Love Island season 12 star Conor Phillips has admitted he knew his now-girlfriend, Megan Forte Clarke, before they were on the ITV2 dating show together.
During an interview on the Six O'Clock show, Conor told the host how he first came across Megan on TikTok back in 2021.
Confirming Megan's earlier revelation that he slid into her DMS before the 2025 series, he said: "That's right. I can't hide it."
He continued: "I've seen a lot of stuff since we come out, like 'Oh we knew each other before' and whatever. Basically what happened was I think it was about four years ago, so in 2021, I was on TikTok, she came up on my TikTok, I looked at the video a few times, and then I followed her. She didn't follow me back, so then I was just following her. She didn't know who I was. Then I saw she had a boyfriend, so I unfollowed. "
Conor was meant to be a bombshell on Love Island, but was drafted in the at the last minute, after Kyle Ashman was axed from the starting line-up. When he saw Megan (again), he says he knew instantly that he wanted to couple up with her.
He added: "I wasn't meant to be a part of the original cast. So I'd actually seen everyone who was in. And I was like, 'I know that girl!' So I actually put up a TikTok when I landed in the airport in Majorca saying, 'I'm going to go for Megan', so I manifested it. And now she's my girlfriend."
The duo reunited on the 12th series in July. Megan was originally coupled up with Tommy Bradley, and Conor was in a couple with Emily Moran at the time, however, when Emily went off to the Sleepover, the duo got close and shared a secret kiss. After that, they decided to give things a go, but Megan was then dumped from the island.
While out the villa, Megan revealed that her and Conor actually knew each other prior to the show, saying: "On day one [of Love Island] Conor told me that he followed me on Instagram four years ago. I never followed him back. Since coming out I’ve seen that he follows me on TikTok and he’s commented on one of my TikToks. Again, I’ve not followed him back or even realised he’d commented on one. It’s nice that he’s still trying four years later, it’s worked out for him now I suppose."
Megan later returned to season 12 as a bombshell, with the pair rekindling their romance and just missing out on the final.
Since the show, the couple have continued their relationship, splitting their time between Ireland and Brighton. At the end of August, they confirmed that they were officially boyfriend and girlfriend.
