ICYMI, Love Island Australia is back and more ‘Straya than ever, as a brand new cast of hotties (who must have been carved by hand judging by the 1000 abs in the promo!) descend on Byron Bay, and our screens, on Monday October 4. Crikey! We can’t wait!
Aussie icon and returning host Sophie Monk says she “can’t wait for everyone to meet the new cast on Love Island“, where she will play Cupid and lend the country’s sexiest singles a helping hand as they navigate love, friendship and heartbreak inside the villa.
“They are sassy, fun, and looking for love, and what better place to find it than the luxurious Love Island villa,” she said of the upcoming cast members, who were teased in the patriotic promo trailers released by Nine.
In saying this, we’re unsure whether the chiseled hotties in the trailer are actually contestants, but we do know that the casting process was an absolute rollercoaster for the production team.
As discussed in episode 73 of So Dramatic! With Megan Pustetto, the Love Island Australia casting crew were so desperate for contestants that they dipped into the existing reality TV pool and approached several former Bachie contestants, including Leilani Vakaahi and Shannon Karaka, as well as Newcastle Knights rugby player Conor Watson!
Regardless of who ends up in the villa in search of love (and a blue tick), Nine promises that the third season of Love Island Australia will be “full of romantic twists and turns” — just how we like it!
Leilani Vakaahi. Source: Instagram @leilanivakaahi. 
Shannon Karaka. Source: Instagram @shannonkaraka.
The much-talked-about dating show is returning to Aussie screens after the series took a year-long hiatus in 2020, when harsh COVID-19 border closures prohibited production from travelling to Spain, where the first two seasons were filmed. This year’s Love Island will be the first to take place Down Under, with production shacking up at the beautiful Amileka property in Northern NSW.
Love Island has proved itself to be a worldwide hit since originating in the UK in 2015, with Denmark, Germany, the US, and New Zealand all adopting their own versions of the show, but we have a sneaky suspicion that our upcoming season could cement Australia’s version as the best iteration of the show yet!
Tune in on Monday October 4 to see all the piping hot drama unfold on Love Island Australia 2021 on Channel Nine and 9Now, but be warned — it’s bound to be a scorcher!
Get the tea first! Follow So Dramatic! on Instagram, and tune in on Mondays to get your reality tea fix with the So Dramatic! podcast with Megan Pustetto.
