Love Island 2023 web: How the Islanders all secretly knew each other before the villa

Every year it comes out that a couple of the Islanders have secret connections to one another. But during Love Island 2023 it’s felt as though this is happening more than ever – and loads of the cast members knew each other way before the show.

Some of the Islanders this year have already met in swanky restaurants, worked together, or have even been full on mates before being cast on the show. Here are all the Love Island 2023 Islanders who already knew each other before the villa, and everything we know about their secret pre-show run-ins.

Tyrique and Ella

In the very first episode of Love Island 2023, Ella told Tyrique they knew of each other and had already met before the show whilst “out in London”. Tyrique didn’t remember at all, but Ella jogged his memory and he thought he might have forgotten their encounter because she’d dyed her hair.

The Tab did some digging and found Ella and Tyrique were both in a fancy restaurant in Mayfair, London, at the end of February this year.

Molly and Leah

When Leah entered the Love Island 2023 villa, Molly declared that she was her “friend” from before the show, but she didn’t look exactly the same – as Leah had darker hair when they last saw each other.

Before Love Island, both Molly Marsh and Leah had countless Islander links, and through their social media work, their paths have crossed before. They are both managed by the same agency, and have attended a number of events together. Their friendship has obviously continued since then, as on holiday pictures that Leah posted in December, Molly commented: “I miss you”.

Speaking of their friendship and how the girls know one another, a source told The Sun: “Part of being an influencer means meeting lots of people at events but Molly and Leah became actual friends. Molly will be shocked to see Leah come in but it’ll be great for her to have some support.”

Leah and Kady

As well as being connected to Molly from the influencer world, Leah also knew Kady before the villa, which explains why Kady made a beeline for Leah when she was upset over Zach.

In an interview as she re-entered the villa, Kady explained she “knows of Leah through friends” and described her as “sweet”.

Ella and Ouzy

Ella was clearly very well connected before Love Island, and she’s had run-ins with both guys she’s been interested in throughout the show. As well as Tyrique, she also knew Ouzy before the villa.

When Ella and Ouzy caught up on the show, Ella kept saying they met when they “did that job” together through their modelling agency. Ella and Ouzy are signed to the same model management, called Colours Agency, which is the number one modelling agency in Scotland.

The job they did together was creating a promo video at a launch event for a hotel in Edinburgh. The original video was posted in May of this year, so it’s literally only been a couple of months since Ella and Ouzy crossed paths. This was just two months after Ella met Tyrique, too.

Tyrique and Ella B

New bombshell Ella B has “history” with Tyrique, and announced “battle of Ellas” when she walked into the villa. Whilst Tyrique has said he’s never had a girlfriend before, Ella is an ex flame of his, who he was meeting up with “recently” before the show.

“We chatted, we kissed,” Ella said of her relationship with Ty. “I literally saw you a couple months ago, kissing my face.” Ty said he knew her because they lived close to one another, and met through mutual friends.

André and Elom

It’s not entirely clear how OG Islander André and Casa Amor’s Elom know each other, but they’ve been speaking on social media since way before Love Island 2023.

Elom posts a lot about work on TikTok, and in the comments section is none other than André! André wrote “coldd!” on the post, and Elom responded with heart emojis. They sound very familiar!

Montel and Tyrique

Montel has revealed in an interview that he knew Tyrique before the show. “I knew Ty before going in,” he told Closer Online. “We were from the same area, we played football together a lot.”

Montel and Zach

Montel has also said he knew Zach before the show, because they both went to the same school. “I think a lot of people didn’t know about [this]”, he said. “He [Zach] went to Barking Abbey, my high school.” Montel said they weren’t in the same school year, and weren’t there for much time together – but they were for a bit!

Loads of the Islanders have links to past Islanders, too

This year, it’s seemed as though more of the Islanders than ever before have connections to previous cast members. To list just a few, Molly Marsh knows Molly-Mae Hague, Maura Higgins, Siannise Fudge, Jourdan Riane, Olivia Attwood, Tommy Fury and Jack Keating, and Leah knows Maura Higgins, Danny Williams, Tasha Ghouri and Stephanie Lam.

As well as this, Zach knows Jack Fowler, Tyrique is best mates with Toby Aromolaran, and Scott used to date Paige Thorne.

Love Island 2023 is on ITV2 and ITVX. 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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