Clear your evening schedules for the foreseeable, it’s Love Island season again. The dating series that gets hearts racing and everyone talking is back and so is its host, Sophie Monk. The star returns for her sixth season as the face of the show and despite what you may have read, she has no plans to go anywhere.
“I love doing it. I love the format, and It’s quite a positive one too. You never hear really anyone come out of Love Island [Australia] saying they’ve been edited badly. Have you noticed? Whereas other shows, they do do that. So it’s just a lovely positive show to be a part of as well.”
Monk is so fond of her work on the show that she even stayed back late, just to watch all the drama.
“Usually I get to go home and I stayed I think [until] 1:00am just seeing everything unfold. No one stays back at work without having to but I was like, I can’t leave without watching all this.”
So yes, she is just as invested as the rest of us.
“I then started bringing a cheese board and sitting in there and having a champagne and watching it like the show, like it was just so good.”
And she wasn’t alone, while out there helping other people find love, happily married Monk has her hubby nearby.
“He comes, so that is amazing. And he comes and watches because otherwise, I come home and explain it for like seven hours. You definitely take it home with you cause it’s so interesting and fun. And [the contestants are] all so innocent and whatever. We talk about it at home. We’re both really invested. My poor husband, he’s now into MAFS and everything. He didn’t like reality [TV], now he’s right into it too.”
In the show, the contestants are coupled up with potential love interests, and while they explore their connections, they experience a series of challenges including bombs (surprise attractive late entrants to the villa), Love Island gods (Veteran contestants who have appeared on other versions of the show worldwide and have yet to find the one) and the temptation that lies when your partner is out of sight.
This year brings a brand new element, never seen before on any of its global counterparts. Hotel Amor.
“It is the best idea. We break up the couples and put them with other people that are in other couples and send them a night away in a beautiful hotel with no cameras. I was like ohh I bet nothing happens, and the drama it caused, it was crazy. It’s just so funny, I guess they’re just out of there [and] feel a bit free. But yeah, it was very, very entertaining. I prefer it to Casa Amor. I think this was Genius.”
The idea is that people will get to know early on if their partner’s head will turn for another on the outside world. Or if they truly do only have eyes for them.
With the show airing Monday-Thursday every week starting October 28, this year’s “confident” contestants are about to become household names. Having done reality TV herself, Monk offers advice to the contestants where she can.
“I always just say be you like good or bad, be you. People like people being honest to who they are…Don’t try and be someone else. That’s when people don’t trust you.”
While the show will have the country glued to their television screens coming into summer, when asked about summer plans of her own, Monk shared, “We tend to just stay home for summer because it’s such beautiful weather in Australia and we’ve got the best, you know, beaches everything here.”
Will she tune in?
“Yeah! I hate watching myself back. But this show’s not about me. Yeah, so I watched all of it, like, you know, so it’s easier to watch. Cause I cringe at myself on television.”
Love Island Australia will air on Monday October 28 at 6:00pm AEST on 9Now.
