If there’s one thing we love here at So Dramatic!, it’s a contestant spilling all the behind-the-scenes goss from their TV show and answering our burning production and filming questions. And lucky for us, former Love Island Australia cast member, Jessie Wynter has done just that.

During a chat with Megan Pustetto in episode 123 of the So Dramatic! podcast, Jessie not only spilled on her romance with current islander Mitch Hibberd, but she also answered all the burning BTS questions we had about the show.

A Love Island Australia contestant has spilled all the behind-the-scenes goss from filming and answered our burning production questions.
Former Love Island Australia contestant, Jessie Wynter, spilled a ton of behind-the-scenes tea from the show. Source: Instagram.

What Is the Love Island Australia Casting Process Like?

According to Jessie, contestants undergo a rigorous casting process that includes police background checks.

“I feel like they knew you were in the show for ages because once they got past all the police checks, psych tests and everything, they kept saying, ‘we’ll let you know.’

“Then we suddenly got a call and they’re like, ‘OK, can you go to Fiji next week?’. It was such an anxious time.”

A Love Island Australia contestant has spilled all the behind-the-scenes goss from filming and answered our burning production questions.
Contestants undergo a rigorous casting process that includes police background checks. Source: Channel 9.

The cast are also subjected to medical tests including blood tests to ensure they don’t have any sexually transmitted infections. Good to know!

I went to the doctors to get the blood test for it,” Jessie revealed. “I had to get a referral and the lady at the counter was like, ‘Ooh, like, what’s this for?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, it’s just for work.’

On top of the STI test, they also have to do a mobility test.

What Do the Love Island Australia Cast Get Told to Pack?

The cast has just one week to pack and to get their beauty treatments done and the list of what goes into their luggage is extensive. In fact, the production crew send a full list of what you can and can’t wear and even what type of vibe to go for.

“They said to pack 10 bikinis and 10 going out outfits and then 10-day outfits,” Jessie revealed. “But you also have to send a heap of photos of what I was going to pack and then they told me what to bring and what not to bring.”

“We had to do our own makeup except for the day you went in. When you went in, you were dressed by production and your hair and makeup was done by their makeup artists,” she added.

courtney stubbs love island
The cast is required to send in outfit options and is vetted by the show’s stylist. Source: Channel 9.

Exactly How Much Input the Love Island Australia Producers Have During the Show

According to Jessie, “there was always someone in there [in the villa] kind of supervising and looking after us” during filming.

“They would just hide around the corner. They had a headset — obviously, the other producers were communicating to them,” she explained.

While they were constantly monitored, the producer would never tell them to do anything.

“But they would come up and be like, ‘Oh, Jessie, you look really nice. Do you know that blue bikini you tried on the other day? It looks really good. You should wear that one today,” she details.

“If they do need your attention, they’ll pop their head out and they can signal,” Jessie said before adding that they’d tell them to go to the beach hut or go inside and only usually because it was better lighting or good for filming.

“They were around the place, silently helping things fall into place.”

A Love Island Australia contestant has spilled all the behind-the-scenes goss from filming and answered our burning production questions.
The Production crew would constantly monitor the islanders and “silently help things fall into place.” Source: Channel 9.

Love Island Producers Speak to Contestants in the Beach Hut, Prompting Storylines

Jessie revealed that when contestants are speaking into the camera in the Beach Hut, they could tell what the storylines were going to be about.

“You’re not just speaking to a camera, you’re actually speaking to someone who’s prompting conversation,” she revealed. “It’s just made to obviously look like you’re speaking directly to the camera, voicing your feelings. But they were kind of like an interview where they ask you questions about things that relate to whatever they’re going to air.”

While they were talking to a person, they’re actually speaking to a small camera with a voice over a PA system just like in the Big Brother diary room!

“Everybody goes in at the end of the night,” she said. “Before you go to bed, you have to go in and speak to the Beach Hut. Then throughout the day, if a particular thing happens, they will call you in.”

A Love Island Australia contestant has spilled all the behind-the-scenes goss from filming and answered our burning production questions.
Contestants are required to go into the beach hut every single night and when called in. Source: Channel 9.

Since the cast are always miked up, if they said they had a tummy ache, they would be called into the Beach Hut and a doctor would be waiting for them, regardless if they asked or not!

Producers Prompt the Islanders About Who to Pick

This is a little bit of a mind-blowing titbit, but Jess admitted that producers have a hand in who the islanders should pick!

“They know everything because they can hear you talking to everyone all day,” she said. “So they can gauge who’s going to pick who usually.”

Producers are also able to see if a relationship isn’t going to work if they needed more drama or more couples!

“They know how they’re going to react. They can bring someone in that’s someone else’s exact type and they’re going to turn their heads,” she said. “It makes good TV.”

Producers are able to see if a relationship isn’t going to work if they needed more drama or more couples! Source: Channel 9.

In the most recent season, Courtney was meant to leave, however, producers didn’t want her to so they “protected” her and made someone else leave.

“My observation for that was like, maybe they’ve got someone in that’s going to come in and make Courteney turn her head. Or maybe because they have everyone’s type to a T. They profile you so much. They know so much about you. So there would be a reason that Courtney is kept in.”

On top of this, Jessie is under a sneaking suspicion the real votes aren’t used.

“I feel like the producers at the end of the day can literally do whatever they like because it’s their show. So, you know, if they want to lie, they can.” Interesting!

“I feel like the producers at the end of the day can literally do whatever they like because it’s their show.” Source: Channel 9.

If Contestants Aren’t Excited Enough When They Yell “I’ve Got a Text”, They Have to Do It Again

We feel personally victimised by this titbit because getting a text is SO DAMN EXCITING but if a contestant isn’t thrilled about it, they are asked to say it again — and this time with feeling!

“They’d be like, ‘can we please have some energy? Let’s retake that.’ And then you would. But the texts did come as a surprise.” Phew!

If a contestant isn’t excited by a text, they’re asked to do it again with “more energy”. Source: Channel 9

The Love Island Mobile Phones are Real But They Have Nothing on Them

Ours was a Nokia and I think that’s like some type of sponsorship with Nokia,” Jessie said.

“I think they might have Samsung this year and they’re real phones, but they’re just like when you went to school and they’d only have like the apps that you could use at school.

“So all you could do is look. There was no internet or anything. It just had the camera and wallpaper. So we all had our own phone, so they knew who to text and the wallpaper was a photo of our ours, which was so embarrassing.”

Snake II, anyone?

The islanders must have their phones on them at all times but if you’re wondering who uploads to the contestant Instagrams, it’s the producers!

The mobile phones are real, but only have the capability to get a text from producers and take pics! Source: Channel 9

The Islanders Have Days Off But They’re Not Allowed to Talk About the Show

According to Jessie, the islanders have a weekend day off where they get to explore their surroundings,

“Usually there was a day on the weekend that we could go on a bus when it was a day off, though, you’d have a producer going with a group of the boys and the girls. So we were all split, so the relationships couldn’t develop any further.

“The producers tried their hardest to break up discussion on the off days, but obviously, like a lot of things were talked about because we couldn’t talk about anything in the villa because it would actually be aired.”

According to Jessie, the islanders have a weekend day off where they get to explore their surroundings, Source: Channel 9.

During the days off, the girls would get their nails done at a nearby salon — however, if they couldn’t get there, all nails and tanning is done by themselves.

Filming Is Usually Done Four Days in Advance on Love Island

While there has been a lot of speculation about how the show has been filmed this year, during Jessie’s season, the show was filmed four days in advance.

“If something was filmed on a Thursday, it would be aired on a Monday and so sometimes in the episode, it’s actually a few days instead of just one. Like if someone moves on really fast, it might not have actually been that fast. It actually might have had a few days in between.”

During Jessie’s season, the show was filmed four days in advance. Source: Channel 9.

How Much Alcohol Can the Cast Actually Drink?

While you may think alcohol is a free-for-all on a show like this, it’s actually not the case.

“I’m kind of thankful we couldn’t drink too much because that would have been a mess,” Jessie admitted. “But we got two wines per night. It wasn’t every night that we got the wines, so when we did get them, we were really excited. But just two per night on the nights that we were allowed to.”

The cast is limited to two glasses of alcohol when they were given it. Source: Channel 9,

What Do the Cast of Love Island Australia Eat?

They have a boujee kitchen, but the cast only uses it to cook breakfast. Avocado toast, anyone?

“We did have catered food and they must,” Jessie said about this year’s cast. “So they would bring in big foil containers full of food and you just ate it. They’d set it up. You dish yourself your meals and then they take it away. So that was for lunch and dinner. For breakfast, we had to cook our own food and they would supply breakfast food for us.”

The Love Island Australia cast only uses the kitchen to cook breakfast, the rest of the meals are supplied. Source: Channel 9.

It’s no secret that some of the islanders have sex on National TV, and apparently, the other islanders can hear everything. As well as this, they are forced to sleep with their partner, no matter if they hate each other or not! This is a no from us!

If you are prepared to do the hippity-dippity, then you must give consent. Every. Single. Time.

“You have to give consent every time. It’s so funny. So, if you were like doing it, you have to look at the camera and say, ‘I give consent.” This is AMAZING to hear!

Contestants must give verbal consent every single time they engage in sexual activity. Source: Channel 9.

Oh, and yes, there are cameras EVERYWHERE! Even in the toilets!

Time Goes Really Slow Inside the Love Island Australia Villa and there Is Literally Nothing to do But Connect

Jessie also revealed that there was no concept of time in the villa and it was easy to forget that there were cameras everywhere!

“A day in the villa honestly felt like a week because you have no distractions,” she admitted. “You don’t even know the time and it goes so slow in there.”

aaron waters love island
A day in the villa honestly felt like a week because you have no distractions,” Jessie said. Source: Channel 9.

Jessie also said that the islanders have free reign of the villa and how they use their time is up to them.

“Everyone’s like [on the outside], ‘Oh my god, how are they forming proper connections? How are they changing their mind so often?’

“There is absolutely nothing else you can do other than sit and communicate with the people around you. It’s like time is just so intense and you get to know people so well, so fast because you’re in that restricted environment.

What Happens Once Someone Is Dumped From the Villa?

Once you’re dumped for the villa, it’s not an immediate exit.

“I was in the villa for ages. It would have been like over an hour or two. You go round, have your final chats with people, pack up your stuff and then we went out. You have an exit interview with Sophie and then that was it. They just took us to a hotel.

While your exit isn’t straight away, you do have to hide out in the hotel until the show has aired.

Once you’re dumped from the villa, you have to hide out in the hotel until the show has aired. Source: Channel 9.

 “I did feel bad for Rachael [Evren] because I noticed she was evicted on a Thursday night, which would have meant it was filmed probably on the Wednesday. And then she wouldn’t have been able to access her social media until the episode she was evicted on, and it was aired on Monday.”

Want even more goss? Listen to episode 123 of the So Dramatic! podcast with Megan Pustetto below!

https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/5BbVIq4RzPuVkVosMhQsB2?si=ebedc27896cb4989&utm_source=oembed

Know something that we don’t? Spill the tea here!

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.