One of the first things the islanders are desperate to do when they leave the village is find out how much their social media following has grown.
In years past, stars of the past have garnered hundreds of thousands of fans on their respective platforms, and Molly-Mae Hague and Olivia Attwood now boast millions.
But after the bosses banned Love Island 2023 cast families from social media representing them while in the villa, it has had a massive impact on their reach.
It will be a huge blow to the islanders to find out that only three of the six finalists have more than 200k followers.
Many are no doubt hoping to forge lucrative careers as influencers and win clothing brands, and will have to work fast to try and build their following online once their phones are returned.
Oh no: the islanders are desperate to find out how much their social media following has grown when they leave, but it’s down this year compared to last due to the social media ban.
Social Media Ban – In previous years, stars of the past have garnered hundreds of thousands of fans on their respective platforms, but this has not been the case with the latest batch.
Series winners Sanam Harrinanan and Kai Fagan, who became the first Casa Amor couple to win the £50,000 cash prize, have just 123,000 and 147,000 followers on Instagram respectively.
Runner-up Lana Jenkins scores slightly better with 244k while Samie Elishi has the most of all finishers with 259k.
Shaq Muhammad has the lowest with less than 100,000 followers at press time.
For the first time in Love Island history, the islanders’ social media profiles remained ‘inactive’ during their time on the show.
The big change was decided by ITV producers after years of friends and family struggling to cope with the levels of trolling they received while managing their loved ones’ social media accounts from home.
In previous series, the Islander teams used their accounts to encourage viewers to vote for them and increase their following, but this has led to them being abused by trolls and fighting with family and friends of other contestants.
ITV has constantly evolved its duty of care protocols after series two star Sophie Gradon took her own life aged 32 in June 2018 and series three contestant Mike Thalassitis was found dead at age 32 in March 2019.
Former Love Island host Caroline Flack also took her own life at age 40 in February 2020 after struggling with her mental health.
The upcoming Love Island series starts in just three months, so the cast will have to work fast if they want to maintain their online presence.
Low: Series winners Sanam and Kai, who became the first Casa Amor couple to win the £50,000 cash prize, have just 123,000 and 147,000 followers on Instagram respectively.
Reality Fame: Runner-up Lana Jenkins scores slightly better at 244k while Samie Elishi has the most of all finalists at 259k while Shaq has the lowest.
Millionaire: the numbers are a far cry from Molly-Mae’s huge profile, as the YouTuber boasts 7.4 million followers after passing through the village in 2019.
Sanam and Kai beat out original pairing Ron Hall and Lana for the £50k prize money.
Tom Clare, 23, and Samie Elishi, 22, took third place in the competition, while airport security officer Shaq Muhammad, 24, and Tanya Manhenga, 22, were the first out .
After her win, Sanam told 28-year-old Maya, ‘I can’t believe it,’ while Kai was speechless.
She said of their romance, “For me, it was always Kai, like I always said he was my number one.” He obviously is a very attractive guy but he made me fall in love with everything. Everything about him I loved. I really didn’t think he was going to be here. I’m going to cry.’
Like all romances on the show, Kai and Sanam have had a rocky ride, after P.E. teacher Olivia Hawkins’ former love interest stormed off when her head was turned at Casa Amor, just like the her.
Champions: The social worker and PE teacher, who fell in love during the trip to Casa Amor, were bookies’ favorites to win the 2023 winter series
But Kai’s decision to get back together with Sanam has proven valuable as they’ve stayed strong ever since.
In his interview, the PE teacher noted that his journey on the show had been a ‘roller coaster’, but he is eager to get Sanam away from the glamor of the South African villa.
“It’s been a roller coaster,” he said. ‘But literally, she blew me away. I think it’s her eyes. I always told her that it was the first conversation we had, she made her eyes. But she doesn’t anymore! After that first one, we got closer and closer.
‘She doesn’t leave my side and I absolutely love her. Here, it’s amazing and you have so many people working around you, putting on the most amazing dates ever, but I can’t wait to put my time and effort into it and show it how amazing it is.
‘On the outside, she’s going to be my girlfriend, but I want that control. I am going to make it so special and I have told her so many times that she will be my girlfriend abroad. So stay tuned.