Maybe a little bit of PTSD, I don't know.
Four years after Love Island's most complained-about episode left lasting psychological marks on both participants, Teddy Soares — now single, podcasting, and cautiously forward-looking — has left open the possibility of returning to the very arena that shaped and scarred him. His noncommittal answer to fans about All Stars 2026 is less a television tease than a quiet reckoning with whether a person can revisit the place where their public story nearly came undone. It is a question as old as human experience: whether return is healing, or simply repetition.
- A single explosive villa scene in 2021 generated 36,324 Ofcom complaints — the highest in Love Island history — and sent shockwaves far beyond the screen, including death threats directed at Faye Winter.
- Four years on, Teddy admits he still can't watch the show, describing certain clips as triggering a racing heart and something he cautiously calls PTSD.
- Both relationships that followed his time on the island — with Faye, and later with Irish model Casey Boonstra — have since ended, leaving him single and at something of a crossroads.
- Rather than retreating entirely, Teddy has channelled his energy into podcasting and new projects, slowly rebuilding a public identity not defined solely by that one notorious episode.
- When a fan asked about All Stars 2026, his answer — 'who knows what the future holds' — was careful enough to be honest and open enough to keep everyone watching.
Four years after one of the most turbulent chapters in Love Island's history, Teddy Soares is leaving the door ajar. Now 30 and single, he responded to a fan's question about a potential All Stars appearance in 2026 with a measured 'who knows what the future holds' — a phrase that carries more weight than it might seem coming from someone still processing what the show put him through.
In 2021, Teddy was coupled with Faye Winter, and the pair reached third place. But their journey was overshadowed by a single scene: after footage showed Teddy kissing bombshell Clarisse during a villa challenge — and after he described himself as 'technically single' at the time to the other men — Faye erupted. Her screaming confrontation became the most complained-about moment in the show's broadcast history, drawing 36,324 Ofcom complaints. The fallout was severe. Viewers called it unwatchable. Faye received death threats.
The psychological toll on Teddy has been real and lasting. He hasn't watched Love Island since his own series aired, admitting that certain clips still set his heart racing — 'maybe a little bit of PTSD,' he said candidly. The bittersweet part, he acknowledges, is that many of the memories are good ones.
Life beyond the villa has brought its own changes. He and Faye split in February 2023 after trying to make their relationship work in the outside world. A subsequent romance with Irish model Casey Boonstra also ended. Now, as he hints at a possible return, the question is whether he can walk back into the place that made him famous and nearly broke him — or whether some doors, once opened, are better left alone.
Four years after his time on Love Island ended in controversy, Teddy Soares is leaving the door open to a return. The 30-year-old, currently single, responded to a fan's question about whether he might appear on All Stars in 2026 with a noncommittal but intriguing answer: "Who knows what the future holds." It's a measured response from someone who has spent the intervening years trying to move past one of the most turbulent moments in the show's history.
Back in 2021, Soares was coupled with Faye Winter, an estate agent two years his senior. The pair made it to third place, a respectable finish that might have been remembered fondly had their journey not been overshadowed by a single, explosive scene. During a villa challenge, footage was shown to the islanders of Teddy kissing bombshell Clarisse. In a subsequent conversation with the other men, he described himself as "technically single" at the time. When Faye learned of this, she erupted. The scene—her swearing and screaming directly in his face—became the most complained-about moment in Love Island's entire broadcast history. Ofcom received 36,324 complaints about that single episode in 2021. Viewers called it toxic, difficult to watch, unwatchable. The fallout extended beyond the screen: Faye received death threats.
The damage to both their reputations was real and lasting. Teddy has spoken openly about the psychological toll of that period. He hasn't watched Love Island since his own series aired, a gap of four years. When asked why, he was candid: "Maybe a little bit of PTSD, I don't know." He explained that certain clips still trigger him, setting his heart racing. Yet he also acknowledged that many of the memories are good ones, which makes the avoidance bittersweet. His life has moved on—he's built a podcast, pursued other projects—but the villa's shadow lingers.
The relationship between Teddy and Faye didn't survive the outside world. They split in February 2023 after attempting to make their romance work beyond the show. Teddy subsequently found love with Irish model Casey Boonstra, though that relationship also ended, dissolving sometime last year. Now, as he hints at a possible All Stars appearance, the question hangs unresolved: can he return to the show that made him famous and then nearly broke him, or will the ghosts of 2021 prove too much to face?
Notable Quotes
Teddy said certain clips from the show trigger him and set his heart racing, though many of the memories are good ones.— Teddy Soares, in an interview
He explained his absence from watching the show as possibly stemming from PTSD related to his own series.— Teddy Soares
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would he even consider going back? That episode nearly destroyed him.
Because it's been four years. People heal. And there's a difference between being haunted by something and being defined by it forever.
But he said he gets PTSD from watching clips. How does that change with All Stars?
Maybe it doesn't. Maybe that's why his answer was so careful—"who knows what the future holds." He's not committing. He's leaving room to say no.
Do you think Faye would do it?
That's the real question, isn't it? If they both went back, would it be redemption or just reopening a wound on live television?
The death threats she got—that's the part that stays with me. That's not just a bad moment on TV.
No. That's what happens when millions of people watch you at your worst and some of them decide you deserve harm for it. That's the cost of being the most complained-about person in the show's history.