A breakdown of who from Love Island 2023 was scouted and who actually applied for the show

As time goes on and Love Island seasons stack up, more and more of the Islanders are scouted to take part and less and less have actually applied – with 2023 continuing the pattern.

Last year, the majority of the cast were scouted, and didn’t actually go from start to finish through the application process to be on the show. A lot of previous Islanders have spoken of having casting producers slide into their DMs and request they come along to an audition, which becomes a fast track way to get yourself into the famous villa.

So, out of who we know, here’s who from the cast of Love Island 2023 was scouted to take part and who actually applied to be on the show.

Who from Love Island 2023 was scouted to be on the show?

A few of the Islanders this year were scouted to be in the cast. Lana confirmed she was, and said: “I was approached for the show and I don’t think I really thought about doing it prior to that – I was kind of just working and didn’t really have it in my head.”

Kai had a turbulent lead up to getting into the villa. Just days before he was signed up, he went through a heartbreak, and it was then that he decided he’d reply to producers who’d been asking him to go on the show. “Kai was seeing a really lovely girl that he really liked last summer,” his friend told OK! Magazine. “He was really into her. She told him she wasn’t actually looking for anything serious. He felt like he’d been wasting his time.”

He said a day after this, Kai responded to “countless messages from ITV producers encouraging him to apply” and filled out an application.

Bombshell Casey O’Gorman said in an Instagram Q&A that he too was scouted for the show. He said he was approached on a night out in London when a girl said they thought he’d be good for the show and asked if they could DM him about it.

 

Whilst it hasn’t been confirmed, I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say Aussie bombshells Jessie and Aaron were both approached to take part and be late arrivals together.

And who from the Love Island 2023 cast actually applied?

It’s actually looking as though a fair few Islanders this year applied to be on the show. Despite being a rumoured contestant before the lineup was even announced, Tanya applied to be on the show. She told The Sun that over Christmas she forgot she’d applied, so January and flying to South Africa came around very quickly.

She said: “I completely forgot about my application. I just put my name on it and then forgot and then I got a call like, ‘can you still do it?’ I was like, ‘I’m still single, so yeah’. I applied in November, October. So it’s been a few months. I was in uni and I just forgot.”

Ron was another cast member who applied this year, well sort of, as it’s been reported his mates did his application for him. “So funny story, last year two of my friends as a joke tried to fill up an application for me,” he said. “I got an email through and I was like, ‘no boys, this isn’t happening!’ And then this year I got a call to basically come back again. So I answered the call and went with it. I thought why not, it’s about time.”

There were loads of jokes this year about Olivia, who brought loads of drama to the villa, about how she ended up on the show. People said her dad must have been the “CEO of Love Island” and joked she was an “industry plant” put in the villa to cause chaos. Snapping back at all these rumours since leaving the villa, Olivia insisted she “auditioned just like everyone else.”

Samie also confirmed in a Q&A on Instagram that she applied for the show. She applied THREE times before producers paid her any attention, first applying when she was 21. The first year she heard nothing, and then ahead of last year’s show Samie revealed she made it quite far in the application process, with a phone call and Zoom call from producers.

Speaking to Made in Chelsea’s Jamie Laing on his Private Parts podcast, Will said he actually did his Love Island audition a couple of years ago, but it was so bad the producers straight up rejected him at the time. “I actually did an audition two years ago,” he said. “When I was fresh on TikTok, social media and things like that, I did an interview. I flopped it.”

Will went on to say he “wasn’t ready” and “wasn’t mature enough” for the show, and that’s why producers rejected him at the time. He added producers got back in touch, with in a different interview he clarified was through Instagram DM, and that’s how he ended up on the show this year. So he was half scouted, half applied.

And some Islanders were lined-up to be on the show in other years!

Remember OG cast member, Tanyel? Things could have been very different for her, as it’s been reported she had been lined-up by ITV producers to appear on the show last year. “Tanyel was lined up to go into the Majorca villa as a late bombshell last year and was even flown to Spain, staying in isolation for two weeks,” a source told The Sun.

“She was pretty much guaranteed a spot in the villa, but at the last minute the storyline changed and she wasn’t the right fit. Tanyel was really devastated but she parted ways with producers on good terms and they loved her energy. As promised they didn’t forget her, and called her back for the winter series. So it worked out in her favour.”

Tanyel’s sister has since said it was her who got the process started in the first place, applying on Tanyel’s behalf, after she kept saying she was fed up with men.

Claudia has also said she was approached by producers multiple times before. She said she had been approached several years ago but only felt confident enough to do it this year. She told The Mirror: “It got mentioned, Love Island, a few years ago for me – at the time, I wasn’t really feeling myself and I didn’t feel great about me… but now, I feel like I’m a more confident person.”

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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