Love Island All-Stars: Can Reality Stars Still Make Money As Influencers?

This year’s cast Love Island All Stars, A spin-off featuring former contestants has been described by its creators as “dating royalty”.

More than half of the 12 islanders heading to the South African villa were finalists in their respective series, while 2022 winner Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu is also rumored to enter later.

Appearing on Love Island was once seen as a path to independent fame and success.

But could the return of names from some of the show’s most popular series be a sign that the once-lucrative pipeline from Islander to influencer or TV star is coming to an end?

Becoming an influencer is a well-worn career path for Love Island leavers, and past contestants have been paid by brands to sell everything from cosmetics to cars to social media users. is

Perhaps most successful in this role has been 2019 series runner-up Molly-May Hague, who served as creative director. For fast fashion brand Pretty Little Thingand recently started her own fashion company.

But Molly-Mae appeared on Love Island at the height of her popularity. The episode in which he and Tommy Fury lost to winners Amber Gill and Greg O’Shea is the show’s most watched of all time, attracting more than six million viewers.

Touching these heights isn’t possible for every former cast member, something more recent contestant Taniel Revan believes needs to be aware of the impact.

“One thing people have to remember about this industry is if you don’t maintain it 24/7, which is very difficult because it’s a bit of a fake lifestyle,” she tells the BBC. You can easily be forgotten.”

“I think a lot of influence comes back to the All-Stars because they need to maintain and promote that.” She adds.

Tanyel, 28, appeared in a winter series of the show in 2023, when interest was still high (her finale was watched by more than a million people), but not at the level of Molly-Mae in 2019.

The hairdresser says that while she has earned some “extra income” from being a social media influencer, the hair care company she started before entering the villa is what gives her “stability”.

Taneel adds, “I am an entrepreneur who has set up my own salon.

A lot has changed since Love Island first aired in its current form in 2015. 300 people have now appeared on the UK edition of the show – being a former Islander is no longer an exclusive club.

For a while, the finalists enjoyed rumored six-figure brand deals with fast fashion companies and sponsored Instagram posts that could earn them thousands.

But according to Brielle Fleck, social media expert and co-founder of Sloane House Marketing, the appetite for that type of content just doesn’t exist anymore.

“The way we digest content is completely different from how we did it five years ago,” she says.

“There are a lot of ads, even not just push ads but when you’re scrolling, even through your friends. [Instagram] The stories, you’re smitten with them, it’s so saturated,” she says.

Big brand partnerships used to be the best way to make money, Bryleigh says, but “appeal to the masses” is no longer the best strategy for influencers, thanks to new platforms like TikTok, which allow consumers to Uses a different algorithm to select content.

She says that in 2025 there will be a new type of content creator – the “micro-influencer” – who may not have a huge following, but has a really engaged and niche audience.

These creators “really see and know their audience,” she adds. “For example, mothers with young families or girls who like to go out every weekend are completely different people so trying to market to both of them won’t work.”

Billy Brown, who appeared in series eight of Love Island in 2022, says many of the people he was on the show with saw it as an easy way to become an influencer.

“I know a lot of people who came out, quit their jobs and thought that was it, but it’s not.

“You can make a lot of money from this show but if you don’t perform well, you don’t,” says the 25-year-old, who entered the main villa after impressing fellow contestant Tasha Ghori in other Villa Casa affairs. It happened. .

Billy, who owns a construction and property development business, says that a few days after leaving the show, he was “up at 4:30 in the morning. [for work] And then going to the movie premiere at night.”

“I didn’t let it go to my head, I think I was just one of those people who could say ‘look, it’s not all glitz and glam’,” he adds.

Billy has maintained a social media presence in the years since, with more lifestyle and sports-focused content, as well as his architecture. Includes on-the-job materials.

He says he still makes some money from influencers but thinks it’s because of his personality, rather than the number of followers he has. A relatively modest 115,000. Molly-Mae, by contrast, has more than eight million.

“People [who go on the show] Instead of being famous for being on love island, you need to focus on the things you love.

“There’s got to be something about you, just looking good won’t do you much good,” he adds.

Love Island’s cultural relevance has become a topic of discussion in recent years due to declining visitor numbers.

At the show’s peak in 2019, it averaged around six million viewers, with recent series in 2023 and 2024 attracting around one to two million viewers.

With the recent boom in the reality TV dating genre, Netflix shows like Love is blind.Ultimatum and too hot to handle, audiences now have more options than ever.

Jack Lee, who runs Alpha Talent Group, represents all the stars of sports, entertainment and social media.

He manages boxer Tommy Fury and sports presenter McGriffiths (known as Michael on Love Island), who both appeared in the aforementioned 2019 series of the show.

“People will come to a show and advertise for each company, because these companies will want to take advantage of what they can get,” he tells the BBC.

“But four or five months down the line you will be hurting your career, because you have misused your platform and there will be no credibility,” he adds.

Jack says that recent reality TV contestants have learned a lot from the mistakes of their predecessors, who were leaving shows without any real strategy.

“My biggest piece of advice is to go in with your eyes open,” he cautions.