Michael Owen has disappointed fans by revealing he will not be appearing on the Love Island 'Meet the Parents' episode.
Fans of the ITV2 dating show were hoping the former footie star would appear on the Spanish villa to reunite with daughter Gemma Owen, and meet her partner Luca Bish. Towards the end of the season, Love Island frequently features an episode in which family members are flown out to emotionally reunite with their loved ones.
Michael, 42, has said his wife Louise Owen will be jetting off instead of him if 19-year-old Gemma makes it to the final week. Viewers will instead hopefully see Louise grill Luca, 23, who has been going from strength to strength with Gemma during their stint on the show.
Speaking to Sky Sports At The Races after watching his horse run, Michael said: "My wife will do that duty. I'll represent the horses and she'll represent the daughter. I don't know what I'll get from Box To Box.
"But I know what I'm going to get from my daughter. I've fathered her for 19 years so I'm pretty sure what I'm going to get from her."
Fans had hoped the former Liverpool player would head into the Love Island villa after his employer BT Sport gave him the all clear to jet off to the reality show due to a lack of football fixtures that weekend. A source told the The Sun: "The end of July looks to be a golden opportunity for Michael to see Gemma.
"He's notoriously private and anything could change between now and finals week but, all things considered, the odds on him taking part are better than ever."
It has previously been reported that Michael was "barely watching" the show due to being "anxious" over how Gemma might behave. A source told the Daily Mail : "Michael has barely watched the show as he has been quite busy over the past few weeks."
They added that Louise "keeps him up to date" though, with the source saying that he has told her not to mention any of the "bad stuff" from the show. The source said he will be "relieved" when Gemma has returned home, though they stated that he is "massively proud" of her and knows that she is a "sensible" person.
Love Island airs tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITV Hub.
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