Love Island needs to stop casting influencers and 20-year-olds – we know why they're on there and it undermines the show
WE'RE about to jump head first into another long hot summer, brimming with bikinis, fire pit chats and cringe new slogans, with the sultry tones of Iain Stirling's 'tonight… on Love Island' wafting through our living rooms.
And while that might spark excitement for diehard fans like me, there's also a creeping sense of deja vu - because once again, despite vocal feedback from viewers, we're getting the same recycled formula: a villa full of 20-somethings and influencers.
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This year's summer Love Island cast is a who's who of social media stars. There's from Sophie Lee's popular Instagram account, Helena Ford's travel diaries, and TikTok personalities Megan Forte Clarke and Aaron Buckett.
Megan Moore and Rose Selway also boast impressive followings - the latter rubbing shoulders with Love Island alum, thanks to her celeb-favourite tweakment clinic. And then there are the 20-year-old's among the cast, who are apparently 'looking for love,' on the show.
Now I'm not saying you can't fall in love and meet 'the one' at 20 - Olivia Bowen was just 22 when she met her now-husband Alex Bowen, and Love Island superstars Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury were only 21 when their jacuzzi date turned into one of the show's most iconic love stories.
But things were different then. Love Island wasn't a guaranteed career launchpad. A deal with PLT was a bonus, not a certainty.
Now, those going on the show have seen the roadmap to fame paved before them, and enter the villa with eyes on the prize - and the prize is not love.
Frankly, there really aren't enough success stories to say that casting 20-year-olds on the show is a winning formula. In fact, Love Island is more likely to move to Canvey Island at this rate, than it is to find a couple of 20-year-olds who put all their eggs in each other's baskets.
So doesn't it feel a bit odd that we're all sat, every night from 9-10pm, investing all our time into people who, let's face it, are on the show to further their followings, and not to recreate a storyline out of a Nicholas Sparks novel?
Would it not be more rewarding to watch people in their 30s, - those who may be genuinely starting to question if love is still out there- given a real shot at finding their someone? It would surely make the show a lot more relatable for a lot of people, instead of seeing influencers sling one-liners at each other on a Balinese bed, before heading into the outside world to land a situationship and a podcast deal.
And nostalgia for the old Love Island is running high on social media. Viewers seem keen to bring it back to the days of construction workers and fishmongers walking onto our screens, not people who are friends of a friend with an Islander, or have famous football star dads and brand deals lined up.
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But let's be honest, you can hardly blame the 20-year-olds and influencers for going on to the show.
Of course, given half the chance, they're going to want to further their careers on the UK's biggest dating output. You'd take one look at Molly-Mae's business empire and flashy mansion, Olivia Attwood fronting huge TV shows, and Tasha Ghouri strutting her stuff on Strictly and think, I want a slice of that. And if you're presented with a stepping stone to pop you closer to fortune and fame, wouldn't you jump onto it?
Still, it's starting to undermine what Love Island was originally about. It's less of a search for soulmates, and more a talent pipeline for the next PrettyLittleThing ambassador or social media star, as opposed to sourcing the UK's most enviable romance story.
But then you could also argue, if it's not broken don't fix it?
Love Island winners - where they are now
EVERY year Love Island opens its doors to more sexy Islanders who are hoping for a holiday romance that could turn into more.
Here we take you through all of the Love Island winners so far and what their relationship statuses are now:
2025 - The second series of All Stars saw Gabby Allen and Case O'Gorman scoop the crown. STATUS: Still together.
2024 - The summer Love Island saw Mimii Ngulube and Josh Oyinsan were crowned the winners. STATUS: Broken up.
2024 - The first ever All stars spin off show was won by Molly Smith and Tom Clare. STATUS: Still together.
2023 - Jess Harding and Sammy Root took home the 50k, and won the summer 2023 Love Island. STATUS: Broken up.
2023 - The first series of 2023 saw Sanam Harrinanan and Kai Fagan crowned Love Island winners in South Africa. STATUS: Still together.
2022 - Davide Sanclimenti and Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu's time in the villa was anything but a smooth ride, but they managed to win the public's hearts - and the ITV2 reality show. STATUS: Broken up.
2021 - Liam Reardon and Millie Court were announced winners of Love Island 2021. STATUS: Still together.
2020 - The first ever winter Love Island saw Paige Turley and Finn Tapp crowned winners after falling in love on the show. STATUS: Broken up.
2019 - Series 5 saw Tommy Fury and Molly-Mae Hague runners up to winners Greg O'Shea and Amber Gill, who met in the last few days of the series. STATUS: Broken up.
2018 - It wasn't surprising fan favourites Jack Fincham and Dani Dyer won the show, as they were strong throughout. But sadly things didn't last. STATUS: Broken up.
2017 - Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies had lots of ups and downs in the villa but went on to win. STATUS: Broken up.
2016 - Nathan Massey and Cara De La Hoyde were together from the start of the series, and since they won the show they've had two kids and are married. STATUS: Still together.
2015 - Despite poor Jess Hayes being Max Morley's second choice on the show, they did win - but they didn't last as a couple. STATUS: Broken up.
I just worry that it will become broken, that people are starting to fall out of love with the island of love.
As a huge fan of the show, I'm not ready to switch off just yet.
But I no longer watch with rose tinted glasses, I watch with a lot more scepticism than I once did, which is a shame. I find myself trying to decipher between showmance and serious, instead of sitting back and enjoying the chaos of it all.
And I guess the big question is, can Love Island ever get back to how it once was? Can people still find true love over fame? Well we could at least give it the best chance to prevail by choosing age and career wisely when casting.
Maybe then we could rekindle that magic of the earlier seasons, you know, the ones that made Love Island iconic in the first place.
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