Entertainment
Love Island documentary exposes dark side of life after the villa: ‘I’m earning less now than I did before’-Stella Akinwumi-Entertainment – Metro
The documentary exposes the downsides of reality TV.
Several islanders share their experiences post Love Island (Picture: ITV)
Due to Love Island’s immense popularity over the years, devoted viewers have wondered what happens to the stars as soon as they face reality.
The annual dating show which launched in June 2015, has seen over 250 applicants but over half of the contestants have returned back to their normal jobs.
Stars including Molly-Mae Hague, Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, Amber Gill and Shaughna Phillips have landed lucrative six-figure deals following their stint, while others have shunned the spotlight completely and rejected the influencer lifestyle.
In the brand-new Channel 4 documentary, titled Life After Love Island, Capital Xtra Will Njobvu chats to several islanders that have been featured from season one to eight about how they handled their newfound fame and the challenges that come with chasing the influencer lifestyle.
The latest season – which crowned Ekin-Su and Davide Sanclimenti champions – saw contestants Indiyah Polack, Paige Throne, Gemma Owen and Tasha Ghouri securing fashion deals following their exit.
However, in the documentary it’s revealed former pharmaceutical rep salesman Ikenna Ekwonna made £3000 to £4000 making content and advertising in the first three months leaving the villa, which works out ‘less than half than what he was earning’ at his previous job.
Molly-Mae Hague has been hailed as one of the most successful islanders (Picture: Getty)
Speaking to Will about his expectations entering the hottest dating show, Ikenna says: ‘You come out thinking “oh it’s Love Island. Everyone after Love Island is set.
‘And coming out of it you’re like “where is it?”
When asked if he had been approached by any brands, the 23-year-old replies saying ‘no.’
He adds: ‘I have questioned is it me?…. Is it my face? Is it my skin?
The star later says that he has previously wondered whether his skin colour was a contributing factor to brand opportunities.
Ikenna was coupled up with Indiyah before being dumped two weeks later (Picture: ITV)
Priscilla Anyabu, who appeared on the winter series in Cape Town, shared that she has been marketing herself on Instagram and hopes big brands will reach out to her in return.
When asked how much she spends on her content, she says: ‘An easy £600. It is a lot of money.’
Elsewhere, series eight star Coco Lodge – who was pied off by Andrew Le Page as soon as Tasha Ghouri returned from Casa Amor – also revealed that she had high expectations after appearing on the show.
‘The perfect scenario would have been 1million or 2million followers,’ she says in the documentary.
Coco believed she would have had more followers following her stint on the show (Picture: ITV)
‘But I came out with 30,000 followers and I just didn’t really understand… I was like “why does everyone hate me?”‘
When asked if she felt the public would judge her for going back to her previous job as a shot girl, she continues: ‘Maybe they’ll think things in their head, but I don’t really care…. they’ll probably think “why you going back? You clearly haven’t been successful from the show or something.”‘
One of the statistics presented in the documentary showed that 28 islanders have landed fashion brand deals, 65 have appeared in other reality shows, 27 have set up an account on only fans and over 130 stars have returned back to their day jobs.
Wes Nelson (R) is signed a record deal two years ago (Picture: Getty)
Series seven contestant Tyler Cruickshank – who made it to the final with Kaz Kamwi – revealed that he recently went back to work on his legal qualification.
Wes Nelson – who starred on season four – is one of the stars who have utilised their platform to help them strive in their professional career.
As well as the ITV2 dating show, Wes appeared on The X Factor: Celebrity, Dancing on Ice and has reportedly invested in property and cryptocurrency.
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In August 2020, Wes announced that he had signed a solo record deal with EMI records and has worked alongside artists Yxng Bane and Hardy Caprio.
Despite being part of it at the beginning, the 24-year-old now brands the influencer element as ‘fake.’
‘It was actually making me quite depressed,’ he says.
‘Really anxious all the time, it was all very fake. I didn’t want to be a part of that. I wanted to be part of something real and make a difference.’
Life After Love Island is available to stream on All4.
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