What Love Island Viewers Don't See About The Islanders' 'Time Off' During The Show

Summary

• Love Island may seem all fun, but contestants have strict schedules with just one day off a week for relaxation and cleaning.
• Islanders are paid a minimal fee, around £375 ($486) a week, to appear on the show to cover bills back home.
• Despite low pay, many Love Island stars have found success in media careers post-show, leveraging the exposure gained.

Love Island is one of the sexiest shows on television, but is the reality show as inticing behind the scenes?

It might all look like fun and games, but it's important to remember Love Island is still a TV show, which means there are scheduled times for filming, rules to follow, and a set day off to allow for the Love Island Villa to be cleaned.

Contestants on Love Island get a free vacation, earn international fame and perhaps a love match, but it's hard work appearing on the reality TV show. With just one day off, which is highly monitored by producers, how much do the contestants make for taking people aside for chats and getting the ick under the summer sun?

Love Island's Islanders Only Get One Day Off From Filming A Week

The reason Love Island doesn’t air on a Saturday is so the cast can get one day off, pamper themselves and head to the beach.

Speaking on This Morning, Love Island season 3 winner, Kem Cetinay revealed that producers take the cast out of the villa to relax on the beach one day a week.

"What happens is it gives them a day to clean the villa and you take your mics off and normally we go to the beach and we just chill out. Not a lot of people know this. What happens is when you take your mics off, you’re not allowed to talk about anything to do with the show."

He admits it's not a very relaxing time because the producers watch them like 'hawks' because they don’t want you to talk about what’s going on.

"You can all sit and chat but they are quite careful about what you talk about because they want to keep it so everyone at home can see and get it on video. It’s more a day off from all the intense games, all the intense dates, deciding who you like and don’t like."

Millie Court, from season 7, opened up about what happens during these down days, which includes getting food delivered to the villa, playing games and sunbathing. She also revealed they sleep in same-sex beds and are banned from talking about their relationships or other islanders.

Love Island began in the UK in 2005 as Celebrity Love Island. It spawned the second version, Love Island, in 2015. The franchise has since expanded to 22 different versions with other countries, including USA's version, which began in 2019.

What Love Island's Sleep Schedule Looks Like

The Love Island set may not look structured, but Love Islanders have a tight sleep schedule, set by producers. They are woken up around 9am every day, which often leaves those who appear on the show feeling tired and emotional.

Kady McDermott, who was on the show’s second season before coming back as a 2023 bombshell, said, “The days were very long, and the producers never let us sleep in past 9.30am [because] that wasn’t entertaining. They used to wake us up through speakers.”

Paige Thorne from season 8 of the reality show also explained, "I feel like that’s all I complained about. I felt like it was just going to be like a holiday, but I think, to just like make sure the stories made sense, you were actually filming quite a lot of the time."

"The lack of sleep was like a big thing for me."

Paige's on-screen partner Finn added, "I mean yeah, it was late nights – and then because your emotions are heightened as it is, you're then tired as well."

The network that airs the show, ITV, told The Sun that the Islanders' wake up time “varies depending upon what has happened the night before.” The show will let the cast sleep in if they have been filming late or there has been a dumping the night prior.

Season five cast member Arabella Chi admitted she was shocked with the strict sleeping schedules and how late they went to bed. “You can try and work out the time but obviously we have no access to what time it is, you are able to kind of work it out.

Do Love Island Cast Members Get Paid?

Yes, Love Island cast members get paid for their appearance on the show. It's a minimal fee but does cover most of the bills at home.

Taking to TikTok to answer fan questions, former Islander Demi Jones said, "Yes, you do get paid to go on the show. I personally got paid £250 a week. This is obviously to cover all your bills at home because you could have a flat, you could have a car to pay, all the things like that."

The Islander pay appears to have gone up since Demi appeared on the show. As of 2024, the Islanders are reportedly paid around £375 (about $486) a week to cover any rent or bills back home.

It was previously reported that Love Island All Stars contestants were being offered £2,000 ($2,589) a week to appear on the special 2023 edition show. Despite being paid more than a normal series, the cast wasn't happy and demanded a pay rise.

“They are pushing ITV for more cash because they're saying £2,000 a week isn't enough. Many of the Islanders rely on their social media deals to make cash and by going into the villa, their revenue source will be down,” a source told The Sun.

Speaking on The Big Jim Show, Jay Younger explained, "Once they send through the contract, I think they pay you like £375 a week. It’s very low; it’s like minimum wage. £375 a week and they’ll pay for any ad hoc advertisements you do.

"So like, you might be holding a bottle and they might pay you a fee for that. I can’t remember what that was. They’ll pay you if you’re wearing certain sponsored clothes – if they see you on camera with that. But it’s not about the money, it’s about the exposure it’s meant to give you after."

Despite the low fees, many of the stars of Love Island have gone on to have successful careers in media, had lucrative deals and appeared on other TV shows, including Celebrity Big Brotherand The Traitors.