pair have rekindled their romance, they have managed to carry on as if nothing ever happened, but for some reason they just seem stronger because they’ve been through it as a couple. Most nights I’ve found myself questioning how they are still my favourite couple in the villa (perhaps with the exception of Toby and Chloe), after how slimy Liam was just a couple of weeks ago. Is it because I’m a bit in awe of how Millie managed to stand her ground with Liam while also taking him back?

Popularity with the public

Perhaps the early bump in the road for Milliam will have actually benefitted the couple, because both of them can see how willing the other is to fight for their relationship. Not only is their relationship standing strong within the villa, but viewers clearly rate them highly too. In Friday’s episode, the couples had to guess public opinions about themselves and their fellow islanders, with Millie and Liam being top-rated in a lot of categories!

Obviously, I do not envy the position Millie was in when Liam returned from Casa Amor, but we can all look at their relationship and appreciate the strength of their relationship as a result of what they’ve been through, especially when compared to other couples. As much as I didn’t see Liam’s Casa Amor behaviour coming, I didn’t think they would overcome the situation as strongly as this. I mean who would have?