Love Island is just around the corner, and a hot new bombshell has revealed all the behind-the-scenes secrets about the villa. After travelling to Majorca to visit the villa where 12 singles will soon be coupling up for a summer of love, I discovered many little details about what it's really like behind the scenes.
One Toilet for All Islanders
First up, there is just one toilet. Yes, that's right – just one that has to be shared between all the islanders. Last year, the islanders matched season four's record for the most number of contestants in the villa at one time, with 20 making it to the main villa after Casa Amor. So if that happens again, that's 20 people all sharing the same loo. The islanders seem to have made it work before, so fingers crossed they will do so again!
New Intimate Lounges
Whilst waiting for the toilet, or if they want to pull someone for a sneaky chat, there are two new areas of the villa for islanders to explore. Both are intimate sitting rooms that have enough room for two people to sit and confess their feelings for each other, despite knowing it will cause an angst-filled love triangle. The sitting areas are also big enough for a third person and are tucked away on the upper floor of the house, near the terrace. As such, they could be home to a lot of drama this season – whether that be tear-stained debriefs with your close-knit friend group, or a screaming match after you've caught your partner on the terrace with someone else.
No More Smoking Area
In years gone by, those debriefs and arguments might have happened at the smoking area. Fans of the earlier series will remember Amber Davies' iconic eye roll when having an argument with Chris Hughes, Chris asking everyone if he should 'rap to lift the mood a bit,' and Malia Arkian almost coming to blows with Kady McDermott just a few minutes after the two met. But the smoking area is no more. It was removed from the show in 2018 to comply with broadcasting regulations on smoking on telly. The islanders still smoke, though – they just have to leave the villa to do it. And they can't take anyone else with them, because the last thing you want is for an important conversation to happen off screen.
Breakfast and Intimacy
What about if things are going well for a couple? In those cases, we might see someone make breakfast for their partner. The chef of the morning has access to eggs, bread, milk, juice, bacon, and all the other essentials stocked in the fridge. The fridge is kept full of the basics for a good breakfast, as well as ready-to-cook pizzas for a late snack. They can also request specific foods to be added to the fridge if they want to do something special. And if things are going really well and they get a little intimate – whey they start doing bits or 'opening the beauty salon' as the girls of 2022 Love Island said – the production team never wants to single any couple out as having had sex. So while the sheets are changed twice a week and before recouplings, they don't rush in to change the sheets if someone has had sex overnight.
Night Filming Schedule
As for some of the recouplings and all of the scenes happening at night – they only start filming from 9pm at the earliest. This is because sunset in Majorca doesn't start until 9pm in June and can start as late as 9:30pm towards the end of the Love Island season. So to get those dramatic shots, where everything but the villa is pitch black, they have to wait for the sun to have fully gone down.
After the Show
When everything is done and dusted and a winning couple has won £50,000 and (hopefully) the love of their lives, the whole villa is de-rigged. All the Love Island fixtures and fittings are taken apart and stripped away so that the villa is as it was before – an old, stone, equally pretty building in the Majorcan mountains.
Love Island starts on Monday 1st June on ITV2 and ITVX.
