Michael Owen says his teen daughter going into Love Island has plunged him into every father’s “worst nightmare”.
The ex-England striker, 42, made the admission after his girl Gemma, 19, said her dad isn’t “buzzing” about her living in the villa with a bunch of randy blokes.
He said: “I have no doubts that she will make us all proud.
“It’s probably a father’s worst nightmare, but whatever she wants to do you’ve got to be supportive.”
Michael, who also shares 16-year-old son James and daughters Emily, 15, and 11-year-old Jessica with childhood sweetheart Louise Bonsall, insisted Gemma is a “sensible girl”.
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He added about being willing to watch the show despite it being notorious for showing contestants having sex: “It’s been different without her in the house.
“I’ve got other kids and my wife and it’s been quite tough because she’s had to switch her phone off and we’ve had no contact for a couple of weeks so that’s been the hard bit.
“I’ve heard a lot about it.
“I think old, grumpy men like me will always have an opinion on it because I don’t watch it and you just hear the snippets, but she assures me that it’s not as bad as I think.
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“So, we’ll give it a watch and I hope she enjoys herself.”
Team GB dressage champion Gemma has said her mum has put her under strict instructions to keep her turn on the ITV2 dating show “classy”.
She added ahead of the latest series starting on Monday (June 6) she wasn’t planning on any bedroom antics while on the show in Majorca.
She said: “I still wouldn’t say that my dad is buzzing about me doing Love Island.
“I wouldn’t say that they were 100% happy with it, but I would definitely say they trust me not to do anything to purposely disrespect them.
“So I don’t think I would have sex in the villa. Dad said, ‘You know how to behave. You just go and do it’.
“My mum’s bit of advice was, ‘Gem, remember to keep it classy’.”
Jet-setter Gemma has her own swimwear company and insisted she launched it in lockdown 2020 without the need of a cash injection from her multi-millionaire dad.
The sportswoman decided to give Love Island a go after a relationship break-up and admitted she has a competitive streak.
Michael is said to have previously warned Gemma to stay away from footballers.
But she said: “I’m sure if I did get with a footballer he’d be quite happy because he’d have something in common with them.
“I don’t think he’d be annoyed.”
Love Island returns 9pm Monday June 6 on ITV and ITVHub.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk