Love Island is a real money-maker for contestants. That being said, how much is your time worth, if you did go into the villa?
Love Island contestants earn around £250 a week when in the villa. This is to cover their expenses, like bills, rent and so forth while they’re on the show. Islanders who spend longer on the show, tend to rake in quite the income afterwards too.
An Islander will see their Instagram followers rocket by a few thousand within an hour of joining the show.
The greater following you have, the greater fees you can command from endorsements. The most popular contestants can expect to make £1m within a year after the show, from this alone.
Where does the Money Come From?
It tends to be the longer-term endorsements that bring in the most money. This can be from a clothing collection, a workout video or even endorsements from brands.
Some of the contestants have teamed up with others, to release clothing collaborations so they can then build their own brand as opposed to jumping on an endorsement.
Research has shown that the average finalist earns around £290,000 per month. Research has shown that Love Island finalists are able to charge up to £17,000 for every sponsored post.
A lot of finalists post on average, 17 sponsored posts every month. If you look at the Islanders from 2019, you will soon see that their estimated wages over the course of a month, from Instagram alone, are as follows:
- Molly-May Hague: £399,000
- Amber Gill: £297,920
- Maura Higgins: £296,400
As you can see, winning the show doesn’t bring you the biggest profit. Molly-May actually came in second but she is able to make more than the winner.
Love Island 2018 Winners: Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham
The winners from 2018, Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham managed to make £1.7m after the show as they signed deals with In the Style, Mark Hill Hair and more.
You don’t have to be a winner of the show to rake in this kind of money though. Alex Bowen and Olivia from season 2 of the show are married, with their net worth totalling £4.4 million.
A lot of this has come from modelling but it has also come from presenting gigs, along with a lucrative magazine deal.
Love Island 2017 Winners: Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies
Although the couple have now broken up, the winners from 2017 have made over a million since they left the show.
Kady McDermott from season two has made a very similar amount. Rosie Williams, who only spent 3 weeks in the villa, said that she had made a year’s worth of her salary when working as a solicitor, within a month after leaving the Island.
At the end of the day, it is the online following and popularity that is key when it comes to making money.
Some of the products that contestants advertise can be at times controversial or somewhat cringy, but it brings the Islanders in so much money that it is very difficult to turn them down.
Those who tend to leave the show quite early on tend to only get a week or two of exposure and this is not enough to sustain a following.
It’s also not enough to gather enough interest either. If you leave the Island during this crucial window, you can’t expect to bring in the kind of income mentioned above.
However, if you have a decent social media following prior to going on the show and capitalise on it by being on Love Island, this can work in your favour in being scouted, and it can also help you to make more money in the long run.
So keep this in mind if you plan on applying for the show in the future. Here’s everything you need to know on how to apply for Love Island 2023.
