From private villas to lie-ins: Here are all the secrets behind the Love Island final

They get to sit and watch Netflix while the villa is being prepared for the final

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After two months of religiously watching a group of single 20 somethings bicker, kiss and fall in love, the Love Island 2023 final will soon see two new people crowned the winners of the show. Although we get to see the effortless way the Islanders prepare themselves for the final day and weep at their speeches to each other, there is actually a lot that goes into ensuring the Love Island final runs as smoothly as possibly. Former finalists have shared secrets behind the Love Island final and how it differs from what we are shown on TV.

As viewers, we are used to watching what the Islanders have gotten up to each day for an hour at 9pm, however the final is very different. The episode will switch between what the finalists got up to on their final day in the villa and the live scenes from the villa on the night of the final. Former contestants Chloe Burrows, Faye Winter and Amber Gill have revealed the secrets behind filming the Love Island final.

The finalists get a lie-in ahead of the live show

For two months, the Islanders have had to wake up as soon as the lights go up in the bedroom. Former contestant Faye Winter says they all got to have a lie-in ahead on the final day. She said: “I think we had a lie-in actually. I think they actually gave us a really long lie-in. We woke up, packed our bags – we all packed our stuff up, packed our suitcases – and then left the villa and got ready.”

via ITV

They are taken out of the villa on the day of the final

On the day of the Love Island final, the Islanders get taken out of the villa while the garden is being prepared for the live show. Faye said: “You get taken out of the villa in the morning and you sit and you obviously have hair and make-up done and stuff. There’ll be preparing the garden for the final.”

Love Island 2019 winner Amber said the finalists are given a day out. “You get a day off towards the final so that they can build the villa and stuff and I just thought that was wild because you don’t see any of that when you’re watching it,” she said.

via ITV

“We left and then came back when it was ready. We weren’t allowed to do anything, I think because the season was so big, we weren’t allowed to step foot outside of anywhere. We were just chilling, which was kind of nice because a lot of us had been in there from really early days, so it was nice to sit in a hotel room and not day anything.”

Amber continued to say: “The whole outdoor setup is being built and so you don’t really go outside. You don’t do chats. You don’t do anything. You’re literally just getting prepared for the final, picking the outfits you want to wear for the final.”

Islanders write their own prom speeches and get more time than we are shown on TV

Beside the final dates, one of the most wholesome moments of the show is the prom night challenge, where the Islanders get dressed up and read speeches to their partners. By this point in the show, majority of the Islanders are all in relationships.

Faye revealed the Islanders are given more time off-screen to write their speeches. She said: “You fully write your speeches yourself so I wrote my poem myself. It was when we got taken out of the villa, when the girls went to the spa, then on camera, you kind of think about it but then you have, like, an hour, an hour and a half to write the speech.

via ITV

“You go through it with producers, and then they type it up for you. Anything you write down, they then type it for you and then they give it to you as a printout on the night.”

However, Amber said the girls got help with their speeches. She said: “I’m sure we were giving each other a hand. It took me like 45 years because I don’t express an emotion. So it took me a little longer than everyone else.”

The preparations for the final takes place over two days

Speaking with OK!, 2021 runner-up Chloe Burrows said: “It happens over two days. You wake up on your last morning in the villa and you have to go and pack all your bags and that takes absolutely ages because some of us have been there for eight weeks. I remember Toby left with seven suitcases.

“You are then moved to a holding villa in your couples and you have a chaperone. We ate McDonald’s and just sat and watched Netflix, but obviously you are supervised so you can’t go onto the internet.”

For all the latest Love Island news and gossip and for the best memes and quizzes, like The Holy Church of Love Island on Facebook.

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Featured image credit via ITV.