While contestants usually enter the Love Island villa in the hope of finding the one, the show can also be a lucrative experience that leads to a whole host of opportunities.
With its ninth series upon us, we checked in on some of the show’s most memorable Islanders from earlier seasons to see what they’ve been up to since leaving the villa...
Olivia Attwood
Olivia finished runner-up of series three with then-boyfriend Chris Hughes, with whom she appeared in a spin-off fly-on-the-wall series soon after they left the villa. However, the show was cut short after the couple split.
As well as her regular influencer work, Olivia has continued to appear on TV screens, joining the cast of TOWIE between 2019 and 2020, despite living in Manchester at the time.
After leaving the cast, launched her own ITVBe reality show Olivia Meets Her Match, following her and fiancé, Blackburn Rovers player Bradley Dack.
Olivia has also made appearances on Celebs Go Dating, Celebrity Karaoke Club and The Games, and in the summer of 2022 she launched a documentary series for ITV2 exploring the rise of OnlyFans.
She is also the creator of fashion brand Foolish.
Chris Hughes
Chris was known as much for his bromance with Kem Cetinay as his romance with Olivia after he appeared on Love Island in 2017.
As well as starring in a short-lived reality show with Olivia prior to their break-up, Chris also had his own ITV2 challenge show with Kem entitled You vs. Chris & Kem. The pair also released the rap song Little Bit Leave It, which they made up in the villa, and it reached number 15 in the charts.
Chris fronted a BBC Three documentary about testicular cancer in 2019 after his brother was diagnosed with the disease, and also had a live testicular exam on This Morning.
He can now regularly be seen presenting with ITV Racing, on events including the Grand National and Cheltenham Festival.
Chris also dated former Little Mix singer Jesy Nelson between 2019 and 2020.
Amber Gill
Amber was crowned the winner of the 2019 series of Love Island alongside late entrant Greg O’Shea. While they briefly attempted a long-distance relationship, it wasn’t to last, with Amber claiming Greg dumped her by text five weeks after the final.
TV-wise, Amber has made guest appearances on the Loose Women panel, Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and Strictly: It Takes Two and competed on Celebrity Mastermind.
In 2021, Amber signed a book deal with Mills & Boon, and published her first fiction novel Until I Met You later that year.
She also has a fashion collection with MissPap.
Ovie Soko
Message! Ovie might not have won the fifth season of Love Island, but he certainly won the hearts of the nation.
Already a professional basketball player prior to appearing on the show, the topic of returning to his sports career post-Love Island was also the subject of a BBC Three documentary Ovie: Life After Reality TV.
He later signed to French Champions League team Le Mans Sarthe, and in July 2022, he signed to London Lions. He also plays for the Great Britain men’s national basketball team.
In 2021, he launched his own podcast series Ask Ovie, where he answers listeners’ dilemmas.
Ovie has also made a bit of a name for himself in the culinary space, cooking up treats in the This Morning kitchen and appearing on a celebrity edition of The Great British Bake Off.
Ovie and his father Raymond also partnered with ASOS to release their own fashion edit in 2019, and two years later, he released his own collection with sports brand Everlast.
Dani Dyer
Having starred on ITV2’s oft-forgotten reality show Survival Of The Fittest, Dani had already had a small taste of TV fame prior to entering the Love Island villa in 2018.
After winning the fourth series with Jack Fincham, the couple went on to move in together, and they starred in a three-part series about their post-Love Island life. However, they split the following year, shortly before Dani released her first book, What Would Dani Do?.
Since then, Dani has appeared in EastEnders alongside her dad Danny Dyer, where she played a pregnant black cab driver in an episode of the soap.
The father-and-daughter duo also host a Spotify podcast called Sorted With The Dyers, and have appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox together.
Dani hosted MTV’s True Love Or True Lies in 2019, and in the same year, she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with the likes of Jade Thirlwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Shirley Ballas for Comic Relief.
In January 2021, Dani welcomed a son, Santiago, with her ex-boyfriend Sammy Kimmence. She is now in a relationship with West Ham player Jarrod Bowen.
Samira Mighty
West End star Samira walked from the Love Island villa to follow Frankie Foster, who had been dumped from the show.
While their relationship did not work out, Samira did not stay far from our screens as she joined fellow former Islanders Wes Nelson, Zara McDermott and Eyal Booker to compete on The X Factor: Celebrity, as part of the group No Love Lost in 2019, and went on to appear on ITV2’s Celebrity Karaoke Club the following year.
Since then, Samira has been busy in the studio working on her own music, and she released her debut single with W.D.C. called I Love Your Smile in July 2022.
Maura Higgins
After being one of the stand out contestants of the 2019 series, Maura continued her relationship with Curtis Pritchard after leaving the villa, but they eventually parted ways the following year.
Upon leaving the villa, she became a regular face on This Morning, making a series of films about her native Ireland, and appeared as a contestant on both Dancing On Ice in 2020, where she finished in sixth place, and on the 2022 series of Cooking With The Stars.
As well as her influencer work with various brands on social media, Maura is now the host of the Irish version of BBC Three’s make-up competition series Glow Up.
Maura also had a short-lived relationship with Strictly Come Dancing professional Giovanni Pernice in 2021 after dating fellow series five Islander Chris Taylor.
Curtis Pritchard
Ballroom dancer Curtis was a professional on the Irish version of Strictly Come Dancing prior to Love Island, but decided not to return to the show following his exit from the villa in 2019.
Instead, he has attempted to forge a double-act career with his brother, former Strictly pro AJ Pritchard, with the pair landing much-derided guest roles in Hollyoaks in 2021.
They also appeared as choreographers on the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, while Curtis served as a receptionist on the 2020 series of the BBC’s The Greatest Dancer.
After splitting from Love Island co-star Maura Higgins in March 2020, Curtis attempted to find love on TV again, taking part in Celebs Go Dating: The Mansion.
Olivia Buckland
During her stay in the villa in series two, Olivia coupled up with Alex Bowen and the pair finished in second place behind Cara DeLa Hoyde and Nathan Massey, and they have been together ever since.
The pair announced their engagement in December 2016 and tied the knot in September 2018 in a lavish ceremony attended by a host of celebrity pals.
While Olivia has made the odd TV appearance on shows such as CelebAbility and Cribs, she predominantly works as an influencer, both through her personal Instagram account and the special home account she has dedicated to the makeover of the Essex mansion she and Alex share.
Olivia also undertook an interior design course, and she and Alex have also moved into the world of property development.
In June 2022, they also welcomed their first child together, a son called Abel.
Wes Nelson
After coupling up with Megan Barton Hanson on the show, the pair moved in together, but broke up months later during Wes’ time competing on Dancing On Ice in 2019.
He and skating partner Vanessa Bauer finished in second place, behind winners James Jordan and Alexandra Schauman.
Later that year, Wes teamed up with fellow former Islanders Zara McDermott, Eyal Booker and Samira Mighty to compete on The X Factor: Celebrity, as part of the group No Love Lost.
While they didn’t stay together after being voted off the show, Wes signed a record deal shortly afterwards, and released his debut single See Nobody in September 2020, which reached number three in the official chart. In 2021, Wes also teamed up with Clean Bandit and Topic on the track Drive.
Wes has also made a number of other reality TV appearances, winning Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins in 2021 ITV’s revived version of The Games in 2022.
Megan Barton Hanson
After her relationship with Wes Nelson ended, Megan attempted to find love on another reality show when she appeared on E4’s Celebs Go Dating in 2019.
As a result of meeting on the show, Megan had a short-lived relationship with fellow reality star Demi Sims.
Megan was an early adopter of OnlyFans, and claimed she can earn as much as £800k a month posting racy snaps on the subscription-based platform.
She is currently a sex and relationships columnist for VICE, and has also hosted her own lifestyle podcast, You Come First.
Molly-Mae Hague
Influencer Molly-Mae already had a huge social media following prior to joining Love Island as a bombshell in 2019, and her platform has since exploded where she’s become perhaps the most well-known influencer to come from the show.
After working closely with fast-fashion brand Pretty Little Thing, Molly-Mae became its creative director in 2021. Appearing on Steven Barlett’s podcast The Diary Of A CEO to discuss her role, she attracted criticism for comments she made about success and privilege.
Molly-Mae is still in a relationship with Tommy Fury, with whom she came second on Love Island, and they continue to document their relationship on her YouTube channel, along with videos about her life, career and the transformation of their multi-million pound mansion.
Tommy Fury
The series five runner up, who is the half-brother of boxer Tyson Fury, enjoyed a successful boxing career of his own prior to entering the villa, and continues to fight. As of summer 2022, he had won all eight of his professional fights.
After Love Island, Tommy teamed up with his villa pal Curtis Prtichard for a spin-off reality show The Boxer And The Ballroom Dancer, where Curtis and Tommy trained in each other’s disciplines.
Tommy also continues to work as an influencer alongside girlfriend Molly-Mae.
Marcel Somerville
Marcel had already experienced fame prior to entering the Love Island villa, having been part of Blazin’ Squad, whose song Crossroads hit number one in 2002.
The musician worked as a record producer in the intervening years, and after leaving Love Island, he released a book titled Dr Marcel’s Little Book of Big Love: Your Guide to Finding Love, The Island Way.
He and partner Gabby Allen split shortly after appearing on the show, and Marcel went on to find love with girlfriend Rebecca, who he became engaged to in 2021. The couple welcomed their first child, a son called Roman, the same year.
Since becoming a parent, Marcel has begun hosting a podcast about fatherhood with fellow Love Island alum Jamie Jewitt and former X Factor contestant Jake Quickenden.
He has also made appearances on other ITV shows, including Celebrity Karaoke Club, CelebAbility and Dinner Date.
Camilla Thurlow
The path of true love did not run smoothly for Camilla during the 2017 series, but the former bomb disposal expert finally found the one when hunky model Jamie Jewitt rocked up on the Island.
Camilla and Jamie are now married, having tied the knot in 2021 and are also parents to two daughters – Nell, born in October 2020, and Nora, born in May 2022.
In 2019, Camilla appeared on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, but withdrew from the process just prior to the final.
She also filmed her own one-off documentary for ITVBe, focusing on her humanitarian work. In it, she journeyed to Cambodia, where she used to work for the mine clearance charity the HALO Trust.
Malin Andersson
Malin was one of the most memorable contestants from Love Island’s second series, famously returning to the show to confront Terry Walsh over his infidelity.
Since leaving the villa, Malin has become a mental health advocate, motivational speaker and body confidence activist.
After experiencing a number of personal traumas, including the loss of her first daughter Consy at four weeks old in 2019, Malin published a book in 2022 entitled Positivity Is Our Superpower: Everything I’ve Learned About Trauma, Grief, Confidence And Self-Love.
In April 2022, Malin welcomed daughter Xaya.
Amber Davies
Prior to entering the Love Island villa in 2017, where she ended up winning the series with Kem Cetinay, Amber was treading the boards in the West End.
She has since returned to her roots, playing the role of Judy Bernly in the Dolly Parton musical 9 To 5. Amber’s casting in 2019 was also the subject of an ITV2 documentary.
Her other stage credits include a short run in Bring It On: The Musical and a 75th anniversary concert of Annie Get Your Gun at the London Palladium, with her latest role coming in Back To The Future: The Musical.
As well as a number of brand deals, Amber has also appeared on the likes of All Together Now, CelebAbilty and Hey Tracey!.
Kem Cetinay
Kem’s association with Love Island continued long after winning series three with Amber.
From 2018 and 2022, Kem hosted the show’s official podcast The Morning After with Arielle Free, which is released daily throughout each run of Love Island.
Kem, who split with Amber a year after leaving the villa, has also forged a career as a presenter away from the podcast, fronting occasional segments on This Morning and backstage coverage of Dancing On Ice during the 11th and 12th series.
He previously competed on DOI in 2018, where he and partner Alex Murphy finished in fourth place. Since 2019, he has also played for the Rest of the World team as part of ITV’s annual Soccer Aid fundraiser.
Kem is also the owner of a restaurant in Essex called Array.
Scott Thomas
Scott appeared on the second series of Love Island in 2016, where he formed a fiery partnership with Kady McDermott.
The pair split after 18 months together, but Scott has remained in the spotlight, often making TV appearances with his famous brothers, soap stars Ryan and Adam Thomas.
Along with their late father, the brothers explored their heritage in six-part ITV travel series Absolutely India: Mancs In Mumbai in 2020.
Scott is the managing director of Manchester-based PR agency The Social PR, which he co-founded shortly after leaving the villa and specialises in influencer marketing.
He also co-owns his own healthy meal plan company.
Josh Denzel
Prior to his appearance on Love Island in 2018, Josh was working as an online presenter and has continued to make a name for himself in this space in the ensuing years.
He worked closely with the England team to host the official Lions Den show for Euro 2020, which broadcast live every day during the tournament from inside the team camp.
Josh has hosted NFL Overtime for Sky Sports and has become part of the team on Match Of The Day spin-off MOTDx for the BBC.
He also runs a presenting and public speaking course, called The Social Stage, and has collaborated with a number of brands in his work as an influencer.
Zara McDermott
Through her relationship with Sam Thompson, Zara appeared on another reality show following her Love Island stint, joining the cast of Made In Chelsea between 2019 and 2020.
She also joined fellow series four alum Wes Nelson, Eyal Booker and Samira Mighty as part of No Love Lost on The X Factor: Celebrity in 2019, where they finished in eighth place.
Having previously been the victim of revenge porn, Zara made a documentary on the topic for BBC Three, following it up with another on the subject of rape culture.
Most recently, Zara hosted a Love Island-style dating show for BBC Three called Love In The Flesh.
Alex George
After leaving the villa, Dr Alex has continued to balance working for the NHS with TV and influencer opportunities, and worked in a hospital through the Covid pandemic.
He has hosted his own health and wellbeing podcast The Waiting Room with Dr Alex, and appeared as a medical expert on a range of ITV daytime shows, including Good Morning Britain and Lorraine.
Following the loss of his brother by suicide in 2020, Alex has also worked as a mental health campaigner and was appointed the government’s newly-created Youth Mental Health Ambassador by Boris Johnson the following year, helping to shape and create of policies to increase support young people with their mental health.
In 2023, he landed his own Sunday evening slot on Classic FM.