The Love Island stars who turned their backs on extreme dieting and exercise to embrace a natural look after the villa

Love Island is returning to TV later this month – and that means we’re about to see tons of young, sexy, toned singletons in tiny bikinis hitting our screens.

Every year, a new batch of beautiful people without an inch of fat on them enter the villa.

But, as series four Love Islander Ellie Brown admitted, many of them have been on strict diets in a bid to look in tip-top shape, ready for the show.

She said: "One of the biggest myths about Love Island is that we look so toned, tanned and skinny all the time.

"In reality, I practically starved myself going into the villa — eating nothing but fish and vegetables for months and spending hours sweating away in the gym each day."

For this reason, many of the former Love Islanders have put on weight since they left the villa.

And, while some, like series five winner Amber Gill and her fellow islander Curtis Pritchard, have since lost some of their weight again, others, like Molly-Mae Hague, have said they needed to put on weight to feel healthier.

We take a look at the changing bodies of these former Love Islanders…

Jamie Jewitt

When Jamie Jewitt, 31, entered the Love Island villa in series three, he was a model with perfectly chiselled abs.

But, in October 2020, he and his fiancee Camilla Thurlow – who he met on Love Island – became parents to their daughter, Nell.

And Jamie took to Instagram to show off the “dad bod” he had to go with his new role.

Last year, Jamie confessed he’d put on four stone since leaving the Love Island villa in 2017, and weighed in at 16.5 stones.

He admitted he didn’t want to be as skinny as he was on Love Island but he was "not happy" that he had put on so much weight.


Alongside a photo of himself on Love Island, Jamie revealed: "For those asking. During Love Island I was 80kg. 4 stone and 25kg lighter than I am now.

"I don't want to be that thin again as I personally feel better a little heavier."

He’s since been trying to keep in shape with boxing and healthy eating – but he’s much more focused on his little one.

Chris Hughes

Chris Hughes, 28, entered the Love Island villa in the third series, in 2017.

He got together with Olivia Attwood on the show, and ended up coming third together, but they split up not long after the show.

Chris went on to date former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson, but they broke up last year.

Now single, his love life isn’t the only thing that’s changed, as he definitely doesn’t have the abs he had during his time on the show.

But he’s admitted he’s happier without them.

The reality star admits he has found it “difficult” to stay in shape over lockdown.

Farmer-turned-influencer Chris — who stripped off to take an ice bath live on ITV Racing recently — told The Sun: “Some days all I want to do is just eat.

“When I did that ice bath challenge I was like, ‘God, my body does not look like it did four years ago in Love Island’.

“But I’m happy in my own skin. 

“It doesn’t make me any less happy with what I am now.”

Unlike the stereotypical Love Islander, Chris hates going to the gym and won’t work out for very long.

He told us: “If I’ve got a holiday coming up I might get in the gym for a month beforehand.

“But I don’t really enjoy going, if I’m honest. I just occasionally set foot in there for about 20 minutes and get out.”

Very relatable!

Molly-Mae Hague

Molly-Mae Hague entered the Love Island villa in series five – and ended up falling in love with Tommy Fury, the brother of Tyson Fury.

Since leaving the show, she’s revealed she’s “put on two stone even though it might not look like it”.

Molly told her followers: “And that is because I've not trained, I've not watched what I've been eating and I've stopped exercising – before that, I was exercising every day.

“I just stopped because I had work to focus on."

But, despite her weight gain, Molly is happier than ever.

She added: "It's fine, I put on some weight, and I always say this to my family: I'm the happiest I've ever been! 

“I'm the happiest I've ever been and it's the most I've ever weighed, so it does correlate.”

Ellie Brown

Ellie Brown previously revealed to The Sun that she starved herself before going into the Love Island villa in series four.

“There was no real pressure from producers to get in shape,” she told us. “But we’d all seen the show before and know people would have opinions.

“If you knew you were going on national TV, wouldn’t you want to look your best?”

Ellie spent two-and-a-half hours a day in the gym for the two months before she entered the villa. 

“I hired a personal trainer for weight training, then would spend the rest sweating away on the treadmill,” she explained.

And when it came to her diet, all she would eat was white fish and vegetables “about five times a day,” with fruit even being off the menu!

She didn’t touch a drop of booze for those eight weeks either.

She said: “I looked amazing, but that diet really isn’t sustainable.

“I’d end some days completely exhausted because my body wasn’t getting all the nutrients it — and, of course, the meals became SO boring.”

Following her time on the show, Ellie “put on a stone or so,” and confessed she sobbed when she started getting trolled for her weight gain.

However, she insists she’s happier now.

“What the shamers need to realise is that there's a difference between someone who is unhealthy and overweight, and someone who's just a normal size,” she said.

“I'm perfectly fit and happy now — just as I was before Love Island.”

Tyne-Lexy Clarson

Tyne-Lexy took part in the third series of Love Island – on which she weighed 9st.

But the brunette beauty told The Sun how she went up two dress sizes, and weighed 10st 11lbs a year after leaving the villa.

She said her weight gain came after being put under pressure to be in "tip-top shape" to find love on reality TV.

Tyne-Lexy told us: "The contestants are under the huge pressure to look good on Love Island and it is tough to maintain that figure when the cameras go away.

"I was in the best shape of my life on the show. You need to be because there is intense competition not just from the girls but also the boys to look good.

"Anyone who is not in tip-top shape risks being dumped from the show when they are no longer coupled up.

"I have let myself go a bit over the last year."

She went on a health kick following the weight gain, and she started going back to the gym five times a week.

We think she looks gorgeous at any size.

Shaughna Phillips

Shaughna Phillips entered the Love Island villa in series six, and was a size eight at the time.

But, mere months after the show finished, the coronavirus pandemic began, and everyone ended up in lockdown.

During that time, Shaughna admits she put on 2st, and went up to a size 14.

"In lockdown I definitely indulged a lot more than I used to when it came to food,” she told fans on Instagram. "I did end up gaining quite a bit of weight. I gained two stone."

Last year, Shaughna had an operation to remove two litres of fat from her thighs.

She was treating a condition called lipoedema – an abnormal buildup of fat in the legs and bum.

And, since the beginning of this year, she’s been making an effort to slim back down, and she shared a picture of herself in leggings, revealing she’s gone down to a size 12.

She said: “Some of you may have already noticed, but for those who haven’t I have recently been trying to get back into the swing of things (life basically!), and that includes working out and eating better, as well as trying to adapt my working life around my new healthy lifestyle!

"It is safe to say that this has NOT been an overnight success. But it's a marathon, not a sprint!

"It finally feels like I’m starting to get a hang of things, and I’m excited again about life as we used to know it returning!"

Amber Gill

She ended up winning series five of Love Island – along with Greg O’Shea.

But, after being flung into the spotlight, Amber Gill put on 17lb in lockdown. 

She didn’t even realise until she went to put on a size-10 pair of trousers and found they were too tight.

Even then, she wasn’t bothered by what the scales said or about the people trolling her on TikTok.

But an abandoned exercise routine and a fast-food diet had left her feeling sluggish and lacking in motivation.

She previously told The Sun: “Like most people during lockdown, I was always in joggers, so it was hard to tell that I’d put on weight because they’re stretchy!

"I just think it happened because the most important thing for me during that time was surviving.

"It was such a crazy few months, not really being able to leave your house or go to the gym. 

“I wasn’t as positive as I normally am, I was eating a lot of takeaways and so my weight naturally crept up.

“I’m not a person who is overly bothered by a number on the scales, but I did start to notice the extra ‘bits’ and I knew I needed to exercise more for my mental health and to be the best version of myself.”

For that reason, Amber joined forces with personal trainer Jon Hosking and the two began working out in the park.

The routines they developed together were based around Amber’s love of combat training, focusing on cardio and conditioning, and she quickly rediscovered her mojo.

She’s keen to stress that weight loss was never the goal, although she lost a stone in six weeks and is now preparing to launch her own fitness platform.

And Amber said she’s never been in better shape.

“Even better than when I did Love Island. It was never about what size my waist was or anything like that. It was about getting back to being healthy and active.”

Curtis Pritchard

Curtis Pritchard was trolled for gaining two stone while he was in the Love Island villa in series five – and he blamed the cheesecake!

Speaking to MailOnline, he said: ”'When I came out of Love Island I put two stone on in weight.

“I was enjoying the show's cheesecake too much.

“At one point a producer said to me ‘Curtis we have actually counted how many slices of cheesecake you have with each meal and the most was five slices’ – I like my cheesecake what can I say!”

But, after the show ended, Curtis went on a health kick and joined Weight Watchers in a bid to lose the two stone he gained in the villa.

“My main goal was to have a healthy relationship with food so I didn't have to do a crash diet and binge and now my body weight has dropped to its natural size,” he said.

Once he’d got back to his pre-Love Island size, Curtis continued with his fitness transformation by decreasing his portion size and prolonging the time he takes to eat meals.

And it seems his efforts have paid off, as he's feeling better than ever after also incorporating running and regular gym sessions into his routine.

He added: “I've had a year's transformation since I started Weight Watchers.

“I am feeling great and looking great and I'm still getting better and better. The food side is becoming second nature now as well.”

These Love Islanders look great whatever size they are!

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