Meet the Love Island contestants who returned to their day jobs after the villa

Cosmopolitan

2 days ago

The year is 2015, and I've just watched Jon Clark, a 25-year-old builder from Sawbridgeworth, nervously get down on one knee to propose. With hair slicked back and bow tie in place, he popped the question to Hannah Elizabeth, a 25-year- old Playboy Bunny from Liverpool, in front of a giant swimming pool in Mallorca (and more than 500,000 people at home). Having met for the first time just six weeks prior, it was the stuff of reality TV dreams, as their fellow Islanders looked on in shock. But while the engagement sadly didn't last much longer than their tans, the undeniable appeal of Love Island has prevailed, with the series celebrating its 10th anniversary on screen this summer.
In the decade since its relaunch (the show was first broadcast as a celebrity dating series, featuring the likes of Calum Best, in 2005), Love Island has dictated the cultural zeitgeist, taking over group chats and social media feeds for eight weeks every summer (and now winter). At its height, six million of us tuned in to watch Amber Gill and Greg O'Shea crowned winners of season five, while its allure has transcended audience 'types', with Margot Robbie sharing pictures from her Love Island-themed birthday party in 2021 and going on to cast Chris Taylor in Barbie two years later.
As a mainstay on the Cosmopolitan Entertainment desk for as many years as the show's been on, I've had a first-hand insight into this cultural phenomenon. Like in 2017, when I organised for Dr Marcel Somerville (note: not a real doctor) to be our resident online agony uncle, and his brief trip to the office turned into the Cosmo equivalent of a Royal visit. Or, in 2019, when we launched our Text On The Beach video franchise, a chance for contestants to share what really went on in the villa, which has since amassed 17m views on YouTube, and counting.
Then there was Molly-Mae Hague's first ever magazine cover (my first cover interview, too) for our July/August issue in 2021. She had recently left the villa as runner-up, amassing well over five million Instagram followers in the process, and revealed she was turning down six-figure brand deals on a regular basis, even then. Of course, she's not the only Love Island alumni to have successfully transitioned from reality TV star to full-on celebrity. From Olivia Attwood's documentary- making to Wes Nelson's rap career; the show has acted as a launchpad for so many of its contestants.
But of the hundreds (and there have been, quite literally, hundreds) of Islanders who have walked through those villa doors, very few have made it mainstream. And for some, life in the spotlight isn't feasible, or what they want. So what's it like to return to your 'normal' life after such an intense trajectory to fame? Can you ever go back to obscurity, or will someone always spot you in Sainsbury's? We spoke to four past contestants to find out.
Darylle Sargeant, now 31, entered season four during Casa Amor, where she coupled up with Adam Collard. The pair were dumped from the villa on day 32, breaking up shortly afterwards. Sargeant was an eyebrow technician before the show, and now owns her own studio in Bristol, where she does tattoos, microblading, piercings and more.
'I wasn't having much luck in the dating world when I was approached by a casting agent. They reached out to me on my personal Instagram, where I had a bit of a following. I thought I'd take the opportunity – I was 24 at the time and had nothing to lose. When we left the villa, it was a wild time. I've never done a gap year or travelled – I've always been in full-time work, so I took it as my chance to have a bit of a break. For about nine months, my life was events and party invites, freebies and goodie bags. After the show, we were going to launches for makeup brands, clothing lines, restaurant openings and bars. I was living this Z-list lifestyle, where I was out all the time, and either hungover or drunk, which felt great. But in hindsight, I learned really quickly that it's not healthy. You're in these intense situations, surrounded by people who aren't really your friends. There was no routine. I had loads of fun, but it's not a life I wanted to pursue. You think that's what you want, but when you're in it, it's not productive.
'In those nine months, I also met someone, and moved to Bristol where he was from. I took myself out of that world, which was something that I needed. When I watched the next season, it highlighted that, as Islanders, you're very disposable and replaceable. There was a level of jealousy, where you kind of think, 'Oh, they're doing all the things that I was doing.' I did miss the perks, but not so much that I wanted to chase it. When the new Islanders land, you're very much last year's news.
'After Love Island, I felt quite lost, so I needed to throw myself back into what I loved. I've always been creative and this is where my passion lies. I've worked in the salon that I now own for the last five years. Moving to a new city, I had to start a whole new clientele, and going on the show helped with that, so I have no regrets.
'I sometimes do get recognised – three people came up to me at a festival last year and it felt like I'd just come off the TV. But it doesn't happen often, especially as I look so different now – my hair is darker and I've grown up. I wouldn't change anything about my experience – I always say I'm so glad I did it, but it's highly unlikely I'd do it again – the only reason I would do All Stars would be to promote my business.'
Dr Priya Gopaldas, now 27, entered the villa as a bombshell on day 42 of season seven. She coupled up with Brett Staniland but the pair were dumped from the show eight days later for being the 'least compatible'. Gopaldas was on a gap year from medical school when she appeared on the show, and is now completing her F2 at a hospital near London.
'There was never a doubt in my mind – I was always going to return to my career. I'd spent so many years of my life studying and I was never going to give that up. I really loved my life before I went on the show, and coming out of the villa, I still love my life. It has changed a bit; I've had patients and their families sending me messages on social media because they recognise me, but getting 'famous' was never the intention. I just don't like saying no to things that are outside of my comfort zone.
'My ex-boyfriend and I had just broken up when I got a message on Instagram from a casting researcher for Love Island. I thought, 'Why not? This is never going to happen, but wouldn't it be fun?' As it was during the pandemic, all my interviews were virtual. Nine months later I ended up on the show. I was on a break from medical school at the time, and had to ask for permission to do it. They said that, providing the school stayed anonymous for safety reasons, it was fine – although it ended up in the press anyway. When I came out of the villa, there were some racist comments on social media, which I didn't expect – it went on for about six months, but by that point I had blocked a lot of words on Instagram, so that made things a bit easier; and producers helped to equip me with the tools I needed to handle it.
'I was back in medical school about two weeks after the show finished. It was the busiest month I've ever had; studying four days a week and doing interviews and brand deals on the side. The attention was a bit overwhelming, but because of Covid, we were all wearing masks, so patients in hospitals wouldn't recognise me. I also knew that when you do a show that airs regularly, you're only likely to be in the limelight for a short period of time.
'The people who have recognised me have been very welcoming. It hasn't affected my work – I'm still being treated the same as everybody else, as I should be – but I was nervous going back into dating. I had to be a bit more wary. I've been on dates where people have pretended they don't know who I am, or have said they loved running, when they only said it because I'm really into it. But I have a lovely boyfriend now who didn't watch the show.
'In the villa, I was never going to do anything that was out of my character, and it's the same on social media. It's a reflection of who I am, as a doctor and as a runner. My goal has always been to promote health, and three years down the line, I'm still able to do that."
Kai Fagan, now 26, worked as a secondary school teacher before heading into the villa on day one of season nine. During his time at Casa Amor, he met Sanam Harrinanan, and the pair went on to win the show – and the £50,000 prize money – before he pursued a teaching job working with teenagers.
'I was nervous returning to the classroom after being on Love Island. I teach sports science in post-16 education, so, with the age of the students, I knew some of them would have seen the show. I was thinking, 'What are they going to say? Am I going to be able to control the classroom?' But I quickly learned that the kids love it – I'm still respected. Some of them have seen the show and my social media, and actually, it feels like they have a better understanding of me.
'Before Love Island, I was working as a PE teacher when my contract changed, and they wanted me to teach science. I wasn't happy about it, so I handed in my notice and started looking into other jobs. A friend said, 'Why don't you apply for Love Island ?' I did and heard back the same day. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it was one of the best experiences. It's obviously where I met Sanam; we now live together and are getting married later this summer – I proposed 13 months after we left the villa.
'When you come out, especially when you win it, you're offered so many opportunities. You have management companies pressuring you to sign up, making you feel like you're going to miss out on things. You're instantly recognisable, and the public think they know you because they've watched you for eight weeks. In the days afterwards, people were jumping out of cars to take pictures of us. We've been on holiday in the most remote places and even then people have asked for photos, which is mad. We're always like, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah'.
'We got the £25k [each] immediately, so money wasn't a stress at the time. Within a month, I was back in a school for England Rugby's Touch To Twickenham campaign, an initiative encouraging young players, which is wild because I used to teach rugby after classes. It was really busy, but then work offers fizzled out a bit. We didn't have the right people around us at first. It's important to take time to consider your options, because you get lots of offers and [everyone] wants to sign you just because you'll make money for them. But the management we work with now care about us and have the same vision [as us].
'I took on my current teaching role 18 months after the show. It's three days a week, and the college is happy for me to take other opportunities alongside. I still get offered paid 'influencing' work that aligns with stuff I'm passionate about, like fitness and rugby.
'But people need to realise that you can't go on to Love Island and expect the world. It's probably only the people who get to the final who can make a career of it, if they want to, full-time. You have to go there for the experience and to meet somebody – if you're going on there for business opportunities, it's not worth it. I love working with young people and I'll always want to work in education in some way.'
Sanam Harrinanan, now 26, is a social worker in the process of training to be a theraplay practitioner (a form of therapy that supports children in feeling connected). She won season nine of Love Island alongside Kai Fagan, after joining the villa for Casa Amor.
'After studying for five years, I went straight into social work, looking after people who have been adopted from the care system. I loved it, but felt like, 'What am I doing with my life? I want to do something different.' People kept saying I should go on Love Island, because I'm quite open and chatty, so I applied. When I got the call confirming I was going into the villa, I had to quit my job, because it's such a serious role and the families I worked with had to be assigned to another social worker. We left on really good terms, and because [a stint in] Casa Amor can be as short as three days, they said I could reapply for my job if they hadn't recruited to replace me yet.
'Coming out of the villa, nothing is guaranteed – whether you've won it or are in there for a few days. Kai and I were offered [social media and brand] work very quickly, and I decided to just soak it all up and go with the flow. But after seven months, I was sitting around thinking, 'I really miss my job.' I worked so hard to get to where I was. I contacted my old team and went back into social work a year after I left the villa. I felt like I'd lost my purpose; supporting young people and families. That's what I trained for the majority of my life to do.
'When I left for Love Island, I worried about what it would do for my career and people's perceptions of me, but it felt like an opportunity I couldn't miss. Now, if people recognise my name from an email, I respond by saying, 'If this might be an issue for you, let me know and I can inform my manager.' But in most cases, it's a help, not a hindrance. Some of the young people I work with have said, 'Oh my god, you're a celebrity! I can't believe you're my social worker.' You have to go into someone's life and find out everything about their family, and they usually know nothing about you. So when they've watched the show, it means they feel they can open up to me and it builds rapport, especially when they're a teenager.
'I have had people try to take pictures with me, saying, 'Oh, can I just pretend you're my mum's friend?' but for confidentiality reasons, I've had to put boundaries in place. I'm now in the process of training to be a theraplay practitioner, which will take about a year. I plan to stay in social work for as long as I possibly can.'
Hair and makeup: Roo Gehring; Set Designer: Sherin Awad; Shoot Producer: Beverley Croucher; Art Director: Alex Hambis