Love Island Australia is back for a second season and we cannot wait for more drama and single hotties looking for love.
But since last season, we’ve been left with so many questions, like how much money did the losers walk away with? How drunk did they get every night? Did producers hand out contraception?
We’ve answered the questions you had—and didn’t know you had—in the most important deep-dive of the year.
How much money do Islanders make on the show?
So you want to go on a reality show for fame and cash? While your Instagram followers might swell, don’t count on the same happening to your bank account.
Last year’s winners Tayla and Grant walked away with $50,000 (no winners in the history of Love Island have chosen to keep all the prize money), but what did the rest of the contestants take home?
On reality shows like The Bachelor, Married At First Sight or My Kitchen Rules, contestants get paid diddly squat, but a few ex-contestants have admitted some of their living costs are covered while they’re on the show so they’re not left destitute by the experience—emphasis on some.
An insider from Love Island UK confessed the only cash the contestants receive is “a contribution towards living their costs while they are on the show”.
To put that in Australian terms, ex-MAFS couples have said they receive $150/week to cover costs. As anyone renting in Sydney will tell you, that barely scrapes the surface.
Where the big bucks come into play is the sponsorship posts after the show. In England, former Islanders absolutely rake it in big because boy does that country love a D-Grade celeb.
They capitalise on the surge of followers and embrace sponsored posts for charcoal toothpaste and protein powder. How much they earn depends on how many followers they have, but ex-Islanders in the UK earned around $2,650 per post for the girls and $880 for the guys.
Others signed modelling contracts or launched their own fashion and beauty lines, and all of them tend to do club appearances.
Islanders have their phones confiscated
Days before they appear on the show, contestants have their phones taken off them and they’re put into hiding so they won’t know who’s entering the villa.
Season one winner Tayla Damir confirmed this when she shared a series of photos from Mallorca to mark a year since her Love Island adventure began.
“Exactly 1 year ago I landed in Mallorca Spain, handed over all forms of technology and contact with the outside world and went in to what we call ‘lock down’. I spent the next 4 days stuck in a hotel room not sure what crazy adventure I was about to step in to,” she wrote.
Contestants have their phones confiscated before they appear on the show.
(Image: Instagram @tayla.damir/Nine Network)But wait, weren’t the contestants constantly screeching “I’ve got a text!”?
They’re given a phone in the villa that can only be used to text each other and receive info from producers about dates, recouplings and those bizarre games. They also use them to take pictures the producers then upload to their social media.
They barely drink any alcohol
We’re sure you remember the, er, sticky situation Bachelor In Paradise US got into last year? Some contestants were so blackout drunk there were accusations of rape and the whole production was shut down for weeks.
Love Island wanted to steer clear of that malarkey so alcohol intake is closely monitored by producers. On average, each contestant consumes only a couple of units per night.
Former UK Islander Kady McDermott also testified to the limited alcohol.
“At night time we weren’t allowed a lot of alcohol,” she said.
“During the first four or five days when we didn’t know each other we had alcohol to break the ice, but then after that it was two glasses of wine a night. And we were sure it was watered down as well! I don’t get that at all.”
Former UK Islander Kady McDermott said she and her fellow contestants weren’t allowed a lot of alcohol.
(Image: ITV)Speaking of consent, producers are very involved when it comes to sex in the villa
Ahead of 2018’s UK season, contestants were given a handbook about consent before entering the villa and were banned from certain types of activities. They were also given more information on contraceptives and offered post-sex counselling sessions if they so desired.
In Australia, contestants stressed how much emphasis was put on consent and using protection.
“[T]he only couple having sex in the villa was Eden and Erin and it was a major thing that you always had to be wearing protection and everything had to be consensual,” Tayla revealed to Now To Love.
READ MORE: Reality TV power couple Cyrell Paule and Eden Dally are expecting their first child
Eden cemented that, saying: “It’s no secret that me and Erin had sex on the show on Love Island, but we always practised safe sex— there was definitely NO pregnancy.”
WATCH: Love Island‘s Erin reveals truth behind break up with Eden. Post continues after video…
They’re not allowed to leave the villa
Contestants aren’t allowed to escape unless they’re going on a producer-organised date, and we feel like it’ll be the same this season in Fiji.
On the way to the dates, they’re kept in separate cars so they couldn’t have unfilmed conversations—saving the drama for the screens.
“I don’t know if you know but production are very strict; we couldn’t even get a f—ing pregnancy test if we wanted!” season one’s Erin admitted to Now To Love.
“You couldn’t leave,” Eden agreed.
Sorry gang, you’re stuck in the villa.
(Image: Nine Network)No rest for the wicked
Although your dream holiday might involve long, luxurious sleep-ins, the Islanders are on the clock and producers want to squeeze as much TV time from them as they can.
There are no light switches in the house—production are in charge and turn the lights on in the morning when contestants start talking.
They’re not allowed to sleep in past 9:30am and were blasted with speakers and lights to rouse them out of bed.
