Michael Owen had a short response when quizzed about his daughter Gemma appearing on Love Island during Channel 4’s Nations League coverage of England vs Germany.
Gemma made her Love Island debut on Monday (6 June) in the first episode of the reality show’s eighth series.
Before the match, Channel 4 presenter Jules Breach introduced the punditry team, referring to Owen as “the father of Love Island’s Gemma Owen”.
Breach went on to quiz Owen about his feelings towards his daughter’s reality show appearance, which he responded to by joking: “I came all the way to Germany to try and avoid all that back home, but it has been brought up straight away.”
The former England striker then shut down any further discussion on the subject, saying: “But I am feeling alright. This is taking my mind off it so don’t bring it back up!”
Fans on social media have also poked fun at Owen, resharing a 2014 tweet from the footballer that read: “Going to bed. Can’t take the pain any longer.”
The tweet was reshared by a fan on Monday night (6 June), who quipped: “Michael Owen at 9pm every night for the next 8 weeks,” referring to the duration of Love Island.
After two episodes, Gemma has not yet told her fellow islanders about her famous parentage, but, she has dropped a number of hints.
Ahead of her entrance to the villa, Gemma told the Daily Mail that her footballer father isn’t exactly “buzzing about me doing Love Island”. However, he told her: “I’m not going to tell you what to do.”
“He’s very supportive in whatever I decide to do. He didn’t have a massive tantrum or anything like that. He was pretty chilled, he trusts me not to do anything to embarrass him. He took it quite well,” she added.
