Love Island USA is over but under no circumstances am I done talking about it. Especially after learning the lengths producers over in Fiji are going to in order to make sure the cast never ONCE lay eyes on each other before they start the filming process.
According to Anna Peele for People (who did nearly 100 interviews with producers and Islanders for her book, Enter the Villa), the Islanders go into full lockdown mode the week before filming.
Peele writes that the cast are “separated so they don’t run into each other before the Villa,” and even stay in different hotels. According to an anon producer, they used to stay at the same spot but—per Peele—“cast members figured out that if they tagged their location on social media, they could figure out who else was staying there and meet up.” Production eventually took things one step further and took everyone’s phones, solving that problem.
So, how do they occupy themselves during this phone-less waiting period? Apparently, Islanders get to watch TV (including episodes of Love Island, what else?!), draw in coloring books (???), and spend a few hours a day outside for exercise. Oh, and the Islanders who smoke or vape get “chaperoned smoke or vape breaks.”
Peele also reports that the cast have “mental health support and undergo a final psychological evaluation,” and some are even sent home due to being “among the 40% (or so)” of potential cast members who producers decide “would not benefit emotionally” from being on a six-week reality dating competition.
Truly fascinating! Read more in Peele’s book:
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.cosmopolitan.com ’
