Peacock’s Love Island has way more behind-the-scenes revelations — and production secrets — than some fans may realize.
Love Island, which premiered in the U.K. in 2002, follows a different group of singles every season who have to pair off in order to stay in the show’s luxury villa. The franchise has since expanded worldwide with spinoffs such as Love Island USA.
The contestants — who are referred to as Islanders — live in isolation in a villa and are under constant video surveillance. They must be coupled up to remain on the show and to stand a chance to receive the prize of $100,000.
Samie Elishi from season 9 of Love Island UK explained in a 2023 YouTube video that while the show is “not scripted at all,” producers still encourage contestants when it comes to onscreen conversations and moving their journey to find love along.
“If they didn’t encourage us to go and talk to your couple or someone you’re having an argument with or anything like that, then there would be no show,” she claimed. “You do get encouraged to have certain chats, but what’s said within them chats is completely up to you.”
Over the years, the cast and crew have spoken out about behind-the-scenes secrets. Keep scrolling for a guide to all the surprising revelations — and perhaps helpful answers to some burning Love Island questions:
How Are Contestants Recruited?
Those hoping to find The One on Love Island can either apply online or they will be contacted directly by producers through social media. Season 4 alum Phoebe Siegel broke down her experience in a 2023 TikTok video where she recalled sending in an application, filming a casting video and taking part in six interviews with network executives and producers of both Love Island UK and Love Island USA.
What Is the Packing Process Like?Just because viewers are tuning in almost every day for weeks to see what their favorite islanders are up to doesn’t mean they are allowed to pack heavy. Elishi shared in a 2023 YouTube video that she packed two large suitcases weighing up to 50 pounds.
Elishi also revealed that their season was given access to items from eBay that got swapped out every week or so.
Love Island contestants aren’t allowed access to the outside world — and that includes their phones and even clocks. But what about the phones that deliver those texts, you ask?
Love Island UK‘s Lucinda Strafford clarified in a 2021 YouTube video that the device was largely limited to messaging. Islanders could text one another but producers were able to see their correspondences.
“We used to write messages to each other when we were in bed so other people couldn’t hear what we were saying,” former islander Adam Collard told OK! Magazine in 2018. “We deleted our messages but the producers told me that they still have them all.”
Siegel weighed in as well about how all Islanders “have no access to the outside world.”
“You can’t Google, you can’t watch TV, you can’t access your socials, you can’t text anybody,” she added in 2024. “Taking thirst traps, taking really cute videos … besides taking pictures of each other and of yourself, the phone is used for receiving a text.”
When Do the Men and Women Get Split Up by Production?Lochan Nowacki from season 10 of Love Island UK cited breaks for meals as the time when the men and women aren’t meant to interact.
“I can understand why they do these things because they want to save the chat,” Nowacki said in a 2023 YouTube video. “That was frustrating … The time when you eat with people is the time when you’re really conversing, getting to know everyone, not just your girlfriend, your partner. So that was a shame.”
Is There Anywhere Without Cameras?
The short response is no. Love Island UK’s Rosie Seabrook shared via YouTube in 2023 that the cameras in the villa were “never off,” adding, “You are quite literally filmed 24/7. Even on a down day, you’re still mic’d up, you’re still filmed.”
There are nearly 100 cameras on the premises meant to capture every moment of the experience for Us at home. Elishi, however, recalled how the pantry was the exception, which some couples took advantage of while filming.
Even the toilets have bathrooms — but those are used for health and safety reasons.
Is Contraception Provided?According to Glamour UK, Love Island has their own branded range of condoms and there are over 200 in the house and they are replenished as needed.
What Is the Bathroom Situation?Siegel said the experience “wasn’t a good situation” with everyone sharing one shower and four sinks. Casa Amor, meanwhile, has one toilet in the villa and a handful of portable toilets.
The men aren’t just making breakfast for the women they are interested in to score them some points. Contestants are expected to feed themselves with ingredients available to them — but only for the first meal of their day.
Does the Cast Get a Break?
Viewers get one day off from the Love Island shenanigans each week — but what about the reality stars? Love Island UK’s Mille Court shared in a 2022 YouTube video that producers tell them at the last second about a “chill day.”
While the islanders “didn’t have to do anything,” they couldn’t discuss the drama. They weren’t even allowed to sleep in the same bed as their matches. The perk? Contestants were allowed to get food delivered to the villa.
“Not a lot of people know this. What happens is when you take your mics off, you’re not allowed to talk about anything to do with the show,” Kem Cetinay from season 3 of Love Island UK told This Morning in 2017. “You can all sit and chat but they are quite careful about what you talk about because they want to keep it so everyone at home can see and get it on video. It’s more a day off from all the intense games, all the intense dates, deciding who you like and don’t like.”
How Much Sleep Do the Islanders Get?
“The lack of sleep was like a big thing for me,” Paige Thorne from season 8 shared in an interview with Glamour UK in 2023. “I feel like that’s all I complained about. I felt like it was just going to be like a holiday, but I think, to just, like, make sure the stories made sense, you were actually filming quite a lot of the time.”
Where Do the Dumped Islanders Go?
In addition to bombshells watching footage before joining the cast, contestants who are dismissed aren’t actually allowed to go home just yet. Chris Hughes from season 3 of Love Island UK told HuffPost U.K. in 2018 that they had to meet with a psychologist before leaving the villa for good.
“Once we spoke to our friends and family, we all had our own little slots where we’d go just outside the villa and sit in a cabin with her, in her office,” he detailed. “We had individual chats to make sure everything’s ok. Everyone who comes out of the show comes out into a different life. So it’s important that she treats everybody individually which she did.”
