Love Island Australia finished in December 2024, but the post-show drama has been flowing ever since — in particular, between Mimi Paranihi and Dylan Towolawi.
Those of you who aren’t up to speed on what went down outside the villa will have a bit of catching up to do. The TLDR is that Dylan broke up with Sophie Mills — who he was coupled up with at the end of the show — and pursued a relationship with her friend, Mimi.
Mimi and Dylan coyly spoke about their budding relationship post-show. Mimi confirmed that they were dating and told 9Now that she “adored” him.
However, things went south (to put it lightly), with both Islanders sharing some seriously scorching TikToks detailing a relationship breakdown.
What has Mimi said?
Mimi first started dropping hints about her break up with Dylan on TikTok when she posted a clip captioned “A woman’s intuition never lies, but men do.” In the comments section fans asked if she was talking about Dylan, and she liked their comments.
Then, on March 25 she shared a get ready with me video titled “GRWM PT 1 How I found out I got cheated on”.
Mimi doesn’t mention Dylan’s name in the video. However, she does say she was seeing someone for “a couple of months”.
She explained that she and this person had started hooking up before he went overseas and then stayed in touch while he was away.
@documentwithmi Once a cheater always a cheater I guess x #grwm ♬ original sound – Mimi
“We were texting every day, calling all of that,” she said. “We had a really nice phone call. It was all lovey dovey, and he ended up messaging me, being like, I think I’m in love with you. Like, I love you.”
Mimi said she went to meet the person at the airport but her intuition told her something was wrong.
“As soon as I see them, like, my womanly instincts are, like, something’s wrong. I don’t know what it was that, like, gave it away. It just felt different. I don’t even know how to explain it.”
In a part two video, Mimi said that the person admitted that he’d hooked up with someone else while he was away.
@documentwithmi Dealing w trauma through the word lol xx
♬ original sound – Mimi
What did Dylan say about the break up?
Dylan uploaded a 13 minute video on March 30 and didn’t name the person he is talking about, but said “me and this person started hanging out romantically a bit after the villa.”
He added: “After the villa, she said all her friends dropped her because they said she changed as a person since being on the show. I was there for her.”
Dylan explained a similar story to Mimi’s saying that he and the person dated for a few months before he went home to Ireland.
“Just before Christmas, I visited home and went out and slept with someone,” he said.
Dylan said that he admitted the hook up to the person he was seeing in Sydney and wanted to rekindle things. However, they ended their situationship shortly after.
Dylan stressed that he and the woman he was seeing in Sydney weren’t exclusive, so he doesn’t believe that he cheated.
@dylantowolawi ♬ original sound – dylantowolawi
“We’ve seen each other for eight to ten weeks, and you’re blowing up on social media about this, like, is it even cheating?” he said.
“I fucked up. I hold my hands up. Was this girl my girlfriend? No, was I her boyfriend? No, were we on a serious level? No.”
Dylan finished off by saying that he wishes he never hooked up with the person in Ireland and wishes he’d never met “that girl in the show”.
“If I could take back what I did back home, I’d take it back in the morning. If I could take back meeting that girl in the show, I will take it back right now, trying to ruin my life over this crazy, crazy, crazy work.”
Eesh.
What were the first signs that Dylan and Mimi had broken up?
Mimi and Dylan stayed suspiciously quiet about their relationship on social media after announcing they had started seeing each other. .
On January 16, Mimi shared a message on her Instagram broadcast channel, appearing to show a conversation with Dylan that seemed to confirm that they are no longer together.
“Anyways we have nothing else left to talk about. All the best with your journey. I would wish you the best but you had that.” Yikes!
Mimi first hinted at her and Dylan’s break up on January 14, when she shared a video of her having dinner with some friends and captioned it, “A woman’s intuition never lies, but men do.”
Furthermore, in the comments section of the TikTok, the Love Island star appeared to make some pointed references to her TV ex.
@documentwithmi A woman’s intuition never lies but men do x
♬ original sound – clara ౨ৎ ⋆｡˚
Mimi liked a fan’s comment that read, “Bye Bye Dylan,” and responded to another that said, “You clocked him straight away the first time. Why do we give them second chances?” with a clown face. Eesh.
When a third fan asked Mimi, “What did Dyls do?” she cryptically replied, “Patience, darlings, a whole new series is about to begin.”
To add even more fuel to the fire, Mimi shared a follow-up TikTok video miming the lyrics “If you fuck me, then fuck you” from Kendrick Lamar’s 30 for 30 Freestyle. She captioned the post, “Leave the island girl in peace.” Which is… indeed a choice.
@documentwithmi Leave the island girl in peace x
♬ 30 For 30 (with Kendrick Lamar) – SZA
Were Mimi and Dylan in a relationship?
It doesn’t sound like Mimi and Dylan were officially official at the beginning. In an interview before Christmas, Mimi was asked about reports that she and Dylan were dating.
“I am single, but I am seeing someone,” Mimi said during an interview on New Zealand’s The Edge.
@theedgenz are Mimi and Dylan from Love Island Australia together? ☕
♬ original sound – The Edge
How did Love Island Australia’s Mimi and Dylan get together?
Mimi and Dylan were coupled up towards the beginning of Love Island Australia, but Mimi decided to pursue Love God Steph Blackos when Dylan didn’t meet her emotional needs.
The two never rekindled their relationship in the villa, even when they spent a night together at Hotel Amor.
However, following both Islanders’ eliminations, Dylan and Mimi have confirmed that they are dating.
“We were on a night out, and my intrusive thoughts won,” Mimi told 9Now of how the couple rekindled their relationship.
“We were just talking – and then I just kissed him. Then, we ended up having a really deep conversation. He opened up to me and I opened up to him… we learned that he can’t be emotional without physical, and I can’t be physical without emotional, so that’s kind of where that all worked out
“I adore him. I’m obsessed with him, actually. He’s amazing. I’ve literally never been with anyone as caring as him before.”
Dylan said that that fateful night helped him see a “completely different side to Mimi that nobody else knows”.
“After that night happened, we were just always talking and seeing each other on group nights. Then, the last month and a half, we’ve been out and staying at each other’s houses,” he added.
What happened to Dylan and Sophie?
Dylan and Sophie split shortly after leaving the Love Island Australia villa.
“Dylan did start acting a little bit funny and he did give me a ring and let me know that there’s somebody from his past that has come back up and that he’s interested in getting to know again,” Sophie cryptically revealed in an interview with 9Now.
“I just decided to remove myself from the equation, and I think it was probably for the best.”
Dylan added that Sophie wasn’t thrilled when she found out he was dating Mimi, who she was close to in the villa.
“Obviously, Sophie caught wind of it, she wasn’t happy, but we went about it as respectfully as we could,” he said.
Stream Love Island Australia 2024 on 9Now.
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