LOVE ISLAND SHOCKER: Jess And Whitney Reportedly Stop Speaking As Explosive Friendship Fallout Emerges
JUMPING out their matching Jeeps outside the Love Island All Stars’ villa in January, Jess Harding and Whitney Adebayo’s friendship seems stronger than ever.
But that union, forged in the fires of 2023’s summer series, is now shattered after a fallout that’s seen them both unfollow each other online.
Jess Harding and Whitney Adebayo have fallen after things got tense between them in the villaCredit: Instagram
Whitney is said to have unfollowed Jess on Instagram before she followed suitCredit: Instagram
It appears Jess wasn’t the first to pull the triggerCredit: Instagram
The pair were besties – until trouble on All StarsCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Now the truth behind the besties’ bust-up can be revealed as fans remain puzzled.
Sources close to the situation have revealed it was Whitney who first hit the unfollow button, with Jess noticing and then following suit.
But the tension has existed ever since All Stars.
A source said: “Nothing has been the same since All Stars but Jess was still totally blindsided when she saw that Whitney had unfollowed her, so then she pulled the trigger too and unfollowed back.”
The Sun can reveal that the two women haven’t spoken since Jess left the Cape Town villa in a shock dumping, with Whitney going on to make the final with Yamen Sanders.
It’s said that Jess tried to reach out to Whitney “a few times” since but was blanked.
Out of the blue, Whitney called Jess last month but the aesthetics practitioner was at work so wasn’t able to pick up.
When she returned the call, Whitney didn’t pick up.
Now the series 10 bombshell has hit the unfollow button whilst out in America visiting Yamen and hanging out with other Love Island pals including Millie Court and Samie Elishi.
A source said: “Jess is totally confused by the fallout because, as far as she was concerned, the girls were in a good place.
“They did have a bust-up during All Stars but the cast had all agreed beforehand any ruffled feathers would just be chalked up to delivering the best show possible – just like Whitney’s saying ‘charge it to the game’.
“Jess thought everything was good between them both until Whitney kept airing her.
“Now she thinks everything that happened in Cape Town must’ve got to Whitney, but hasn’t been able to talk it out.”
Whitney has been embroiled in drama of her own since filming on the legends run of ITV2’s dating show wrapped in February.
Fans were convinced she had split with American bombshell Yamen after they went silent on their relationship online and she began posting cryptic videos about “healing”.
But The Sun has revealed the mystery all led back to Yamen’s role on Netflix dating programme Perfect Match, which was filmed last winter before he appeared on Love Island All Stars, but did not air until May.
Yamen had broken his Netflix contract by featuring on ITV’s show and entering a public relationship before Perfect Match aired as it dashed his storyline.
Despite that, Whitney flew out to New York last month and fans pieced together clues that placed her in Yamen’s apartment.
As soon as the Perfect Match finale aired on May 27, Whitney and Yamen reignited their public pairing and began to post snaps of one another again.
Now the hair entrepreneur is partying in the USA with Millie and Samie plus another All Stars series three castmate, Lucinda Strafford.
A source said: “Jess has no idea what has gone on but now she’s thinking the girls are all out in America and talking about her then Whitney has pushed unfollow.
“It’s a mess.”
In All Stars, Jess and Whitney’s biggest fallout came during a tense game around the firepit when Jess accidentally exposed one of Whitney’s pet peeves in front of the group.
Jess revealed that Whitney had a habit of forgetting people’s names – including Konnor’s despite being coupled up with him for a week – and Whitney was left visibly irritated by the public call-out.
Afterwards, Whitney was seen confiding in Belle Hassan about the situation.
After meeting Yamen Sanders on Love Island Whitney has taken trips to US to stay with himCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Whitney has spent time in the US with her Love Island pals Millie, Samie and Lucinda and a source told us Jess believes they are ‘talking about her’Credit: whitneyadebayo/Instagram
She said: “Why is Jess doing that to me? I feel like during the game I made it very clear it’s starting to annoy me… stop.”
When Jess later approached her and asked: “Whitney, are we friends?”, Whitney replied: “Obviously we are friends…”
But things quickly turned awkward when Jess suggested they hug it out.
Whitney bluntly refused, telling her: “No, because sometimes you do too much Jess… I feel like it’s funny to you… Jess as my friend see beyond the front, I always see beyond your front but with me it’s slander, slander, slander.”
The clash left fans shocked at the time, particularly because the pair had previously been regarded as one of the closest friendships to come out of the franchise.
The girls first met during Love Island’s summer 2023 series, where they quickly became inseparable and emerged as fan favourites.
Jess eventually won the show alongside Sammy Root, while Whitney finished runner-up with Lochan Nowacki, but their friendship continued long after the villa and was strong enough to survive a return for All Stars in 2026.
