Content warning: please note that this piece discusses topics that some readers may find distressing, including mental health-related trauma and suicide.
Disclaimer: Throughout this piece, I will only be referring to Love Island UK because aside from the odd wander down the YouTube rabbit hole at 3 am, I’ve never watched any of its international counterparts.
Since 2015, Love Island UK has been a much-loved reality show that has become synonymous with summer. I haven’t been a fan since the beginning, but with its seventh season said to finally be on the way after a delay from Covid-19, it’s pretty safe to say that the programme has been a success. However, in those six years, the show has also had its fair share of tragedy, which begs the question of whether it should even return at all.
During this hiatus, I haven’t particularly missed it, but I know for a fact the second it returns to our screens I’ll be the first to get watching. Why? I guess I watch out of habit but more notably, I do it to avoid FOMO. That fear of missing out once posts about the islanders are all over Twitter is so strong that I guarantee I’ll watch the new season just to be involved in the memes. Some may call this a guilty pleasure but the sad part is that it’s just a side effect of reality TV that has been encouraged for as long as I can remember. Generation Z has grown up with the notion that it is normal to put people on TV in humiliating situations for some cheap laughs. Look no further than The X-Factor and you’ll see that ITV is no stranger to mockery. I haven’t watched The X-Factor for years due to its predictable nature and the fact it just isn’t the same anymore - which is probably a good thing. When watching it as a child and then later as a teenager hunting for the funniest auditions on YouTube, I hadn’t processed what these types of shows must have been doing to the people on them. We point and laugh and brush it off as harmless comedic entertainment but the truth is, shows like these have known exactly what they’re doing to contestants for years. Yes, Susan Boyle is talented but I have no doubt that her Britain’s Got Talent audition was selected to be aired so that we as a nation could judge and snigger at how someone like her - a middle-aged woman who ticks barely any of the boxes of what a typical ‘pop star’ is like - could ever deceive themself into thinking they had a chance. Sadly, this is the way reality TV has wired our brains. Those compilation videos of the worst auditions are hilarious but times have changed and therefore the shows need to as well. If this level of - what is essentially bullying - is to continue for the viewers’ gratification, the contestants need to be aware of what they’re getting themselves into and proper aftercare and counselling needs to be made available to them. If these measures do not already exist on an acceptable and accessible level, it’s vital that they are put in place so contestants feel able to use these services both during and after their departure from the show.
Being a part of something on social media is what helped propel Love Island and its more recent stars to popularity in the first place. YouTubers like JaackMaate thrive off of ripping contestants to shreds every year based on their shallow pre-show interviews. Whilst some may argue that this triggers mental health issues, contestants should be aware by now that this is just what happens. Furthermore, it’s actually a factor in boosting their profiles during their five minutes of fame. But should it really be this way? Should we just accept that you have to be thick-skinned to make it in reality TV or should we perhaps start questioning this culture before someone else dies as a by-product of it? It could be argued that audiences need to hold their hands up and admit that they are guilty of laughing at vulnerable people, but if that’s the case then so do the people behind the shows.
The blame cannot just be put on Love Island though. Of course, there is a lot to be said about the type of people that volunteer for this kind of show too. I didn’t watch Love Island until series 3 and as a result, watching series 1 and 2 retrospectively meant it was obvious to me how the show changed. After the third season you could almost predict the contestants before they were even chosen: model, 22 from Manchester; student, 19 from London; sometimes they might mix it up with a fireman or pharmacist. The announcement that this year's potential contestants will be given the chance to apply for Love Island through Tinder gives me hope that this might bring a much-needed sense of normality back into the show. I’d like to see more diversity, more ‘ordinary’ people, coupled with broadcasting a wider range of occupations, mindsets and bodies. This is easier said than done, however, because as is the way with TV, most people go on it in search of finding fame. This isn’t a bad thing but it does affect the variety of people willing to take part. The audience will never really know whether someone is being genuine or if they’re just in it for the Missguided collab. Nevertheless, this is the beauty of Love Island. We still haven’t seen anyone steal the 50k at the end and I for one don’t want it to be cancelled until we get to witness that! Will it ever happen though? Everyone with the agenda of pushing their name out into the public and becoming a full-time influencer wouldn’t want to make a move so bold that they become irrelevant a few months down the line. Keeping the peace appears to be how so many previous contestants somehow manage to cling on to brand deals. So what happens when they don’t keep the peace? When the pressure resulting from their new-found fame becomes too much and something goes wrong?
For three consecutive years now, ex-contestants and a presenter have all taken their own lives. But how many of their issues can be traced back to Love Island? Season 2’s Sophie Gradon committed suicide in 2018, season 4’s Mike Thalassitis killed himself in 2019 and most recently, the presenter that first made the show what it was, Caroline Flack, ended her own life in 2020. All of the aforementioned were put in a vulnerable mental position because of their time on Love Island and despite all of them having issues outside of the show, I would argue some of those problems wouldn’t have existed if they hadn’t gone on the programme in the first place. Mike Thalassitis was rumoured to have money problems and a failed business at the time of his death and Caroline Flack, despite being in the public eye for years, was very openly experiencing allegations of domestic abuse that forced her to leave her presenting role on Love Island. Whether their fame was temporary like Mike’s or more enduring like Caroline’s, constantly being in some sort of spotlight is enough to trigger mental health issues. It’s no secret how relentless this country’s tabloids can be when delving into every detail of celebrities’ lives and with the added presence of social media comment sections, contestants should not be scolded for finding the unexpected pressure difficult to handle.
I don’t believe this programme should be cancelled because if it’s not Love Island, it’ll just be another show that takes its place and those that seek out fame will simply find themselves applying to other reality shows. However, I would like to see the implementation of some significant changes to ensure that reality TV stars are not left in such a vulnerable position. Ex-contestants should not have to handle their new-found fame with little to no support so producers need to step up and ensure that appropriate aftercare is in place and is readily accessible for anyone and everyone involved in filming. Another thing that needs to change is the prevailing attitude that Z-list celebrities owe us anything. If you choose to follow them, endorse them, support their brand, that’s your choice but it’s important to remember you are also one of the many people keeping them relevant. Regardless of their motivations, regardless of if they’re a model, a student, a fireman or a pharmacist, they are all human and it’s time we started treating them like it.
By Kerry Violet
Image courtesy of Fabian Wiktor via Pexels