The Journey of Love Island’s Forgotten Contestants: From Normal Life to Olympic Dreams

Love Island will make a much-anticipated return to TV screens on Monday June 3, as the popular show returns for a new series. 

Since first being broadcast in 2015, Love Island has proved to be a popular hit with viewers year upon year.

From playing professional rugby to working as a bricklayer, not all the ex-contestants have chosen to stay in a world of limelight, glitz and glamour.  

Ahead of the new season, here is a look back at some of the forgotten contestants to have appeared on Love Island and what they are up to now. 

Faye Winter  

Prior to appearing in the 2021 edition of Love Island, Faye Winter, from Exeter, Devon, worked in the property business as a lettings manager. 

Although she was not did not come out as the victor from the programme’s seventh series, finishing in third place, she did end up going on to date fellow contestant Teddy Soares.

However, a year after dating one another, the pair split in 2023. 

Since leaving Love Island, Faye has worked as a property consultant, setting up her own business called Faye Home, which involves her giving tips and advice about the property industry through her various social media channels. 

Speaking about the reason behind their breakup, Faye said: ‘It’s been very obvious, especially over the last few months, we just wanted different things. We were just in different places. 

‘And you know, relationships… they’re hard, you know, they’re hard things to maintain. People go through breakups every single day. People go through heartbreak every single day.

‘It’s just part of life and it’s a really difficult situation to go through. I’m not ready. I don’t know if I will ever be ready to disclose what fully happened between us because that is between me and Teddy.

‘But we just wanted really different things and, yeah, I think that’s become… you know, I wanted to continue doing my work with charity and my Guide Dogs work.

‘And it’s just one of those things, unfortunately, and it is sad. It will always be sad and he’ll always hold a very special place in my heart.

‘But we’ve just got to keep moving and it’s difficult because everybody wants to know, but at the same time we’ve got to respect our own privacy and also respect each other’s.’

Liam Reardon 

After winning Love Island 2021 with his now-ex Millie Court, Liam confirmed that he would return to his old job as a bricklayer – with his sights set on building a property empire.

Liam said: ‘I loved being a brickie before winning Love Island so I want to go into the property business. I’ll start off in Wales because the house prices are a lot cheaper there. 

‘Plus, that’s the area where I have all my mates in the same industry.’

Malin Andersson 

Before appearing in the second series of Love Island, Malin Andersson was a trained elderly and palliative carer. 

After her stint on the show in 2016, she returned to her old job following the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, citing a desire to give something back : ‘I can’t sit at home on my own anymore knowing I have training within the sector.

‘If I can give something more than what I’m doing – then I am satisfied’, she added.

Greg O’Shea 

After winning the 2019 with his girlfriend at the time, Amber Gill, Greg had his heart set on returning to his occupation as a professional rugby player.

The former Love Island contestant would go on to find success on the pitch, representing Ireland’s rugby sevens at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. 

Greg has also launched his own online fitness brand called BETTR With Greg, which offers bespoke workouts and wellness training for anyone keen to stay in shape with the help of a personal trainer. 

Georgia Townend 

After her stint on Love Island lasted less than 24 hours, Georgia Townend has found the grass to be greener elsewhere. 

Having left the show, Georgia revealed that she had returned to her day job at Lidl HQ. 

Posting a picture of herself at work after being eliminated from the show, she joked: ‘Yes I work for Lidl and yes that’s a likely contributing factor as to why my time in the villa was so short. 

‘It’s been instilled in me my entire career that checkouts could be as speedy as possible.’ 

Georgia has also built a strong Instagram following, with 120,000 followers on Instagram following her life as an influencer away from Lidl. 

Anna Vakili 

After quitting a career in medicine to be able to make an appearance on Love Island in 2019, Anna Vakili returned to her career as a pharmacist following the pandemic. 

Explaining her decision on Instagram at the time, she said: ‘First day back working as a Pharmacist since leaving Love Island. It’s been almost a whole year! Wow can’t believe how fast it’s gone.’

‘Wasn’t really planning on registering yet but with everything that’s going on it felt wrong not to. We can all fight this together. Stay safe. Stay home. Save lives.’

Once life returned to a more familiar pattern, Anna found success as an influencer and ambassador to the Este Medical Group. 

She currently has 1.2million followers on Instagram, is a brand ambassador for Fashion Nova and hosts the Sisters In The City podcast.