Love Island star Simba's brother wants the 'smiled bares' meme to live on for their mum
11 August 2026, 17:15 | Updated: 11 August 2026, 17:18
After their mother's neurological illness was revealed, Love Island star Simba's brother has shared how they don't want the "smiled bares" meme to come to an end.
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During Love Island series 13, Simba Kudyiwa read Angelista Gunda a love letter to apologise for choosing Mara Pirez at the Casa Amor recoupling.
In the letter, which he performed as a speech at the fire pit in front of their entire cast, Simba said that before he entered the show as a bombshell he had watched the show with his mum and brother and pointed out Angelista to them. He said: "My mum asked me what you do for work, I said you're a nurse. She smiled bares."
The phrase "she smiled bares" became a huge meme amongst fans, but in a conversation with us Simba revealed there is a deeper meaning behind the quote which went viral.
He told us that smiling is her only form of communication as she has neurological illness, Motor Neurone Disease. This led fans who joked about it to feel guilty and have started to stop saying it. But Simba's brother has spoken out and said their family don't want the meme to be censored.
- Read more: EXCLUSIVE: Love Island's Simba reveals deeper meaning behind his mum 'smiled bares' quote
Taking to TikTok, Simba's brother said: "I don't know why 'smiling bares' became censored on the internet. Simba himself said he likes seeing the statement because it reminds him of his mum."
He added that their mum uses the phrases "like every single day and she enjoyed it".
"You lot were complaining with how she didn't get mentioned on the show, and the context would have been useful. And the one time she's mentioned, and the one time she gets a mad space within the internet, you lot want to wipe if off her name to," he said.
He insisted: "Give her a bit of credit and just keep on using it man. Let her know that she was at least a very important part of the season."
He added that the more people use the the meme, the more "awareness" that is brought to Motor Neurone Disease.
Concluding, he said: "It's crazy that people were offended on behalf of us but no family or friends were offended. The only thing to be offended [by] is that the conversation was cut, because we know that would have affected voting."
In conversation with us, Simba said: "I love the fact that everyone's running with this, that everyone's saying it. I want to keep seeing it, I want to keep hearing it. It's amazing."
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