Love Island star swoons over Bridgerton beauty as she's 'inspired' by show
EXCLUSIVE: Love Islander India Reynolds might have been unlucky in love - but that's not the only thing she shares with Bridgerton's Penelope.
Former Love Island legend India Reynolds sat down to chat with Express.co.uk about the new summer lingerie collection she's launching - and why the designs would fit in perfectly on an episode of Bridgerton. Ever since the return of the period drama to Netflix, viewers have been glued to screens - and the regencycore trend, featuring designs inspired by the fashions of the 1800s, has swept the nation.
India told us that she'd love to see star of the show Penelope, played by Nicola Coughlan, donning one of her designs. Referring to the new season, she exclaimed: "I'm so happy that Penelope's now getting her moment."
By the season three finale, Penelope sees an end to her unrequited love affair and finally weds Colin (Luke Newton) - and India revealed: "I love when they finally get together. As a viewer, it can be a bit annoying when you're watching two people that obviously really like each other, and for whatever reason, they're missing finally getting together.
"It's always nice when they actually manage to make it happen," she mused. She added that her latest collection, inspired by the corsets and suspenders of the Bridgerton era is exactly "the type of thing you'd want to be wearing [in Penelope's situation] when you finally got with the guy you liked".
Meanwhile, like Penelope in the first two seasons of the show, India can relate to struggles with romance. Having previously described her love life as a "disaster", she is currently single.
Offering an insight into why her first public coupling ended, after she fell for Ovie Soko in the Love Island villa back in 2019, she cited the pressure of public opinion.
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"I think the hardest thing [about the show] is when you come out, because there's so much pressure. You might have only known someone for a couple of weeks, and people literally act like you're married, and ask: 'When are you moving in?' You feel the pressure from that."
She added that public attitudes and expectations "definitely" contributed to splitting from Ovie, sighing: "I think it's just inevitable. People think because they've seen you get together, they've been on the journey with you.
"Because you come out as a couple, it's like, 'Okay, when's the next thing? When's the next thing?' Everyone's wanting [more]."
Asked whether she's ever had an unrequited crush like Penelope, where she's struggled to get the hint to a man she fancies, she declared: "Probably."
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On reflection, she added: "Well, I've been single for a couple of years. I don't think I'm getting a hint to anyone!"
However, that might all be about to change, as she suggested that she's keen to get back on the market and "actually start putting some effort into dating".
Asked whether her hectic work schedule has also played a role in her single status, she jokily contradicted: "No, it's because I can't get a b****y text back!"
Meanwhile, her Bridgerton-inspired lingerie collection - for Pour Moi, a company she'd already modelled with for five years - is guaranteed to be a hit.
She's teased that the "corsets, bold embroidery and pastels" of the show set her imagination alight when it came to the design process - and her favourite outfit, in a delicate shade of champagne, has "a deep suspender which would probably have been their style at the time".
Shop the new India Loves collection now at pourmoi.co.uk.