15 Dirty Little Secrets About Love Island (You NEED To Know)
Pop culture can be a funny thing. Sometimes you hear about something cool from the very beginning -- like right when a new show premieres either on TV or Netflix -- and you can be the one to tell your friends and family that they have to check it out. Other times, you hear about something and realize that it's super popular and trendy and you had absolutely no idea. Then you go on a mad rush to see what all the fuss is about and see if you're going to love it too. Most of the time, you become a fan in a matter of moments, and you wonder why you didn't hear about it before. This is totally going to be the case with Love Island. What is that? It's a British reality show that is getting a ton of press and attention these days. If you haven't even heard of it, that's okay. Because you're about to learn a ton. Here are 15 facts about Love Island you didn't know that you NEED to know.
15 It's A Dating Show
Love Island is not just any reality show. It's not about people going to lunch or dinner or fancy parties. It's a dating show. There have been two seasons so far and the third season is said to air this year. So instead of watching people fight and go crazy and deal with more drama than most people see in a month or even a year, you're going to watch people try to form relationships and see who they are attracted to. Sounds great, right? After all, you absolutely love The Bachelor and The Bachelorette so you're always down to find a new show that you can obsess over just as much as those. Dating shows are so fascinating since you always wonder what's real and what the people just really want to be real. It's tough to think that people could really fall in love on a television show, but hey, it does seem to happen. Other times, of course, it doesn't work out at all and the breakups are messy and super public.
14 The Best Couple Will Win Money
What's interesting about this show is that it's pretty much a contest and the prize is cash. The couple that is left standing in the end will win money -- 50,000 pounds to be exact. That definitely ups the ante, right? You will definitely get super into it and have favorites from the very first episode that you watch. But like most reality shows that include a competition, you will probably find yourself rooting for different people throughout the course of each season. Since people are supposed to couple up and then win money, you have to wonder if any of the couples are actually in love. It must be tough to be a contestant on this show since you would have no idea who you could trust. Maybe you would become super tough and ruthless and figure that you should never trust anyone. That probably is exactly what happens.
13 Single People Are Kicked Off
Oh man. As if it wasn't bad enough to be single. All jokes aside, if you wind up still single on this show, then you get kicked off and have to go home. That's because every contestant is rushing around trying to find someone so they can be a part of a couple and can continue on the show. Talk about pressure. It's pretty hilarious when you think about it because if you're single, you definitely put some pressure on yourself to find a boyfriend. You don't want to be on your own anymore and you're tired of not having someone to share your life with or take to events or even just watch Netflix with at the end of a long day. Can you imagine having to find a partner or miss out on winning some serious cash? Yeah, that's a lot more stressful than what you go through on a daily basis. So maybe now you won't mind being single quite that much.
12 People Compare It To 'Big Brother'
If you're wondering what Love Island is like, you should know that a lot of people say it's kind of like Big Brother. That comparison definitely makes sense. A group of people live in a villa in Mallorca, which is a Spanish island that is located in the Mediterranean. There are cameras watching everyone and you are basically spying on people. Okay, okay, so it's not really spying since they did agree to be on a reality television show and you're just tuning in. But watching these types of shows does feel like spying sometimes. Before every season starts, there is a lot of chatter about what the villa is like. According to The Sun UK, "This year's love nest comes complete with a huge bed and faux fur rug which is sure to see some raunchy antics." The weather is super hot, in case you were wondering. Apparently people need to know what the weather will be like on this show even though you will be sitting at home watching.
11 It's A Revival
It turns out that that Love Island is based on the show of the same name that aired back in 2005. What is interesting is that the original version had celebrities living in the villa and dating and competition for a cash prize. But when the show was brought back in 2015, the decision was that "regular people" would be contestants instead of famous people. You have to wonder why the shift. It would be pretty cool to see celebs living in this kind of environment and competing with each other, don't you think? You totally think that they should have an American version with celebrities. You would watch that for sure. The former stars of the 2005 version seem to have continued in the reality TV universe, appearing on other shows. One of them is a personal trainer these days. Just in case you were wondering.
10 People Wonder If It's Fake
Of course, when a reality show starts airing and becomes super popular, people start wondering if it's real or totally fake. You definitely know that not everything on a reality show is 100 percent accurate. There is this little thing called editing and there are producers who work on these shows and make creative decisions. Scenes are edited and their meaning is sometimes changed and people are put together in situations that they might not choose on their own. Love Island is not the first show to come under fire for whether or not it is genuine. It turns out that there is some merit to claims that there might be some serious producing happening. One of the editors, Amanda Stavri, told Radio Times, "We're going to be stirring things up a bit and playing around hopefully to make the most dramatic series we can." She continued, "As with last year you'll feel the hand of the producers, you'll see the hand of the producer. We feel that's fine as long as you're open about it. I think that's what viewers expect these days, it's what they want.”
9 There Are 69 Cameras
Did you know that there are 69 cameras in the villa? Now you know and you definitely needed that information. Just imagine that. 69 cameras. That's seriously a lot. You would feel like you had absolutely no privacy… but you wouldn't be allowed to complain since a.) you agreed to be on this show and b.) you are in the running to win a cash prize. You also have to laugh because, of course, 69 is a pretty dirty number… and it turns out that the people behind the show chose that number on purpose. Where are the cameras located? There are cameras in the house's mirrors, others are hidden, and there are cameras with "night vision" in the bedrooms. This is so you can see when the contestants are putting on their makeup and, um, getting busy. Because that's why people are watching this show. Truly.
8 The "Evictions" Used To Be Live
Like most competition shows, someone has to go home on a weekly basis, and it turns out what the show calls "evictions" used to be totally live. That's not the case anymore, however. The producers realized that this was becoming a bit of a problem. As editor Amanda Stavri told the website Digital Spy, "What ends up happening is not only do the producers have to build up editorially to this particular night, the Islanders took it upon themselves to prepare for the eviction night, in terms of their behavior, the tactics they play, and apparently the girls would be in makeup from about two in the afternoon - right through to the live show!" Can you even imagine putting on makeup for that long? For several hours? You would probably get super bored and have to go do something else. Oh man.
7 The Host Is Famous
The host of Love Island is Caroline Flack. You might not know her but she's a British celebrity who has done very well. She was born in England and currently lives in London. She has had a lot of roles in the media from model to radio and TV host. She has been the host of many reality shows such as The Xtra Factor and I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! NOW! She is talking a lot about the upcoming third season of Love Island and has been teasing people about it. She has said that all of the contestants are super attractive and that it will be the hottest season yet. Caroline is super fashionable and you definitely want to check out her Instagram. She shares moments from her life, from what she's wearing to where she's traveling. And yes, you will be super jealous, but hey, that's the way that it goes.
6 The Contestants Can Text Each Other
The whole thing about reality shows like Big Brother and Survivor is that contestants are pretty much cut off from the outside world. They don't have any contact with their friends and family, they don't have phones, and they definitely don't check the news or social media or anything like that. On Love Island, the contestants do have cell phones, but there's a catch: they are given phones when they move into the villa and they can only text each other. Oh, and they can also text the producers. But that's it. This adds a fun element to the show since you know that dating and text messages go together like peanut butter and jelly. It's impossible to date without texting. Now you can freak out and overthink someone else's text conversations instead of only focusing on your own. That's great news, right?
5 It's Pretty Raunchy
Host Caroline Flack told The Daily Mail, "If you're looking for a raunchy, racy, emotional way to spend your summer, then this is the perfect show for you." This seems to have been true of every season so far. If you Google photos from past seasons, you will see one constant thing: half-naked men and women. Yup. The girls are in bikinis and the guys are wearing bathing suits. Do they wear actual clothing? Probably not. It seems like they are in their bathing suits 24/7 when they are living in the villa. There is a lot of hooking-up… as in a lot. Which you probably would expect since this is a show about dating and coupling up. Just look at what The Sun UK had to say about one episode: "Love Island's raunchiest episode ever sends ratings to an all-time high beating Big Brother and Hollyoaks as 2.4 million viewers tune in to watch three couples romp in one night." And they prefaced that with "Bonk fest." You're totally laughing right now, aren't you?
4 There's An Endless Supply Of Protection
Since you now know that the show is pretty raunchy and there is a lot of hooking up happening, it's not a huge shock to learn that there are tons of male protection in the house at any given time. Apparently there are "unlimited" supplies in the bathrooms in the villa. Okay. At least they are encouraging people to be safe?! In case you were thinking that this show was pretty innocent and all about finding true love, well, this information will definitely set you on the right track. Other dating and romance reality shows feature a lot of down and dirty behavior, so this is nothing new. No one on the show seems to be all that bothered by the fact that viewers know that everyone is hooking up and using the huge supply of protection, but hey, they want their fifteen minutes of fame. And they are certainly getting that.
3 There Is Offscreen Drama
If you thought that the drama stayed onscreen on Love Island, you would be wrong. There are a ton of different facts about the contestants that Digital Spy considers "scandals." One contestant used to star in "other" films. Another has gotten a lot of work done. Another girl is said to have dated Zayn Malik or at least hooked up with him once. And here's the most interesting behind-the-scenes fact of all: one contestant named Camilla used to go out with Harry Styles. Okay, so maybe you don't consider those scandals and you're not really that shocked, because this kind of stuff is pretty common these days. But these things are considered juicy and dramatic enough that there have been articles devoted to them. If you start watching and become as addicted and obsessed as the existing fans, you will definitely want to know all that you can about the people living in the villa each season.
2 Fans Hate The "Secret Millionaire" Contestant
My exact reaction every time Jonny and Tyla come on screen #loveisland pic.twitter.com/tDO3vBxFNs
- Lucy (@lucy_robinsx) July 4, 2017
Here's something super dramatic: one of the contestants, Jonny Mitchell, came under fire from fans when people learned that he has money. As in a lot of money. As in he is a total millionaire. Just a few days ago, fans took to Twitter and other social media platforms to say that this guy should be kicked off the show. Ouch. They think he's dull and they don't want to watch him. People are seriously annoyed that if you check out Jonny's Instagram account, you will see that he takes really luxurious and expensive vacations and that he is not hurting when it comes to money. If you don't get this and you think that the fans are totally overreacting, then you probably need to start watching the show. Chances are, you will understand exactly where they are coming from and will agree with them wholeheartedly.
1 There Is A Secret Villa
And it's basically a secret villa to get busy in. Yes. Seriously. There is a villa called "Love Island Hideaway" and the contestants will need permission before they are allowed to use it. If a contestant gets a text message from producers, then they are given all the power and they can decide which couple should use the villa that night. The Sun UK called this a "nook for nookie" and if that doesn't make you laugh or at least smile, then honestly nothing will. This is such a classic reality television thing, you can't even handle it. Now you want to watch the show and check out the secret villa, don't you? Of course you do. And now you have ample reasons to become a super loyal fan and become just as obsessed with everything Love Island as the existing fans are. Sounds like you just found your new favorite show.