The Love Island golden trio: How Molly- Mae, Maura Higgins and Olivia Attwood will never be knocked off

Ask anyone who the most influential Love Island cast members of all time are, and I’m sure the names Molly-Mae Hague, Maura Higgins and Olivia Attwood will come up. 

As the current Islanders are struggling to get a break in their new careers, there are three former cast members who are still paving the way. Long ago they etched the blueprint of the Love Island influencer. So why these three?

Molly-Mae’s credentials don’t need explaining. She’s the richest woman to ever come from Love Island, having founded multi-million pound businesses off the back of her success. Her recent range with Adidas just toppled her net worth over £20million. 

As for Maura, she’s the first UK Islander to really crack the US market. She’s become a host working on Love Island USA, is a worldwide model, is currently on Dancing With the Stars, and has just landed the job as host of a Blind Date reboot on Disney+. Filling the boots of the actual Cilla Black? Of course she is.

 

 

 

 

 

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Olivia Attwood found fame on the 2017 series of Love Island – arguably a series prior to when we really saw the breakthrough of “influencers” coming from the show. But that hasn’t stopped her.

She’s basically a household name, having joined the panel of Loose Women, and creating multiple documentaries for ITV. Most recently, she signed a deal with Beauty Works (one of the standout companies that paved Molly-Mae’s success), and has started a “multi-million pound bidding war” as Netflix, Prime Video and Disney are all said to want to sign her for new shows. “Olivia is ITV’s most commissioned star, making her seriously in demand,” a source told The Sun.

Their success after the show hasn’t stopped. Many Islanders see a window of opportunity, and then ultimately go back to careers they had before the villa. And while I’m not at all suggesting that’s something to scoff at, it’s worth noting that Molly-Mae, Maura and Olivia have done nothing but grow since their time as Islanders. 

Their net worths are actually increasing at a higher rate now than ever before

But why these three? For years people have questioned right time, right place, but that doesn’t account for the sheer magnitude of success these three women have had. There has to be a point where you admit there is undeniable talent in what they do, and a knowledge of working the industry.

“There’s definitely an element of nostalgia when we look back at the Love Island era that gave us the likes of Molly-Mae Hague, Maura Higgins and Olivia Attwood, because they came along at a very different time for reality television and social media,” Celebrity PR Specialist Kayley Cornelius told The Tab, on behalf of online bingo provider Zingo Bingo. 

“Love Island was the pinnacle of TV, everyone was talking about the stars and, importantly, influencer culture was growing at a huge rate and arguably reaching its peak. Coming out of the villa with a big following could open the door to an entirely new career, whether that was fashion, beauty, brand deals or television.

“What made Molly-Mae, Maura and Olivia so successful was that they each had something that went beyond simply being a Love Island contestant. Molly-Mae was incredibly savvy when it came to turning her popularity into a business and building a brand around herself, while Maura had that larger-than-life personality and sense of humour that made her instantly memorable. Olivia had that outspoken, no-nonsense quality that made her brilliant television and gave people a reason to keep following her long after her time in the villa.

“They also understood how to evolve, and I think that’s becoming even more important now. Rather than being defined by the fact they had been on Love Island, they’ve all explored different avenues, from fashion and beauty to presenting, documentaries and mainstream television, which has allowed them to build identities that exist outside of the show.”

 

 

 

 

 

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They are three women who didn’t do Love Island on a whim. Or at least they didn’t treat the opportunities afterwards like a joke. Plenty of Islanders now go on the show, and *expect* success, Molly-Mae, Olivia and Maura had to work for it. Flipping her own quote on itself, the Islanders now most definitely don’t have the same 24-hours in a day as Molly-Mae does. 

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There have been no major brand deals this year. The most followed 2026 Islander is Jasmine, but she still doesn’t have over a million – which was an easy benchmark in previous series. Other than signing with agencies, it’s been radio silence. 

“I think we’re in a very different place now, because consumers are becoming much more switched on to influencer culture and there’s definitely a level of influencer fatigue,” Kayley added.

“We’re constantly being exposed to people selling products, promoting brands and documenting their lives online, so simply coming out of a reality show with a large Instagram following doesn’t have quite the same impact it once did. As a result, we’re seeing brands become much more selective about influencer collabs, with less demand for the kind of brand work that was once a huge part of the reality star career path.

“Love Island can still give contestants an incredible platform, but there’s much more pressure on them to actually do something with that attention and prove they have something beyond a following to offer.”

 

 

 

 

 

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Are we ever going to see similar success again? It’s a big question. Kayley thinks there’s hope, but the success will be difficult to replicate.

She told The Tab: “For newer Islanders, I think there’s a real need to break away from the stereotype that has become associated with being a Love Island contestant. We’ve seen so many similar personalities, storylines and social media careers over the years that audiences are much more likely to engage with someone who brings something genuinely different to the table.

“The Islanders who stand out now are the ones who have a clear point of difference, whether that’s a particular personality, talent, career ambition or simply something audiences haven’t seen before.

“There’s a big difference between being famous for a summer and building a career that lasts for years, and the landscape has become much more competitive for reality stars. The villa can still be an incredible launchpad, but it’s no longer enough to simply be a Love Islander. You need to give people a reason to remember you, keep evolving and, ultimately, become known for something beyond the show itself.”

Brett Staniland appeared on Love Island in 2021, and he too thinks success from the show is now short-lived, and difficult. The stars have been carved, and that’s that.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Dr Brett Staniland (@twinbrett)

“Many of the new influencers coming from the show treat their followers like customers, rather than like a community, and I think the followers are becoming bored of it and see straight through people doing lots of ads now,” Brett told The Tab. “It’s also pretty unoriginal, many Islanders lack creativity and originality.”

In the past we’ve been bombarded with news of six-figure and even seven-figure deals with Islanders straight after they leave the show, and these days that’s not an expense brands are willing to take. “It’s expensive and fast fashion brands now need to be very strategic with money as many of them will be facing financial problems,” Brett explained.

And yes, the success of Love Islanders might not always be defined by brand deals, but if you look at the most successful former stars, it’s the foundation they all started from. Someone needs to break that mould. Now we wait to see who that will be, if anyone. 

For all the latest Love Island news and gossip, like The Holy Church of Love Island on Facebook. Featured image via Instagram.