the star of Love Island, Ikenna Ekwonna, admitted that she made more money before participating in the reality show.
While love is the object of the game on the ITV2 dating show, the success of former contestants such as Molly-Mae Hague and Amber Gill has led many to apply to the show in hopes of cashing in on lucrative deals from influencers and collaborations with brands.
However, by appearing in the Channel 4 documentary Life After Love Island2022 contestant Ekwonna said that her post-show experiences have not been all she had hoped they would be.
The 23-year-old worked as a pharmaceutical sales representative before quitting his job, but said the money he earned through content and in the first three months following taking part in the program was between £3,000 and £4,000. .
According to the documentary, this was “less than half of what he earned” before participating in Love Island. In fact, Ekwonna admitted that he found it “demotivating” not to be contacted by brands.
“You come away thinking, ‘ah, it’s Love Island. all following Love Island they have life figured out,’” he told host Will Njobvu. “And walking out of there, you say, ‘When is this going to happen?’”
When asked if any brands had reached out to him regarding a collaboration, Ekwonna said no, questioning whether his race had played a role.
“I have questioned if it is me,” he asked. “Is it my face? Is it my skin?
Elsewhere in the documentary, Coco Lodge, who also participated in the series this year following joining during the Casa Amor episodes, said her “ideal scenario” was to amass one to two million followers following the show.
“But I came out with 30k followers,” she said. “I did not understand; she was thinking, ‘why does everyone hate me?’
Lodge added: “You don’t enter to find love. It’s an advantage if you get it, but you do it because you know what you can get next.”
Lodge has since returned to his previous employment as a bartender at a nightclub.
According to the documentary, of the show’s 259 contestants, 28 islanders landed brand deals worth more than six figures, 65 participated in other reality shows, and 27 created an account on OnlyFans.
More than 130 are said to have returned to their regular jobs.
Life After Love Island It’s already on Channel 4.
Translation by Michelle Padilla