A former Love Island star has revealed some intriguing details about the villa’s infamous shower situation.
Arabella Chi, who has appeared on Love Island twice and recently joined the All Stars spin-off, has shared her experiences and some behind-the-scenes insights. After coupling up with Northern Irish professional wrestler Adam Maxted during her latest appearance—though they’ve since split—she’s now offering advice to the new Islanders. Arabella suggests that contestants “forget they’re being filmed” and ditch any strategic game plans. She also unveiled some surprising villa secrets, including the fact that all contestants had to share a single shower.
“Can you believe we had one shower between everyone?” she exclaimed, noting that the shower wasn’t gender-segregated but shared by all. Speaking to OK! Magazine, she added, “That’s why you see people using that tiny shower outdoors. Normally the guys would let the girls go first, and if we were washing our hair, we’d need to announce it ahead of time so we had plenty of time.”
The 33-year-old model from London also revealed that the Islanders are unaware of the time, as there are no clocks in the villa. She estimated that housemates probably wake up around 11 a.m. and don’t go to bed until between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.
“It’s a really long day, and the challenges, in particular, take forever to film,” she said. “We don’t really do multiple takes, but it’s not what it looks like on screen. They’re slow with a lot of stop/starts. The dumpings around the firepit take a long time too—we can be standing there for hours.”
Arabella’s first stint on the show in 2019 didn’t go as planned, as she and co-star Tom Walker were dramatically evicted in a brutal twist. She admitted that the public’s response post-eviction wasn’t “the best,” but she’s grateful for the opportunity to “turn it around” in this year’s All Stars series.
“I can’t believe how much my life has changed since stepping into the villa the first time, but I feel like I had a much better experience on round two,” she said. “I had the full experience this time, and even though I obviously had highs and lows, it’s all part of being in the villa. I had happy times and sad times, but overall it was an amazing experience that changed my life for the better. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”