by Thinus Ferreira
Sarah Fischer (25) from Centurion got double dumped in Wednesday night's episode of Love Island South Africa on M-Net (DStv 101) - first after Asad ended their relationship and then getting voted out of the villa - but she says that she doesn't regret anything that happened on the reality TV experience.
How does she feel about everything that happened and does she still trust people? What advice does she have for those left behind? Did she think people would vote her out and does she feel rejected by the Islanders?
You said that you were ready to leave. Did you feel rejected, what was your frame of mind?
Sarah Fischer: I came into Love Island SA for the experience but also obviously to find love.
Obviously, I've built a very deep connection with Asad and I've already made up my mind that if that relationship didn't work, it was time for me to leave.
It was a very draining experience for me because there was so much going on in the villa, which I'm sure we all know.
When he ended it with me and said we can call it quits and just be friends I just felt that my time in Love Island SA was over. I needed a clean cut.
I can't break up with someone and still be in the same bed sleeping next to them, and watching them flirt with other people. It's not who I am, I've never been like that.
So, when Asad ended it I felt that it was time for me to leave the villa.
Looking back would you say it was a mistake becoming sexually intimate with Asad too soon?
Sarah Fischer: You know, I was discussing this with one of the girls the other day when I was still in the villa.
And when you're in a villa like that, and you're spending 24/7 with someone, you develop a close relationship very, very quickly. It's not like how it is in the outside world where you meet someone, and then 3 days later you see them again. You're with them 24/7. You become comfortable with them.
Though I feel like maybe it was a bit too quick, it was still special. We should be normalising sex because that is part of a relationship and I don't regret it.
Why do you think that's the case?
Sarah Fischer: I think South Africa is still quite traditional and still quite conservative, thinking of all of the different cultures that we have.
I think we're moving towards more of a "new age" - I don't know if that would be the correct word.
I know there are some people in South Africa who are conservative.
I've been brought up in a home where freedom of speech is correct, where you need to be yourself and to not feel bad about being unapologetically yourself.
Obviously, by the same token it is a worry that I was going to be slut-shamed because Asad and I had a sexual relationship.
But I actually think it's a normal thing - when you like someone and you're physically attracted to them, it's normal that you want to sleep with the person and you want to have a sexual relationship.
I don't regret it. It happened. Maybe it was a bit too quick. But in a villa like that you're with people 24/7, so one day feels like 10 years.
People don't see what goes on behind-the-scenes with everyone and how we react to one another and how we communicate.
So it is what it is, but I don't regret it. It was special, I liked him, I still have feelings for him and it's been very hard to get over it knowing that he doesn't feel the same but I don't regret any experience that happened with Asad.
About the voting out, were you surprised by who voted for you and who voted for Summer? Could you anticipate what a vote would be? How close to what your expectations were, did the voting tally turn out?
Sarah Fischer: I was not surprised that I was voted out because I spoke to most of the girls that day and I said that my Love Island SA journey was over.
I said when Asad ended it with me I felt that it was time for me to leave, it was time for me to move on with my life. Though the experience was incredible and I don't regret it at all, I felt that after that it was my time.
So a lot of people knew that that was how I felt, so pretty much when they voted me out I wasn't really shocked or upset because most of them knew how I felt and I think most of the Islanders were also just trying to protect me, which shows a lot. It shows that they really do care about me.
When you had to stand there and hear who people decided to pick, did it feel as if you're back at school waiting to be part of a team or not?
Sarah Fischer: Uhm, no because it's a completely different experience.
I didn't feel rejected because I wasn't technically rejected because I asked [to leave].
If I hadn't said anything to anyone and they voted me out maybe I would have felt a bit rejected.
But because it was basically planned, I didn't feel bad, I didn't feel sad. If anything I was relieved because I needed to move forward.
No, it's a completely different situation to how I was in school. I couldn't even compare the two - it's like chalk and cheese.
Having gone through this experience are you more likely to trust people or are you more distrustful?
Sarah Fischer: I am naturally a very assertive person and I'm also very discerning of people.
I wouldn't say I have trust issues because I can see when someone has a suspicious vibe or maybe a bad energy or a good energy and I keep my guard up.
I don't think there's anything wrong with keeping your guard up. The thing is you don't know someone before you really know them. It takes months to really find out someone's true colours. I consider myself quite a mature person, I handle situations pretty well.
I think with the whole Asad thing I handled it exceptionally well considering that I didn't shout at him, I didn't scream at him, there were no hard feelings though I was upset and I didn't want it to end, it is what it is.
I'm not going to have trust issues, but I will always keep my boundaries, I'll always keep my walls up until I 100% trust someone.
When you go to a new school or job or enter a reality show it's obviously one thing to read up about it to prepare but the actual reality and experience of it is quite different. How was the Love Island SA experience different from what you expected it would be?
Sarah Fischer: You know, interesting that you would say that because I was speaking to someone a few days ago and I was saying that if I've learnt anything from the Love Island SA experience it's that you should never have an expectation.
I think we go into the experience like a reality TV show and we think that we're good enough, and we think that we'll win or we'll get pretty far. Then a lot happens and you realise that your expectations are never met.
So yes, I came in there with an expectation and I was hoping that I would get further, but then you realise during that experience that you learn a lot about yourself and other people and the dynamics of how relationships work.
I think that's something that I've really learnt through a reality TV show or anything along the lines of that is that it never really goes as you expect, but you must just trust the process and embrace what you're going through - whether it's negative or positive.
What have you learnt from your time in the villa and what advice would you have for the Islanders remaining behind?
Sarah Fischer: What I've definitely learnt is to never gossip because the truth always comes out - especially in a small villa like that!
You say one thing and then 2 minutes later everyone else knows. And you will be gunned for it. So be true to yourself, and don't gossip in a place like that - it's never going to work out in your favour.
The second thing I've definitely learnt is expectations, so never have a pre-conceived idea because things never plan out in the way you think it's going to plan out, it always plans out differently.
Maybe it will plan out in the way you want it to but it never goes the way you think it is going to in your mind.
Then for the Islanders who are in there at the moment and future Islanders if they have a season two, I think you need to have a backbone, and you need to be quite a strong person but at the same token you need to be true to yourself.
The thing is that there is a lot that goes in in that villa - there's a lot of drama, there's a lot of tears and anger and resentment and so many mixed emotions and you need to be strong enough to deal with something like that. You need a strong personality.
Someone who isn't strong enough will never be able to cope. I consider myself quite a strong person and I even battled.
Love Island South Africa is on weekdays on M-Net (DStv 101) at 21:30
