Michael Owen has broken his silence over daughter Gemma signing up for this year’s Love Island.
Speaking to ITV News, Michael, 42, said: ‘I have no doubts that she will make us all proud.
‘It’s probably a father’s worst nightmare, but whatever she wants to do you’ve got to be supportive.
‘It’s a father’s worst nightmare’: Michael Owen, 42, has broken his silence over daughter Gemma, 19, signing up for Love Island after she admitted he ‘isn’t happy about it’
‘I’ve heard a lot about it. I think old, grumpy men like me will always have an opinion on it because I don’t watch it and you just hear snippets, but she assures me it’s not as bad as I think.’
He described Gemma as a ‘sensible girl’, explaining: ‘It’s quite a big thing and whatever she wants to do, you have to be supportive and I think I’ve given her a decent enough grounding to be respectful’.
His words come after Gemma admitted her England legend dad Michael ‘isn’t happy’ about her signing up for Love Island but he trusts her not to ’embarrass’ him.
The swimwear brand owner, 19, told MailOnline that Michael, 42, resisted having a ‘tantrum’ after learning she will be on the dating show this summer, eventually giving his blessing, saying: ‘I’m not going to tell you what to do.’
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Speaking from Mallorca ahead of the series launch on Monday, Gemma revealed that she hopes to dispel misconceptions about being a footballer’s daughter, after receiving nasty comments from trolls about her privileged upcoming.
She said: ‘I still wouldn’t say that my dad is buzzing about me doing Love Island.
‘He’s very supportive in whatever I decide to do. He didn’t have a massive tantrum or anything like that. He was pretty chilled, he trusts me not to do anything to embarrass him. He took it quite well.