All the Islanders across Love Island history who’ve spoken about being LGBTQ+

ITV commissioner Amanda Stavri once called the inclusion of LGBTQ people in Love Island a “logistical difficulty,” a remark that was widely criticised. However, despite this comment, queer contestants have still managed to break through the show’s heteronormative mold. The reality? Queer people exist—even when they’re “straight passing” enough to make it onto the show. So, with that in mind, here’s a full rundown of all the Love Island contestants who identify as LGBTQ.

Sophie Gradon

The late Sophie Gradon, who appeared on Love Island season two, was one of the first contestants to speak openly about being bisexual. During her time on the show, she made history by becoming the first, and – so far, the only contestant to participate in a same-sex recoupling. Sophie’s bold decision to share her sexuality with viewers was a significant moment in the series, pushing boundaries in a show often criticised for its lack of LGBTQ+ representation.

Katie Salmon

Katie Salmon coupled up with Sophie Gradon in Love Island season two, making them the show’s first— and so far, only—female-female couple. Unfortunately, Katie revealed that after her time on the show, she faced a lot of biphobic backlash. She shared that she felt unsupported by the LGBTQ+ community and that her sexuality was often fetishized by men, explaining, “They see it as a sexual thing. They think it’s entertainment for them. They’ll be like, ‘Oh, you like women too, you like threesomes.’”

Megan Barton-Hanson

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Megan Barton-Hanson came out as bisexual in 2019 while on Celebs Go Dating, when she made it clear she wanted to date both men and women. She said, “I felt instantly liberated when I came out so publicly in 2019 on Celebs Go Dating when I asked to date women too. I was so excited as a bisexual woman from a small town, because I had no idea how to meet other bisexual or gay women myself.”

When talking about the lack of LGBTQ+ contestants on Love Island, Megan pointed out, “It’s a pretty conservative show in the sense that it’s set up for straight couples. I’d love to see a gay season. It’d be so interesting with the whole recoupling thing. It would be great to see more diversity.”

Amber Gill

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Amber Gill, who took home the Love Island crown in 2019, has been really open about her journey with her sexuality since leaving the villa. In 2021,  she shared that she had realised she’s a lesbian. Amber admitted that while she had previously dated men, she now felt more at peace with her identity as someone who’s attracted to women. She said, “I just feel like I’m finally being true to myself,” and that it was something she’d been figuring out over time. In interviews, she mentioned how Love Island helped her explore who she really is, adding, “I’ve always been open-minded, but I didn’t know it would lead me here.”

Curtis Pritchard

Curtis has never called himself LGBTQ outright, but he did say he was open to dating a man. He told The Sun he doesn’t like to put a “label” on his sexuality.

“I’ve been with women and I’m with a woman now. You can never put a label on anything,” he said. “It’s a cliche to say, but love is blind. I can never ever say what will happen in the future. I wouldn’t rule anything out.”

Sharon Gaffka

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Sharon has said that Love Island actually cut the conversation she had with Faye on her season where she spoke about being bisexual. “I had a conversation with Faye about it and she asked, ‘Are you bisexual?’. And I said, ‘It’s something I’ve explored but I’ve never been in a relationship with a woman.’ A lot of the conversations I had were about modern dating on the show were never aired, but I was very open about sexuality and being a mixed-race woman in modern dating.”

Sharon is one of the most openly LGBTQ Islanders of the Love Island contestants who’ve spoken about it. Weird the show never aired it.

Eve Gale

Eve Gale confirmed after her stint on Love Island All Stars last year that she’d been on a few dates with Demi Sims from TOWIE.

Demi Sims said on a podcast at the time: “Me and Eve went on a date last week for anyone watching and it was our first date, wasn’t it?” Eve replied: “We kind of had other dates, but it’s not been a date date. That was like our first date. I had the best time.

“I was nervous [the date] was going to get awkward, you know because usually we’ve always got people around? I was thinking, ‘Is there going to be any awkward silences?’, then when I picked you up, you were chewing my ear off. I actually didn’t get a word in.