In Thursday night’s episode, Phoebe became the second contestant to get booted from Love Island Australia when the remaining couples chose to save Gerard over her.
The 28 year-old credit analyst may have entered the villa late as an intruder, but she made Love Island history when she and Cassie became the show’s first same-sex pairing.
Here she chats exclusively to Now To Love about coming out on national television and the importance of representation on Aussie TV.
Now To Love: We’re sad to see you go Phoebe. It was between you and Gerard but were you surprised to be sent home?
Phoebe: No, not at all. I think I had expressed to everyone that it was time for me to leave and if I’m being completely honest if I didn’t get voted out, I might have just made the decision to leave myself.
You said at the end that you weren’t ready for love, was that due to the show?
I think it just made me realise that I need more time to myself to figure out exactly what I want. Even, you know, making the decision to re-couple with a girl was completely brand new for me. So I think I need some time to figure out what I want.
“If I didn’t get voted out, I might have just made the decision to leave myself.”
(Image: Nine Network)You made Love Island history coupling up with Cassie and there was a particularly emotional moment when you got a bit emotional talking about how you hadn’t mentioned it to your family and that you were doing this on national TV. How have your family reacted to the news?
I’ve spoken to my mum and my sister and they have both been really supportive which is a real relief for me.
And you also got a massive outpouring from fans with many people who were really supportive of you. Did you expect such a big reaction?
I actually haven’t looked at any of my social media yet. I haven’t read through any of the comments or anything like that, but I have gotten some feedback and I’ve read one article that has been quite positive.
Of course there’s always going to be a bit of negativity, but hearing that most of the reactions were supportive is really really nice. Not just for me but also other people that are maybe struggling with their sexuality, or if they don’t feel accepted or any of those issues, I think it’s pretty positive for those people out there as well.
Phoebe and Cassie made Love Island history when they became the first same-sex couple.
(Image: Nine Network)It seems like there were no hard feelings between you and Cassie at the end. Would you have gone for someone like her in the outside world?
To be honest I’m not the kind of woman who goes out. Obviously, there are so many beautiful women everywhere, especially in Sydney down like you know Bondi or in the Northern Beaches. But it’s very rare for me to meet a girl and be like, actually, there’s something more there. Because it’s so new to me like, I don’t really know what I’m attracted to in a woman.
With Cassie, obviously she’s good looking, but we connected on a deeper level because we’re actually quite similar, our life experiences are quite similar, some of the previous relationships we had are quite similar. Even how we like to party, we connected on that level as well. It was always effortless with Cassie and our time in the villa, we spent most of the time laughing because we have the same sense of humour.
READ MORE: Who are all the Love Island Australia 2019 couples?
“With Cassie, obviously she’s good looking, but we connected on a deeper level because we’re actually quite similar.”
(Image: Nine Network)Other reality shows have received backlash for queerbaiting and poorly representing same-sex couples. Are you happy with how you were show on screen?
I haven’t seen any of the episodes that I’m in and to be honest I don’t really think I’m ready to watch any of that stuff. I’m still quite overwhelmed with everything that I’ve been through so it might take me a bit of time to want to watch the episodes back.
What I’ve been told from my family is that I’ve come across as quite genuine which is really good for me because that’s all that I tried to be , be myself and and be honest.
“I’m still quite overwhelmed with everything that I’ve been through so it might take me a bit of time to want to watch the episodes back.”
(Image: Nine Network)You and Cassie had a great discussion about how we need to set an example for how women treat each other. Is that something that you’ve noticed going on in the house or could it get a bit bitchy at times?
I just feel that in everyday life and society in general, it seems that sometimes women are pushed to compete with each other. Definitely in shows like The Bachelor where the premise of the whole show is women competing with each other, fighting over each other, fighting over the same guy.
I think that when women are nasty to each other, or make comments about how another woman looks or put each other down it just makes it ok for men to put us down. And I think that women are stronger together. You can make more of an impact if you support each other and that’s beyond important to me. More important than love, is to set an example that girls need to love each other and treat each other with respect.
Phoebe says that setting an example that girls should love and support one another is more important than romantic love.
(Image: Nine Network)You said that you think Vanessa’s a bit of a maneater and that she’s not in the show for the right reasons. Do you think she and Matt are doomed?
I tried to stay out of the Vanessa and Matt drama because it was quite frequent and up and down all the time. I just got to the point where I didn’t even really know what was going on between them.
Obviously I didn’t get to spend that much time with Vanessa. The twins had strong opinions on her. And to be honest, I don’t know enough about that situation to have a strong opinion.
WATCH: Meet Love Island‘s Vanessa. Post continues after video…
It’s still early days but who do you think is the strongest couple in the villa?
In my opinion Jessie and Eoghan are the strongest couple. They’re both compassionate people, they’re both level headed. They’re trying to avoid the drama and there’s a level of maturity there between both of them.
Of course Cartier and Adam have a really good thing going on but there is a bit of an age difference and they’re polar opposites. I think that we just have to wait and see with them if it will work on the outside.
Phoebe says Eoghan and Jessie are compassionate, level headed and that there’s a level of maturity there between both of them.
(Image: Nine Network)Aside from taking a break from dating, what are your plans post Love Island?
I don’t really know. I’m still trying to get my head around this whole experience. I think that for me, I would like to be represented in a way of diversity, and not just being open with my sexuality and being interested in women but also the fact that I’m mixed race and on an Australian program.
As I said before, if I can make people who are confused about their sexuality more comfortable, if I can be more open with speaking about it, or even with mixed race girls who don’t really get shown in the media, I can also be representative of that as well. I’m kind of leaning towards that side of things and what opportunities can come up for me there.
Phoebe hopes she can help with representation on Australian TV.
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