Sophie Monk’s job as host of Love Island Australia is to put the Islanders’ relationships to the test. It’s something she can relate to, admitting the early days in her relationship with her now husband Joshua Gross were a challenge.
“When I met him [in 2018], Josh was living in America,” Sophie, 44, tells TV WEEK. “We had to do a year apart. The time difference [between the US and Australia] made it tricky, but we cared about each other, so we put in the effort and made it work.”
The Love Island team has decided to shake up things this year, with Sophie declaring the sixth season is all about “tough love, temptation and tests”. The ultimate trial is the introduction of Hotel Amor, something that’s never been done on any Love Island series before.
“We asked if we could send them [the Islanders] away [to a hotel] for one night, but not in their couples – with different people,” Sophie says. “It caused way more drama than I could have imagined.”
While other series normally introduce Casa Amor halfway through the season as a way to split up the couples and see if they can withstand temptation, Hotel Amor will be more frequent and is set to cause way more mayhem.
Sophie, who has been a pop star with girl group Bardot, an actress in films such as Zombie Plane and Click, and part of reality dating series such as The Bachelorette Australia and Beauty And The Geek, says Love Island is the show that’s most reliable for finding a “genuine connection”.
“On Love Island, you have the choice of who you want to be with,” she explains. “It’s not like other shows, where there’s just one person to choose from. Plenty of people come in and out, and if they’re not for you, you can go. You’ve got freedom.”
After years of being unlucky in love, Sophie found her own genuine connection on a business-class flight to Los Angeles. Striking up a conversation with Josh – a marketing executive and fellow Aussie – one thing led to another after a few drinks. She leant in for a kiss and the pair have been together since, marrying in secret in 2022.
When they aren’t jetting around the world for their respective careers, Sophie shares the thing they love to do together most while relaxing at home – and it’s very different to her glamorous lifestyle we all see on screen.
“We’re hardcore gamers – we game a lot,” she says with a laugh. “We love Xbox, and we built the Home Alone LEGO the other day. We’re real geeks – there are way too many pairs of tracksuit pants in my house.”
“We love sitting on the couch playing The X-Files, Call Of Duty, ordering in food, watching reality shows – oh, and we love true crime!”
It sounds like a relaxing, fun life for the woman who’s something of a national treasure. But for Sophie, who’s settled down in Matcham on the NSW Central Coast, it hasn’t been without hardship.
“I have PMDD [Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder],” she shares. “It’s similar to endometriosis. It really affects your moods and it’s very painful.”
Despite more than 20 ambulance trips to the Emergency Room, no doctor was able to offer a diagnosis until 2018, meaning Sophie had to suffer for most of her career.
“I’ve thrown myself out of the hospital, gone to work and not told anyone,” she reveals. “Because it used to happen so often, I’d be embarrassed [to tell anyone]. The doctors did so many tests and couldn’t find what it was, but then I started realising it would happen once a month and that it [the pain and periods] was synced.
“Growing up, I just assumed everyone had the same thing. I didn’t realise their pain was far less than mine – women kind of just put up with it, don’t they?”
Now, Sophie knows what to ready herself for each month – and, through spreading the word about menstrual disorders, has inspired other women going through similar situations to get a second opinion.
A one-time “It” girl who cameoed in the film clip for Blink-182’s 2003 hit song “Always”, Sophie has friends in high places, enthusing over which A-Lister she rates the best host.
“Adam Sandler throws the best party,” she says. “His wrap party [for the 2006 romantic comedy Click] was like Dream World. His catering on set was insane too. It was like a wedding every day. I’ve worked on some big-budget stuff, but he was by far the best. And the way he treats people was so nice – which isn’t super-common there.”
Love Island Australia premieres Monday, October 28, 6pm, on 9Now
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