Here’s All The Changes Coming To Winter Love Island

Love Island is coming back… but not as you know it.

The second season of Winter Love Island is almost upon us, and even though it’s been a while since we’ve jetted off to South Africa to watch some singletons fall in love, that doesn’t mean that we’re not entirely pumped for the new season to kick off.

There’ll be sun, there’ll be drama, there’ll be Casa Amor, and another couple of thousand complaints to Ofcom about the behaviour of certain contestants, probably.

But before all of that, there’s the inevitable questions we must answer before each series begins. Who has been cast? When is it starting? Who will be the first to leave?

The answers to the above, we do not yet know, but we do know that there’s going to be some changes to this series of Love Island compared to those that came before it.

Here’s what we know so far.

There’s a new host

Following Laura Whitmore’s decision to quit the show last year, ITV later announced that presenter Maya Jama would be taking her place as host.

Maya confirmed the news herself a few months back, saying that she was excited to take on the role. “I’ve always been such a massive Love Island fan and I’m so excited to be hosting one of the nation’s favourite shows! I can’t wait to get into the villa to meet all of the islanders,” she said.

Laura said last year that part of the reason why she quit the show was because she wasn’t able to support the contestants during tougher times in the villa.

“You kind of have to go quiet, and that was hard for me because I like to be able to have those conversations,” she said. “If I could [have done] things the way I wanted to, I’d probably still be doing it.”

 

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Social media accounts will be shut down during filming

Contrary to the usual rules around social media and posting, none of the friends and families of this year’s islanders will be permitted to post on contestants’ social media throughout the duration of the show.

Islanders are this year being asked to pause their Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts while in the villa as part of the show’s new updated duty of care. This shift aims to protect friends and family from trolling or abusive content while the show is airing, while also ensuring that islanders are not exposed to it immediately after leaving the villa.

Consulting psychologist Dr Matthew Gould said: “The bold decision to pause Islanders’ social media activity during the new series is testament to ITV’s serious intent, especially as this input provides both a benefit to the appeal of the programme and a potential source of mental health problems.

“Balancing this ‘tight-rope’ requires both the identification of which safeguards have the greatest positive impact on participants’ wellbeing and the professional partnership, put in place by ITV, especially between producers and their welfare teams, and most importantly, the contributors themselves.”

Islanders will also receive social media training once they leave the villa and re-gain access to their accounts.

Is Casa Amor no more?

Probably not, but if the sheer number of complaints received every time Casa Amor happens is anything to go by, you’d wonder how much longer they can keep it up.

For the time being though, it seems as though Casa is here to stay… but not without a few potential changes. A source told The Sun last year, that the Winter Casa Amor is likely to be a lot closer to the main villa than usual.

“Casa Amor’s inhabitants have always been able to relax in the knowledge that the people they’re coupled up with are miles away,” said the source.

“If there’s any wild partying going on, the main villa may well be able to hear it. This year, it really could be a case of having trouble with the neighbours as the bombshells try to crack couples apart.”

Love Island returns to ITV2 and Virgin Media Two later this January. 

• Maya Jama
• Winter Love Island