Love Island: Meet Toni Laites, Who Has Made History As The First US Contestant In The Villa

Graziadaily

a day ago

Summer is here, and with it brings a whole new series of Love Island - and an excuse to stay inside and binge our fave show. This week, we were introduced to the new line-up of singletons who are looking for love, which include former fire breather Sophie Lee, personal trainer Aaron Buckett and Shakira Khan.
Love Island producers have hinted that this season will be jam-packed with new twists and turns, and, if this week is anything to go by, they weren't exaggerating. Despite being only a few days into the new series, the villa has already seen the arrival of a new bombshell, Toni Laites.
Host Maya Jama teased the arrival of Toni with a promo on social media that showed her receiving a voice note from a mysterious American girl. Now, Toni has entered the villa, becoming the first US contestant to take part in the show.
Toni Laites is from Connecticut, and she works as a Las Vegas Pool Cabana Server. Although the show has only just started, Toni has already bought all the drama by becoming the first bombshell to enter the series. Toni is also the first ever American cast member to join the line-up, so we can't wait to see what's in store for the islanders as the dynamics evolve.
However, Toni has said she's hoping to come out with friends of course' and doesn't 'want to be super messy' in the villa. She added: 'I guess I'm the party starter, I want everyone to have fun.'
Toni Laites has opened up about her work as a Las Vegas Pool Cabana Server, calling it her claim to fame. 'I'm always the number one in sales at both hotels I work at. I'm a workaholic,' she said. 'You have to audition to get the job I've got – over a 1000 people applied. There's only 10 cabana servers!'
She continued: 'For the audition they set up a fake pool deck, they tell you to load up trays and zig zag through the chairs. The trays are heavy with pitchers and our large cocktails are really large! I've definitely dropped drinks on people before, but on the whole I'm really good.'
Love Island isn't the first time that Toni made headlines. She has ulcerative colitis, which meant she had to go to hospital the same day as her senior prom. 'They told me, 'You can't go' and then they said, 'Surprise, you're going to prom!' Nothing that exciting happens in Connecticut, so it was a big deal and a few articles were written about me,' she said. 'What I hope people see from me being on Love Island is that not all illnesses are visible. It doesn't have to hold you back, you can travel etc…I live my life day-to-day like anyone else.'
Toni has described dating in America as a 'mess,' continuing 'I live in cities that are fast-paced and party places; Las Vegas and Florida [..] People are here for a good time, not a long time. I live in Sin City! I do love Las Vegas. I've met some of the greatest people I've ever met there. I'm willing to relocate, it would just break my heart to not have my job anymore.'
When asked to describe any of her recent dates, Toni said they've been 'Really terrible.' She continued: 'The last date I went on was rubbish. He brought a friend, so I brought my sister. We said we're going to the bathroom and I blocked him and we ran out of the property. I like to be treated like a lady, going to nice spas in Vegas, being taken to nice restaurants. I'm still waiting to be taken on vacation for a date.'
When it comes to her personal preferences, Toni says she wants to date a British guy because she's lived in three different US states and is still single. 'I have some British friends and they're pretty charming,' she said. 'I think all Americans love a good accent. British men are just more polite, with better manners.'
At the end of the day, though, she says her requirements for a partner are pretty straight forward. 'Someone that can make me laugh – I'm super outgoing. And someone that's quite active. Maybe one day we could start our own family together,' she said.
Yes! You can keep up to date with Toni's life at @tlaites20.