The ITV and CBS hit reality dating series Love Island is portrayed to the public as an escapist fantasy paradise full of upscale luxury and lavish amenities as countless singles frolic around and search for true romance. But not all that goes inside the elegant villa is as it seems. By presenting the show as an unscripted reality program, there are many untold tidbits, factoids, strange contrivances, and unknown circumstances that the players deal with inside the villa on a daily basis.
From odd eating habits and alcoholic restrictions to secret hidden cameras and other little-known house rules, life in the Love Island isn't what it seems.
The Villa Size & Access
On the television broadcast of the hit reality dating show, the villas in Majorca (UK version) and Hawaii (US version) are presented as giant sprawling mansions with every corner captured on camera. However, the villa is actually much smaller than it appears on TV and the layout isn't as it seems.
According to UK 7 contestant Georgia Townend on Instagram, the villa "was so much smaller than I expected. Also, the layout is really weird. Some things are upstairs that you don't expect to be and vise versa." Moreover, per the londonnewstime.com, there are parts of the villa that the islanders don't even see such as an unused bathroom and bedroom upstairs next to the Beach Hut.
Secrets About The Bedroom
While the islanders spend much of their time lounging around in their bedrooms, few people realize that they are living in front of a facade. According to reports, the back bedroom wall in the villa is completely false and a hidden kitchen where the food is prepared sits right behind it.
Furthermore, the reason why many guests often wear sunglasses in bed during the day is due to the high-wattage production lights above the bed. According to UK 7 player Aaron Francis in a Tik Tok video, "I don't think you guys understand how bright those lights are. They're blindingly bright. That's why everyone's wearing sunglasses in the morning." It's good to know there's a logic behind the curious fashion trend.
The Dining Logistics
While many islanders on the guilty-pleasure reality dating show are often seen cooking in the villa, the fact remains that most of the meals are prepared by an on-site catering company. The islanders choose their own simple breakfast to make on their own but lunch and dinner are cooked for them by the catering company, often featuring "meat, fish, salad, and picky bits," according to Georgia Townend's Instagram Q& A.
Townend also claims that the guests eat their meals on fold-up chairs and tables in the kitchen area, which shatters the glamorous illusion of elegance and five-star dining the show often presents when the islanders have romantic on-air dates.
There's A Drink Limit
Love Island presents a carefree vacation vibe where the guests imbibe endless amounts of alcohol at festive nighttime functions. This is an illusion, as guests are restricted to a two-drink limit per day (according to The Sun). They also have a limited selection of spirits to choose from.
The islanders can only drink beer or wine listed on the menu and their first drink is usually a communal glass of bubbly with a low alcohol volume. Moreover, islanders have their drinks poured for them, ensuring they cannot intake too much booze on any given night. While this probably tames the dramatic flare-ups, it belies the debauched bacchanalia the show otherwise boasts.
The Contestants Have Their Clothing & Styling Provided
When the islanders arrive and depart in the villa, there are seen carrying massive luggage. However, a lot of the clothing seen in the villa's closets is provided by the production's wardrobe department, which comes from a partnership with such fashion brands as I Saw It First (per thetab.com). Guests can wear the clothing provided or the wardrobes they brought.
Similarly, the islanders have their hair and nails done by professionals who occasionally enter the villa off hours. While the girls do their own makeup for most of the show, a professional makeup artist helps prepare their look for the season finale. While professional hair and makeup are hardly shocking for a TV show, it underscores the artifice of the show's fashion sense.
How Recoupling Scenes Are Shot
On television, the recoupling ceremonies last roughly 30 minutes, making them the best episodes on the show. In reality, the process can take anywhere from 2-4 hours depending on the circumstances. According to Love Island 5 contestant Amy Hart (per ok.co.uk.), the recouplings are shot late at night and early in the morning, with normal recouplings lasting two hours to film and the larger Casa Amor recoupling taking up to four hours.
Additionally, several scenes on Love Island are so contrived that they are filmed multiple times, betraying the notion that the show is natural and unscripted. According to Dailymail, Hugo from season 7 had to film his kiss with Amy Day five times before it was deemed fit for air.
There Are No Clocks
Life on Love Island is akin to Las Vegas in that there are no clocks or watches in the villa, rendering the passage of time imperceptible. While this aligns with the leisurely vacation vibes of island life, it makes it hard for the guests to adjust to their environment.
According to Season 7's Abigail Rawlings via irishmirror, the islanders use the moon to approximate what time it is in the villa. "I feel like if we did know the time, it would've f***ed with us because we were definitely up late on certain nights. We could like work out with the moon, but I just went with the flow, embraced it." If time is money and money is the ultimate Love Island prize, having no sense of time seems like a disadvantage.
There's A Loud Speaker Rule Enforcer
If certain players get out of line in the villa, apparently a commanding voice on a loudspeaker system will berate them publicly in front of the other guests. For instance, if a player speaks about the outside world too much, "there a tannoy system where they come over like a mother telling off naughty children," per Season 1's Chris Williamson via BBC.
This tannoy system is never seen or heard in the TV broadcast, but it does sound a lot like Lana in Too Hot To Handle, a rival island dating show that makes the reprimanded vocal system a proud feature, not a hidden secret.
There Are 80 Cameras & Hidden Mics
While it's no surprise that the villa is outfitted with multiple public and private cameras, few people realize that the number went from 73 to 80 cameras in Season 7 (per thetab.com). According to Season 5's Arabella via The Sun, "there are cameras watching you when you're on the toilet but they are cameras not for the public to see."
In addition to the increase in cameras, another behind-the-scenes Love Island fact several hidden microphones are placed throughout the villa to record juicy gossip and secret admissions, leaving the islanders in a tricky position of balancing privacy with open honesty.
Players Can Text Each Other
One of Love Island's strictest rules is the prohibition of phone use while inside the villa. Players are given a production phone that has no internet access, which they use to relay the various text messages that productions sends them during competition. However, the islanders can actually text each other as well.
According to former islanders Harley and Adam in interviews with OK Magazine, the former claims "we have an Island chat where we can talk amongst the islanders and then Love Island can contact you," while the latter claims "we used to write messages to each other when we were in bed so other people couldn't hear what we were saying" (via Cosmopolitan). This certainly flies in the face of the communicative limits the islanders are depicted as having to the public, once again indicating that life in the Love Island villa is one massive sun-dappled mirage.