Will Young claims he hadn’t seen Love Island before taking part as he discusses reality TV with Vicky Pattison

Vicky Pattison has compared her reality TV experience with  Love Island heartthrob Will Young.The former Geordie Shore star, 35, welcomed the farmer onto her podcast, ‘The Secret To…’ to talk about love, farming and reality TV.

Will found love on the winter edition of the ITV2 dating show earlier this year with Jessie Wynter and is set to release his new book,‘For the Love of Farming’, this October. Vicky praised Will, who has 1.9 million TikTok followers, for having gained success prior to his reality TV appearance.

Vicky said: “You were super successful on TikTok and were absolutely killing it and you were a sensation in your own right, mate”. Will responded “It was the animals, not me”.

Will candidly confessed that he had never actually watched Love Island before agreeing to go on the show. He explained:: “I got messaged on Instagram by Love Island and then you do a Zoom and meet the producers”.

Vicky likened his experience to a “baptism of fire” as the farmer went from isolation on a farm to enjoying a luxury holiday on an island in South Africa.Former Geordie Shore star, Vicky, compared her own reality TV experience as she spent time filming ‘I’m a Celebrity’ for Australian audiences out in South Africa too.

They were filming in Kruger National Park when  she was called by the producers thinking that she was about to embark on a new challenge when, in fact, a leopard had been found prowling round the campfire.

Vicky revealed she has been following Will and Jessie’s romance on Instagram and loves their ‘wholesome’ relationship. She also pointed out that both Will and Jessie have a lot in common as Jessie is from a remote village in Tasmania and Will is from a farm in Aylesbury.

Vicky said: “I think these reality TV shows get quite a lot of stick. People say that the contestants are only on it because they want to get Instagram followers but I actually think, once in a while, you get a really lovely genuine couple”.

She went on to compare the couple to other successful Love Island duos including Alex and Olivia Bowen and Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury. She added: “It’s amazing that you found each other”.

Vicky giggled whilst admitting that: “As someone who has done every reality TV show around, I know it can be hard at times”. Will went on to discuss his highs and lows which included meeting Jessie and also his act of betrayal in Casa Amour and the aftermath.

He said: “I was on such a high and then after that week I was on such a low”. He added that he thought: “If I can’t get back with Jessie, there is no point in me staying.”

Speaking about Casa Amour, Vicky said: “lad’s last holiday vibes. It is almost as though you can send caution to the wind and everyone forgets what they are doing”. After Will confessed how awful he felt, Vicky comforted him by saying: “You are only young and everyone makes mistakes”.

Vicky had plenty of experience of ‘making mistakes’ during her time on Geordie Shore, so was quick to show empathy to the young farmer.She pointed out that: “viewers get so invested in your relationship on screen.”

“Mate, nobody is perfect so don’t beat yourself up too much and it all worked out for the best,” Vicky added.

Vicky describes herself as ‘Jungle Queen, podcaster, author & feminist 👑’ on her Instagram, having done Geordie Shore and Ex on The Beach. She said that in Love Island and all reality TV shows there is an “underlying toxic masculinity.”

Vicky added: “It was so lovely to see you bring the anti-version of this and show a softer side to yourself. You expressed your feelings after you felt like you had messed up in Casa Amour, wore your heart on your sleeve and were a mediator in certain situations. I kind of felt like it was very progressive”.

Will replied: “I was just being me”. Vicky has experienced many tumultuous relationships live on reality TV including Stephen Bear, who is now imprisoned and Ricci Guarnaccio whom she met on Geordie Shore.

The star is now planning to marry her loving fiancé, Ercan Ramadan, in 2024 and compared her 5 year relationship to that of Jessie and Will saying: “I’m engaged now to my lovely fiancé, Ercan, who is absolutely class. We have been together 5 years, are planning our wedding and all’s gravy. This is not my first rodeo as I have been engaged twice before and I feel like in those situations [reality TV] you spend 24 hours a day together and it feels really natural”.

She finished the podcast by saying: “I think you two will move really fast” to which Will responded: “Sometimes in Tesco I get down on one knee” and laughed gleefully.