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After an explosive episode with tears and a sweary rant, a relationship expert has weighed in on whether Lucinda and Sean’s connection is real

Love Island: All Stars is heating up after a furious Belle Hassan branded Lucinda Strafford a “snake” following Sean’s brutal betrayal, but what is their real game-plan behind the scenes?

Sunday night’s episode saw contestants Belle, Sean Stone and Lucinda clash after the return of Casa USA to the main villa. Belle, 27, told her love-interest Sean, 26, that we was “fuming” and acted with “nothing but respect” for him while she was away meeting the US contestants. But when she returned, it quickly became clear that he had been getting cosy with Lucinda, 26.

Clearly distraught by the move, Belle exploded in a sweary rant while sat in the dressing room, where she told other women on the show: “I leave for three days. I uphold my dignity and respect for him. I’ve been nothing respectful. I’m sick of it… He doesn’t deserve it. I f*****g knew it. Three f*****g days.”

Others tried to deescalate the situation, but things boiled over further when Lucinda told Belle to stop looking at her ‘like I’m a piece of dirt on your shoe’. Sean quickly tried to defend himself and explain his feelings for Lucinda, but Belle pointed out what she deemed to be a savage double standard – that US star Carrington Rodriguez, 28, had been all over her like a rash’ but she didn’t bite, staying fiercely loyal to Sean.

The tense moment saw Sean tell Belle: ‘I’ve been straight up and honest with you, we’ve had a few flirty chats. I’ve got something there with Lucinda. I’m sorry”. The whole villa overheard as the argument unfolded, with Belle telling Sean she hopes his decision to go for Lucinda backfires. It all ended in tears with Belle later being comforted by other female contestants.

We asked sex and relationship expert Gemma Nice to decode Lucinda and Sean’s brutal move, and to weigh in on whether it’s a genuine connection or all just a game-plan. Earlier in the episode, viewers see Sean take Lucinda to the terrace where she said: “We’re naughty Sean!”.

He continued his schmooze, saying: “I feel amazing, I can’t lie whenever I look at you, I just smile….” and Lucinda then said brazenly: “I feel like when I’m with you, we’re similar vibes…it makes sense..” But their spark was quickly interrupted by Villa USA making a big entrance through the door, with Belle quickly asking where Sean was.

Fans watching the dramatice episode shared thoughts online, as one wrote, according to the Daily Mail: “I’m all for hurricane Belle delivering the drama. But Carrington awkwardly sat watching…. the guy she got to flirt with and Sean didn’t exactly snog Lucinda? Is it really this deep? Am I missing something?” Another said: “For those of you saying Belle is overreacting, this is not the first or second time Sean is ‘pieing’ her off .. he left her for Samie when samie came in only to come back when samie pied him off.. he deserves everything she said tonight and more!!!!’

Weighing in with her thoughts and speaking on behalf of Buzz Bingo, dating guru Gemma said: “To begin with, Lucinda was certainly playing the game and had a strategy, but from early on, she and Sean have had a strong connection with the way they look and act around each other”.

She continued: “They are very flirty when talking, and now there is a genuine connection with Lucinda following her heart with Sean. Yes, she has certainly upset Belle, and maybe she didn’t mean to, but she knew what she and Sean had so maybe she should have waited until Belle came back from the US villa and spoke to Belle herself regarding her own feelings towards Sean”.

Firmly believeing that their connection is actually real and not just a brutal snub, she added: “From the way they interact, Sean and Lucinda have more of a slow burner [dynamic] because they have been involved with other couples, and so they haven’t been able to really tell each other how they feel”.

She added that “Lucinda seemed upset that Belle had been upset by all this, especially when Belle didn’t want to talk to her about it because she was fuming. Lucinda kept trying to tell her from her side what had been happening but Belle wasn’t happy about it. Lucinda does have a game plan, but this connection with Sean is definitely real”.

Going further, Gemma spoke on Scott van-der-Sluis’ ‘hate him or love him’ reception online, and why the audience is claiming they knew ‘Scott was right about Sean all along’. Gemma said: “Viewers are backing Scott because Scott could see, from past experiences within the villa, how Sean had reacted. Scott can see that Sean hasn’t changed, even though Sean had said he was more genuine this time around”.

She went on: “Scott has never let his guard down when it comes to Sean, and he can see that Sean has a hidden agenda because of how he has handled the situation with Belle and Lucinda. Scott never liked him from the start and still doesn’t now; they just agree to disagree with each other to keep things civil within the villa”.

The expert concluded: “Scott can maybe see that this will get the fans talking and will divide the Sean and Scott camps, so this may be another of his game plans. Some people won’t like each other, and that’s true in the outside world too. Not everyone gets on with everyone, and that’s okay. It was good that Scott asked Sean to talk, and yes, they didn’t sort anything out other than to say they both don’t get on and to be civil for the rest of the time in the villa. Sean was trying to apologise to the other boys and saying that he has grown up and now can see exactly what Scott is doing, but it’s still upsetting him”.

FORMER Little Mix star Jesy Nelson has spoken candidly about the ‘heartbreaking’ health challenges her twin daughters have faced.

The singer and campaigner has opened up about how her babies, Ocean Jade and Story Monroe, were failed to be diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA Type 1) despite numerous consultations with healthcare professionals.

In an interview on Sky News’ The UK Tonight programme, the former girl band star admitted that the condition was only picked up on when they were six months old – by her mum.

Although health visitors and GPs performed regular checks, the early symptoms of the rare genetic disease – specifically a lack of leg movement – went unnoticed.

The 34-year-old teared up as she explained her campaign for the UK to include SMA screening in the routine newborn heel prick test.

Speaking to host Sarah-Jane Mee, she said: “People are starting to take notice and take it seriously, but it never should have took for me to come along for it to be taken seriously and that’s the part that makes me feel so angry.

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AFTERMATH

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“This isn’t just anything. This is a matter of life or death for someone’s child and who gets to decide that?

“Who has the right to decide whether my child is going to be in a wheelchair or not when we’ve literally had three life-changing treatments since 2018?

“The fact that it’s still a thing and we’re still having to scream and shout about it is just mad to me.”

She promised: “I will not stop on my socials talking about it. Trying to do as much TV… yes, it’s big but there’ll still be lots of other people that don’t know about this, so I’ve got to stay noisy.

Following a conversation with UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting, she admitted: “It is so difficult… it’s like, yes, I had that open and honest conversation with you and you said all the right things, but what are you going to do now?

“Now that I’m not in front of you, are you going to continue?”

She reflected on the missed opportunities during early check-ups and urged: “The fact that there were healthcare visitors around my house a lot and we took them to the GP and not one of them saw any of the signs.

“Thank God for my mum, because I dread to think what position I’d be in now if my mum hadn’t have said anything to me.

“It’s one of them things that I constantly go over and I have to sometimes stop myself from doing it because I will drive myself insane.”

Jesy added that the painful diagnosis has changed her outlook for her daughters’ future.

She said: “I don’t want people to think that if you’ve got disability that that defines you because it definitely doesn’t.

“But I’ll openly say if I could have it the other way, I definitely would. Why wouldn’t I want my children to walk and live a fulfilled life?

“I just pray that it does get changed and it does become part of the heel prick test, because the amount of heartbreak and hurt that I’ve had to endure, I’ll never be able to explain it.”

The Boyz hitmaker was previously diagnosed with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS).

The high-risk pregnancy included a 10-week hospital stay and life-saving emergency surgery.

The Brit Award-winner has launched a petition to force the Government to enforce a non- invasive £4 blood test at birth.

Symptoms of SMA depend on which type of condition, but the most common include floppy or weak arms and legs, as well as swallowing and breathing problems.

If untreated, the life expectancy of a baby with SMA Type 1 is two years and intervention is ­considered critical in limiting long-term impacts.

It could help avoid 33 babies a year left needing a wheelchair for life.

The former Little Mix star has had a tough time after she split from her fiance Zion Foster.

Jesy and Zion first began dating in 2022 after years of friendship.

In January 2025 they announced they were expecting identical twins.

The couple parted ways following the birth of their twin daughters, but remain close as co-parents.