Michael Owen sent a message to his daughter Gemma after the finale of Love Island.
Gemma Owen and her partner Luca Bish finished second in the ITV2 dating series, with Ekin-Su Culculoglu and Davide Sanclimenti beating them for the £50,000 prize.
Former Liverpool and England striker Owen posted a message on Instagram after the final expressing his pride for his daughter.
He wrote: “What a special girl. So proud of you, @gemowen_1. Now go home cause we all missed you.
Owen has been hesitant to talk about his daughter Gemma as Love Island has been unfolding for a few weeks.
He was working as a pundit for the Nations League game between England and Germany in June and presenter Jules Breach asked him about it seconds into the program.
Anxious to ignore the inevitable jokes, he says: “I came all the way to Germany to try to avoid all this at home, but it was immediately mentioned! But I feel good. It blows my mind, so don’t question it.
He also posted an emoji of a face covering his eyes with his hands on Twitter after Gemma took part in the ‘heart rate challenge’ where she, along with the other contestants, were tasked with dressing up in flirty outfits for the purpose of increasing everyone else’s pulse.
Michael did not come to see his daughter Gemma in the final stages of the dating series, but his wife Louise revealed her thoughts on her time on the show.
After Gemma asked what her father thought of the way she behaved, Louise told her, “Honestly, he’s really proud of you, really proud.”
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