When Samira Mighty walked into the Love Island villa in 2018, I sat up.
"Oh a Black woman," I thought. I was rooting for her, but I had a nagging feeling that her experience would differ from the white women on the show. And I was right.
Week after week, we saw Samira get chosen last or disregarded entirely. Her time on the show would unfortunately foreshadow a long line of negative experiences for Black women on the UK version of Love Island.
When Yewande walked into the villa, I was less hopeful and once again my doubts were justified. So much so that I wrote a piece for gal-dem explaining why I didn't want to see any Black women on Love Island.
As a viewer, the experiences of Black women on the show all seemed pretty similar. They were used as placeholders for men until they found their white, blue-eyed, bombshell. That, or they didn't get any luck at all, before they eventually left the show.
However, things did start to pick up. Indiyah and Dami came third in season eight, and Tanya and Shaq came fourth in season nine.
What to Read Next
Last year was Love Island's most diverse season yet, so I was hopeful for the Black women who entered the villa. Though Whitney and Lochan came second (they absolutely should have won), the season was still an uncomfortable watch at times.
When Whitney got into a heated discussion with fellow contestant Ella, harsh words were exchanged by both women, but online it was Whitney who was getting the hard end of the stick.
Related: Love Island's 2024 voting percentages reveal it wasn't a close result
I decided enough was enough and chose to give the 2024 season a miss; I didn't want to see another Black woman being treated poorly.
However, as a true Love Island fan that can never fully stay away from the show, I kept tabs on the developing storylines as the season progressed and the commentary unfolded online.
Mimii's journey stood out and, following what happened with Ayo, when Josh came into the villa it seemed that her luck had changed.
When Mimii and Josh went on to win the show together, making history, I was shocked. "What Black love won, we did it guys," read Twitter/X reactions online.
Women of colour have won the show in previous years, but this is the first time we are seeing a dark-skin Black woman, and a Black couple, take the crown. After seasons of dark-skin Black women being shunned, it's a reminder that we are good enough.
Kelle Salle, a 34-year-old lifestyle journalist from London, also stopped watching the show, as she was getting tired of watching Black female contestants having the same experience.
"As a single Black woman, seeing Black women being overlooked or not treated properly made for really uncomfortable watching," Salle said.
She found out about the win on social media and was very surprised: "I can't help but wonder why it's taken so long."
"At the same time, I didn't even think it could be possible because of the show's track record with Black contestants," she added. "Our experiences on the show have been well documented and it didn't look like anything would change. So to see Black contestants winning over the public like Mimii and Josh have is wonderful."
Amira Umar, a 26-year-old creative producer from London, did watch the show and was certain Ciaran and Nicole would win. However, she didn't watch the final live, and instead found out about the win from TikTok.
"I was surprised to learn that Mimii and Josh won," she said. "It was a shock but a nice one."
Umar felt quite proud of Mimii and explained that she was her favourite Islander. "She was calm, funny and gracious," she said.
Does this mean the journey for Black women on Love Island will change? Salle thinks it might.
Related: Love Island USA season 2 winners react after historic finale
"Black women are being chosen in the real world, so producers really need to work on finding men who are attracted to Black women. We can have positive relationship experiences and Mimii and Josh's love story is a testament to this."
Umar believes the tide of the show has been changing slowly, saying: "There's been a growing trend of female Black winners. A Black woman won the French Love Island last year, Love Island Games, and a Black couple won Love Island US."
TV representation isn't the be-all and end-all. I don't look to reality TV to see myself, but when I do see a Black woman on shows like Love Island, I want them to have a good and fair experience.
Mimii and Josh's win is a reminder that Black women can have positive dating experiences. Whether the couple lasts, they should be proud that they made history.
Love Island airs on ITV2 and streams on ITVX.
