Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Love Island: Former contestants reveal how the show changed their lives

From being recognised in the cereal aisle to coping with anxiety two years on

Olivia Petter
Tuesday 31 July 2018 17:38 BST
Comments
Dani and Jack announced winners of Love Island 2018

Love Island might have drawn to a close, but the journey is just beginning for this year’s contestants, who have transformed from mortals into household names in a matter of weeks.

With many ex-Islanders going on to launch clothing lines, beauty ranges and landing lucrative sponsorship deals off the back of their newfound fame, this year's contestants can expect their lives to change dramatically.

But beyond business launches, what is life really like after Love Island? We spoke to four former contestants to see how their lives have changed since leaving the Mallorca villa.

Kendall Rae-Knight, season four

Rae-Knight was partnered with Adam Collard before she was 'dumped' from the show when he took a fancy to new contestant Rosie Williams

The former shoe salesperson might’ve been the first to leave this year’s series after just six days, but Rae-Knight tells The Independent that despite the brevity of her time on the show, her life has changed drastically.

I didn’t expect the attention to be as huge as it was. I came out to a much larger following on social media and now get noticed everywhere I go,” she said, adding that she finds it strange when people take secret snaps of her, particularly when she is doing something banal like food shopping.

Career-wise, the 26-year-old explains that it’s been “non-stop” since leaving the villa and has been doing various TV appearances and modelling jobs.

“I absolutely love and thrive on the fact I don’t know what each day is going to bring and what opportunity I’m going to be given next,” she said.

While some previous contestants have spoken out about the adverse effect that social media trolls have had on them, with some even receiving death threats, Rae-Knight explains that thus far her experiences with viewers have been entirely positive.

“I haven’t had to deal with any horrible backlash from the show,” she said, “touch wood it stays this way!”

Eyal Booker, season four

The model was coupled up with Megan Barton-Hanson

The 22-year-old only left Mallorca a few weeks ago, after he was dumped by partner Megan Barton-Hanson, but has already joined the cast of another reality TV show: Celebs Go Dating, which will also star fellow ex-Islander, Olivia Attwood.

Like Rae-Knight, Booker explains that he’s found the public attention mostly positive so far.

“It was so surreal coming out of the villa,” he tells The Independent.

“You have no idea what the public reactions have been whilst you’re in there but I’ve been truly overwhelmed by the amount of support I’ve had.”

He adds that immediately after leaving, he went to film Love Island: Aftersun, a panel show hosted by Caroline Flack which aired on Sunday evenings, which took place near where he lives in Bushey.

“People were coming up to me on the street saying ‘my mate tweeted that you were here so I ran down to say hello’.

“That was so crazy, being on my local high street and random people popping up to give me a hug.”

Montana Brown, season three

Brown is now in a relationship with an old friend

The 22-year-old opened up about her experiences on Love Island earlier this month when she appeared on The Independent’s lifestyle podcast, Millennial Love.

While her relationship with fellow contestant Alex Beattie lasted just a few weeks, Brown has gone on to form a successful partnership with online clothing brand, Pretty Little Thing since departing the show and revealed that she is now in a stable relationship with one of her oldest friends.

Brown credits Love Island for enabling her to launch a successful career, however, she explained that she found the psychological support "lacking" when she first came out of the villa.

"They say you can call the psychologist and the press team to talk about media training but you're not going to call some random stranger three weeks after the show's finished," she told Millennial Love, adding that she initially struggled to adjust to her newfound public profile, describing the experience as "really overwhelming".

Dani and Jack announced winners of Love Island 2018

She recalled saying to the friends she'd appointed to look after her social media profiles before going on the show that she would've been happy coming out to 20,000 followers on Instagram - she now has 1.2 million on the platform.

In terms of criticisms, Brown explained she found the influx of memes that made fun of her - with some comparing her to a character in Monsters Inc - "quite funny".

"That's what you sign up for," she said, "people are always going to hate on you [...] and I always feel that putting yourself on that kind of platform, you are putting yourself up to be susceptible to that kind of abuse. I know it's not okay, but it's part and parcel of doing a show like that and I think that people take it too personally. You signed up for that when you signed the contract to go on Love Island."

Kady McDermott, season two

McDermott was coupled up with Scott Thomas for the majority of her time on the show

She might not have found long-lasting love on the series - McDermott split with partner Scott Thomas in December 2017 - but the 22-year-old model has successfully capitalised on her public profile, launching two businesses since leaving the show in 2016: a beauty brand called ByKady and Body Goals, a fitness and nutrition app.

“I feel very fortunate,” McDermott tells The Independent, “I’ve had a lot of brilliant opportunities. I’m not even exaggerating when I say my whole life is different.

“Coming out the villa was obviously quite overwhelming at first, it all felt like a dream for the first three months, but it was strange as we didn’t realise how big the show was,” she adds.

McDermott thinks contestants from more recent seasons will be more prepared as to what to expect in terms of attention when leaving the villa, something that McDermott admits she still struggles with two years on.

“I’ve got a good group of family and friends around me, so it has been ok, but I’m not going to lie and say it has been completely easy leaving the villa,” she said.

“I suffer with anxiety, especially in social situations. Sometimes I wake up and I really struggle just to get out of bed and just do something normal like go to the gym.

“Sometimes I have days where if I have to go to an event, I struggle on the social side.

“It gets better and it gets worse.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in