“I feel very disappointed and shocked, I feel like it wasn’t my time to leave and I had just found the most amazing connection.”
This is how Thiala June managed to perfectly sum up her own feelings and that of viewers after her shocking departure in the dramatic two-part episode this week, which saw five people leave “Love Island SA”.
Few would have said that they wanted to keep Thiala in the villa last week, but that all changed following the whirlwind connection she experienced with newbie Ross.
The 21-year-old Cape Town acting student had viewers rooting for her when Ross came in, and made it clear that he was invested in getting to know her.
After seeing June bomb out with other men in the “Love Island SA”, it was refreshing and endearing to see things finally go her way… until the ill-timed dumping, which left some upset.
It’s clear that she shared the feelings of viewers.
“I feel like it was unfair because I was voted off before they could see my connection formed with Ross and the public agrees.
“If people couldn’t tell that our bond was earnest that on them.
“Everything isn’t aired but we had such great conversations and were with each other most of the time and very affectionate.
“It’s very difficult and heartbreaking but I feel like I’m doing well processing it, I really believe in trusting the process and everything happens for a reason so I have hope that things will work out for the best in the end.
“I feel like we had so much in common and am hopeful to continue on the outside,” Thiala said.
“Life inside the villa in the beginning was difficult for me and I struggled for sure, but after a few days I came out of my shell and really started enjoying the life in the villa.
“As soon as I met Ross I was having the best time and never wanted to leave and am truly sad to not be there.”
Prior to meeting and connecting with Ross, Thiala had testing the waters with Ian and Chris, but she said that in the end they just weren’t a good pair.
“Ian was someone I also had the door open for as I mentioned when I first walked in and I was just trying to explore that at that point and we had many conversations but in the end I feel like we weren’t a good match and at least we gave it a shot.
“So hearing the news from him wasn’t too disappointing.”
When asked if there was there anything she would do differently, she confidently said no.
"I was true to myself the whole time and I needed to have the rough beginning to learn and grow from it because it pushed me out of my comfort zone and I ended up finding a connection in the end which is what I wanted out of it.
“I’m looking forward to continuing to build something with Ross on the outside hopefully, and with regards to my own personal goals I am hoping to push my social media and start up a YouTube channel.”
Follow Thiala on Instagram: @thialajune
“Love Island SA“ airs Monday to Friday and unseen bits on Sundays at 9.30pm on M-Net (DStv channel 101).