The return of love Island means romance, drama and twists are on the cards for the next few weeks.
But it seems fans aren’t happy about the reappearance of one particular thing: noisy kissing.
Despite being just three days into the show, things have been heating up between Tyrique Hyde and Ella Thomas, as well as Molly Marsh and Mitchel Taylor.
But viewers haven’t been so impressed with noises coming from their screens – especially when this issue was flagged by fans last season. In fact, many said the kisses last night were ‘sloppier’ than ever.
Some even begged producers to ‘turn the mike down’ after hearing the ‘sloppy, wet’ sound effects.
One person wrote on Twitter: ‘A lot of kisses will happen tomorrow, they better reduce the mic we don’t want to hear smooch smooch.’
So, why does noisy kissing make us feel queasy?
On the whole, on-screen kissing in scripted TV and film does not tend to give us the ick.
Most of us typically adore love and romance – as we root for our favourite on-screen protagonists to finally hook up and share an intimate moment.
But noisy kissing on reality TV does not elicit the same responses.
That’s because it’s not a carefully-curated, romantic movie-style kiss with the perfect backing music. So when it comes to this loud, unfiltered snogging on love Island, it’s a massive turn-off.
‘There are multiple reasons as to why noisy kissing might give us the ick, ranging from a subconscious response to a physical impulse,’ Annabelle Knight, a sex and relationships expert at love honey, tells Metro.co.uk.
‘Seeing other people kiss noisily grosses us out as it makes us feel as if we are encroaching on an intimate moment and evokes in us the same reaction as seeing PDA (Public Display of Affection), only amplified by the noise.
‘So if you are averse to PDA, then you won’t want to watch noisy kissing or engage in it yourself.’
But for some people, the sounds can evoke stronger reactions than simply feeling a bit disgusted.
‘If you have a really visceral reaction to noisy kissing, then you might have “misophonia”,’ adds Annabelle.
Misophonia, or selective sound sensitivity syndrome, is a condition where people experience extreme hypersensitivity to certain sounds other people make, such as eating, slurping, breathing and lip-smacking.
And while it’s fair to say that hearing loud smooching on TV might not be for everyone, it can be even worse when it’s coming from your own date.
What can you do if the person you’re snogging is a noisy kisser?
If your partner is a noisy kisser – or indeed does anything that you don’t like or find irritating – then you simply have to suck it up and talk to them, says Annabelle.
She adds: ‘You can tell them that you don’t like it without being offensive, and your relationship will ultimately be better off for it.
‘Bottle it up, and it might end up putting you off completely.’
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First appear at Why love Island’s noisy kissing is grossing us out – and what to do if your date is guilty of it
