A Love Island star looks completely unrecognisable from her pre-villa days in a throwback snap. Scottish stunner Ellie has left fans gobsmacked after they stumbled upon an old picture of the star looking utterly transformed.
From Brunette to Blonde
The Real Estate Videographer, 24, hailing from West Lothian, currently sports platinum blonde hair but before her rise to fame she flaunted brunette locks. In an old snap from 2020, she's pictured with shoulder-length chestnut hair – a far cry from her lengthy blonde extensions – fuller arched brows and a markedly different makeup approach.
With the picture doing the rounds on Reddit, viewers were flabbergasted that it was Ellie, though insisted she looked equally gorgeous. One wrote: "That's the same girl? She needs to go back to her real hair colour; she looks so much more interesting!"
"She looks gorgeous as a blond and brunette," another declared. Making comparisons to a former Love Island winner, a third wrote: "Wait she looks so much like Amber Gill as a brunette omg?"
The star also posted a video to her work TikTok account, chronicling her transformation from brunette to blonde, reports OK!.
Handbag Obsession
Ellie has become a hit with fans since joining the villa as an original Islander, and has even garnered viral fame for one quirky behaviour. Ellie has remarkably been the first contestant to regularly tote a handbag around the villa, despite the fact that show participants don't stray beyond the grounds. One of her most striking pieces is the Prada Midollino crossbody bag.
The stunning accessory worth roughly £2,000 was also carried last year by Series 12 runner-up Shakira Khan.
Predictably, Love Island fans have taken to social media to voice their thoughts, with one noting: "Ellie is the first girl I've seen carry a bag around the villa, she's so real, go find those designer bags girly show us the villa collection."
"Ellie is sending me with her handbag," one viewer posted, while another wondered: "Why is Ellie always walking around the villa with a handbag?"
Meanwhile, another fan even questioned whether she had a secret brand partnership, remarking: "Ellie is frying me with these bags, where is she going? Or is this her own brand like what's going on?"
Former Islander Demi Jones believes she understands why Ellie is never spotted without a bag, as she headed to TikTok to reveal her theory about why the 2026 star refuses to go anywhere without the accessory.
"Ellie carrying a bag on Love Island has me crying, do you know what I'm so living for it," she started. "I'm telling you now that bag is probably empty minus her lip combo just sprawling about in the bag as she walks around."
The Season 6 Islander continued: "I'm telling you now that bag is empty minus a lip liner, lip gloss and a lipstick. In the villa you physically cannot take your lip combo around with you. And you need to constantly top up, think about how much chatting you're doing, kissing, drinking, whatever and you can't top up."
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Love Island continues tonight from 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
