LOVE Island fans accused Joey Essex of acting after he was ‘stolen’ by bombshell Jessy Potts.
Tensions had been soaring between Joey and Grace Jackson after he had his head turned by the newbie.
He told Grace that he wasn’t closed off and wanted to get to know Jessy, which left her questioning whether they were on the same page.
After getting a last-minute text, the islanders were told to gather by the firepit.
Jessy and fellow bombshell Trey Norman were ordered to pick a girl and boy to ‘steal’ from the other islanders.
It didn’t come as a surprise that Jessy decided to pick Joey.
“I have decided to steal this boy because since I’ve been in here I’ve had a few chats with different people,” she said in her speech.
“Meeting all the boys has been lovely and you’ve all impressed me and surprised me more than anticipated,” she continued.
“But I feel like I have to go with my gut who I’ve had good conversations with, so the boy I’ve decided to steal is Joey,” she said.
Joey looked stunned and whispered: “I didn’t expect that”
“Neither did I,” Jess whispered.
But fans were baffled by his reaction, questioning why he was shocked as he’d clearly been pursuing her.
“Joey acting confused?” one wrote on X.
“Joey Essex pretending to be shocked when Jessy picked him, then kissing Jessy on the terrace whilst Grace sits in hell…THIS IS TELEVISION”: wrote a third.
“joey essex has ruined his reputation by doing love island, never seen someone lack so much self awareness on this show,” said another.
“Don’t get why joey looks and his acting so surprised when Jessy picked him. Like, you’ve been entertaining this girls since she walked into the villa,” said another.
Grace was also baffled by his reaction and in the beach hut she said: “I don’t know why he looked so shook. His actions just don’t really align at times.”
Jessy appeared to be worried that she’d upset the girls and was consoled by Joey, who suggested they went to the terrace.
Grace was fuming after discovering that they’d snuck off and was joined by Uma and Matilda.
Realising that they’d been rumbled, the pair ducked out of view.
Joey told her that he was pleased she’d picked him, before pulling her in for a smooch.
