Would Someone go on Love Island for Love?

Photo via Wikimedia Commons by Shuaguli

Gabriella Bogart | Arts and Entertainment Editor

This past summer, I dedicated about sixty hours to watching one season of a reality dating show, Season 13 of Love Island UK–in case you were wondering, that’s worth about $660 working a minimum wage job in Ohio. Time is money, and looking back, I find myself wondering, “did I really just spend that much time, wasting that much money, watching that show?”

Yes, I did, and I would do it again.

At first, I was hesitant to watch Love Island, as there is much hate surrounding the franchise. However, I got hooked, and here I am writing this article for all of you readers that intends on sharing some of the motivations that may lead the contestants, or “islanders” to join the show. 

To give a quick overview of the show: Love Island is a reality dating show that premiered in the US in 2019, only 4 years after it aired in the UK, according to Wikipedia. The show centers around ten to twelve contestants, split evenly between men and women, who are competing to win the public’s favor in their pairing, or “couple.” Sporadically, new islanders, or “bombshells” are placed in the show to break up couples and fight for a spot in the finale in a couple of their own. The couples have “recouplings” where they must choose a new person or the same to couple with. There are “dumpings” as well, where someone leaves the show and goes home. The public’s favorites and winners of the show receive a sum of prize money and immediate fame.

There are a number of differences between Love Island UK and USA, as there are a number of motivations people may have for going on the show. But, if you’ve ever watched Love Island, you will notice that every single person says that they’re on the show to find love, however much speculation surrounds this suspiciously common statement.

I’ve compiled a list of different motivations for going on Love Island, the first being financial motivation. 

The first aspect of financial motivation is the prize money. In the US, the winners split $100,000 according to Caroline Blair, and in the UK, the winners split €50,000, which translates to about $58,000 according to Daniel Tison and Jimmy Grant. The contestants also receive a weekly stipend to cover basic living expenses for home. There is not a set stipend per contestant, rather the show takes into account each individual’s living expenses and then gives them a set contract which includes said stipend. The stipend impacts the financial motivation by not creating a cause for worry. Everything at home is taken care of, so one can fully enjoy the Love Island experience. 

The second motivation is the social relevance growth motivation. Every contestant’s social media following increases after joining the show, with numbers varying depending on the individual. For example, in the most recent season of Love Island UK, one of the islanders and finalists, Jasmine Muller, gained 396.7k followers on Instagram according to Suchismita Ghosh. With the growth of the contestant’s social relevance also comes the potential of brand deals and media appearances, which also contributes to financial gain and motivation. 

Finally, the last motivation is the potential of finding love. This is the single motivation all islanders cite primarily. McKenzie Jean-Philippe states that there are currently about five Love Island USA couples that are still together today. In contrast, Cosmopolitan Magazine states there are currently about sixteen Love Island UK couples that are still together today.

Stepping back from the influence of the public eye, I think it’s odd that islanders would only say they’re there to find love. Many of the islanders are only in their 20s, with contestants being as young as 19 years old according to Gracie Murphy. As a 20 year old college student, I find it difficult to imagine that these younger contestants are there purely to find love. However, if you include the influence of the public eye, it makes a lot of sense that islanders would only cite finding love as their motivation. If one were to publicly say that they were there for financial gain, even if it is in addition to finding love, the backlash one would receive could result in a loss of potential social media growth and brand deals.

The Love Island franchise is a heated one, with extreme hate and love coming from the public. It’s important to step back and view the islanders as what they are, which is human. To hate someone unknown to yourself is extreme in itself, and I hope that all you readers read these words with an open mind. Review the statistics of this objectively culturally significant show, and view the islanders as separate from the franchise.