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The winter season of Love Island 2023 started with a lot of drama. Tom Clare became one of the most desired men in the villa, and he got the attention of Olivia Hawkins and Zara Deniz Lackenby-Brown. Who does he choose? Here is everything you need to know about the reality TV show drama.

Tom Clare was torn between Olivia Hawkins and Zara Deniz Lackenby-Brown

The season started rough for Olivia. The 27-year-old ring girl had the boxer Haris Namani, and Will Young step forward for her. But she stole Kai Fagan from Anna-May Robey. 

Tanyel Raven then stole Kai from her after he stepped forward for her. In the end, Olivia coupled up with Will by default. However, after the ceremony, she started showing interest in Haris.

Tom joined the cast as the first bombshell. In episode 2, he chose to couple up with Olivia therefore, Will became single. The footballer called her stunning and said she kept him on his toes. But it didn’t take long for Olivia to get competition. 

In episode 3, Zara enters the villa and makes a connection with Tom. They instantly connected and talked about keeping each other on their toes. The love triangle only got worse when Zara called Olivia two-faced in front of everyone during a game. 

Zara coupled up with Tom, who said he vibed with her more. But Olivia didn’t give up. She kept pulling Tom aside to talk. He admitted he saw himself with Zara more outside of the villa but wasn’t keeping the door closed. Fans in the United States have to wait for new episodes to drop on Hulu to see more of the drama.

Does Tom choose Olivia or Zara on ‘Love Island’ 2023?

Maya Jama host of 'Love Island' poses on the red carpet in a black dress.
British TV host Maya Jama | NIKLAS HALLE’N/AFP via Getty Images

The Feb. 1 episode in the UK revealed Zara was dumped from the villa. Surprisingly Olivia wasn’t who he picked.

Tom coupled up with new bombshell Ellie Spence. Fellow bombshell Spencer Wilks picked Olivia. Many fans were sad to see Zara go. She talked about the heated love triangle with Grazia.

“Olivia took things very personally,” the model and property developer said. “She thought everything I was doing with Tom was a personal thing. I didn’t see a spark between them – in bed they would roll over and not say a word. I got to know all the boys and surprisingly I had a connection with Tom.”

Zara claims she had an unaired fight with Tom

There is always a question of how much producers affect the show, and what is hidden from viewers. Fans saw Zara not back down to Tom and Olivia. She pushed for him to make a choice and questioned Olivia after she pulled him for a chat. Zara said there was an unaired fight between her and Tom.

“We got ready for the evening and me and the girls were sitting by the firepit,” she said. “Then Tom come storming over like ‘Zara, come here, I need to talk to you.’ He was literally raging, I went to touch his shoulder but he squirmed away from me.”

“He said, ‘The boys and everyone else have been saying all this stuff about you. Apparently, you fancy Aaron and you’ve been using Shaq to make me jealous,’” she continued.

The model said she was confused by this and cried. The cast then played Truth or Dare, and Tom revealed his perfect girl would have Olivia’s face and Zara’s body. This unsurprisingly made her upset.
Sadly, this looks like the end of Zara’s journey. She was a great casting choice as a bombshell, and time will tell if other bombshells can replace her.