Scots Love Island star Lydia Karakyriakou's best pal says her short time in the Villa has been bittersweet but she’s looking forward to giving her a "massive cuddle at the airport".
Jessica Owen, 22 told the Daily Record she's "gutted" the Glasgow-based influencer's time has come to an end so soon.
But she couldn't be prouder of her friend, who entered the ITV2 reality show on Monday as one of the Casa Amor bombshells.
Lydia, 22, instantly clicked with Tom Clare and it looked for a while like she may make it back to the main villa as the footballer seemed undecided whether to take the plunge and choose Lydia over Samie Elishi, who was waiting for him back at the main villa.
But last night, hopes were dashed as Tom picked Samie over Lydia despite sharing more than one kiss and a bed with the Scot.
Jessica, a social media executive for Uddingston talent agency Aquarius Creative, told the Record: "I am actually so, so proud of her. I don't think she could have handled herself any better than what she did in that situation.
"I could see that she was obviously a wee bit sad or gutted, but at the same time Tom was quite honest with her as well and she would rather someone just being honest with her.
"Lydia is the type of person who would rather someone go with what is true to them and I think you could tell that she was just happy for Tom and Samie to be together.
"Lydia is a really calm person, she's not one to kick off or to be negative about a situation - she's very easy going with things like that."
Tom was the bookies’ favourite at 9/10 to crumble and recouple with the Scottish beauty, but he decided to go with his heart and stick with Samie, who he was originally coupled up with.
Jessica added: “I think Lydia will just be happy that she has been given this opportunity to go on Love Island, even though it was short and it's a shame we didn't get to see much of her personality and if she was given the chance to stay, we would have seen that.
"If she had stayed in the main villa she would have done absolutely great. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I'm glad she went for it. She came across really well and she was just always positive about things situations and she just went with the flow and kept very true to herself.
"I really can't wait to have her home now, I know it's only been a couple off weeks she's been away but I can't to have her home and also hear about everything that maybe wasn't shown on TV.
"I've just missed having my best friend to be honest because she is like my support system and I can't wait to give her a massive cuddle at the airport when she is home."
Casa Amore closed its doors on Thursday night, bringing heartbreak for Shaq, after he decided to stick with Tanya, who walked through the door with another boy after she recoupled with Martin.
Elsewhere, Will and Jessie were reunited in emotional scenes where he had to confess to kissing a bombshell while Jessie was faithful to him in Casa.
Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.
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