Where Love Island's Most Hated Contestants Are Now

"Love Island" may be the most addictive reality show in history (and edited for maximum drama), as fans tune in six days a week to keep up with the love lives of gorgeous singles trapped in a stunning villa. After making waves across the pond with its 2015 debut on ITV2 in the UK, a US version premiered in 2019 and originally aired on CBS before moving to Peacock for its fourth season.   

As the UK recently wrapped up a buzzy S12 and the US ended a very successful S7, hundreds of islanders have now taken part in the reality dating series — and some are a lot more memorable than others. And while fans often fall in love with certain stars, like UK S5's Molly-Mae Hague or US S6's Leah Kateb, it's just as easy to draw the ire of fans. We're taking a look at some of the most hated "Love Island" contestants in the show's history... and checking in on where they are today. 

Widely considered the best "Love Island" season of all time, S5 delivered dozens of memorable moments that fans still remember to this day. That season debuted in 2019 with a fresh crop of good-looking singles, including Michael Griffiths, who entered the villa on day one as an original islander. He coupled up with Amber Gill by week two, and the couple seemed to be going strong — until the Casa Amor twist, that is. Griffiths famously betrayed his villa love for bombshell Joanna Chimonides, leaving Gill standing alone at a particularly painful recoupling. 

Griffiths apparently didn't get his fix of dating in front of the cameras, as he would go on to appear on "Celebrity Ex On the Beach" later in 2019. There, he linked up with fellow former islander Ellie Brown. It seemed serious, with Griffiths telling The Sun Online, "Ellie and I did form a good bond on the show. The relationship we built was unbelievable. To have someone as amazing as her in my life means so much. I'm head over heels and I'm not letting her go." Unfortunately, the romance was short-lived — the couple split a day after that Griffiths quote was published. 

These days, Griffiths continues to date fellow famous faces. He made things Instagram official with his girlfriend, Rukku Nahar, in July 2025. Nahar, an actress who starred on the popular UK show "EastEnders," and Griffiths have been rumored to be an item since October 2023. 

It took a few seasons for "Love Island USA" to pick up steam here in the United States, but it certainly caught on over the last few years. Take the most recent season, S7, for example. You couldn't go on social media without running into islander Huda Mustafa's viral moments on the reality show ("Mommy?" Mamacita!" ring a bell?). But just because you couldn't escape her voice on TikTok doesn't mean Mustafa was a beloved figure. 

From her toxic relationship with Jeremiah Brown to criticism about her behavior towards bombshell Iris Kendall, Mustafa remained in the news for all the wrong reasons. The online criticism became so intense the show issued disclaimers ahead of episodes and on their official X account to remind fans to take it easy on cast members, writing in part, "Please just remember they're real people — so let's be kind and spread the love!"

Despite a rocky time in the villa and a disastrous breakup on her final date with Chris Seeley, Mustafa had a quick rebound once the show ended. By July 31, the beauty was making her red carpet debut at the premiere of the film "Weapons" alongside new beau Louis Russell, a reality TV vet himself who has appeared on "Too Hot to Handle" and "Perfect Match." 

"Love Island" S5 star Lucie Donlan stepped into the villa as a stunning surfer girl, instantly catching the attention of the male islanders. While that would be enough to enrage the females in the house, Donlan's insistence that she didn't get along with girls didn't endear her to the show's largely female fanbase. The tomboy insisted, "they're all girly girls," but her partner Joe Garratt wasn't convinced. 

Garratt famously pulled her aside and called her behavior "strange," going on to tell her (via Love Island Australia), "You're very close with the boys ... But now I think it's time to get close with the girls." Donlan didn't take his advice, and their relationship would later fizzle. She would go on to try wooing Tommy Fury, who was already in a solid relationship with Molly-Mae Hague, which also enraged fans. She would eventually reconnect with Garratt outside the villa, and though they tried to make it work in the real world, they eventually split for good. 

Donlan would eventually find real love with — you guessed it — another former islander. She and season 6 star Luke Mabbott got engaged in December 2021 and have been enjoying a long engagement ever since. The former reality stars are currently chronicling their home renovation on Instagram. 

"Love Island USA" S6 really changed the game for the American version of the reality series. The show became appointment TV, scoring its biggest streaming viewership ever, thanks to a particularly dramatic cast of characters. Among the messiest in the group? Kendall Washington, who came under scrutiny for some shady behavior during the Casa Amor twist. 

At the time, Washington was linked with Nicole Jacky. Although his couple was relatively drama-free and stayed true to one another, Washington infamously encouraged the other men at Casa Amor to get involved with the new bombshells. Making things worse? He seemed to actively encourage cheating while seemingly being friends with their female partners back at the villa. 

While his relationship with Jacky seemed strong, the couple would split just weeks after leaving the villa. Jacky took to Instagram to prove what viewers considered to be a two-faced nature, writing on her Instagram story (via People), "On August 18th, Kendall and I agreed our relationship was worth working on, and we were making plans for me to visit him in Dallas soon. However, today, on August 20th, he called and ended things." 

it seems a year later, there are no hard feelings between the couple. You can keep up with Washington's latest happenings as he stars on "Love Island: Beyond the Villa," which recently aired his reunion with Jacky as the couple chatted and apologized to one another.

Olivia Attwood from UK's S3 was one of the most polarizing figures from every season of "Love Island." On one hand, the blonde bombshell was hilariously entertaining, but on the other, she earned herself the nickname "Hurricane Olivia" for a reason. Her 2017 season was one for the books, largely due to her rocky romance with Chris Hughes. The couple came in third and even landed their own spinoff the following year, "Chris & Olivia: Crackin' On." They unfortunately split up during filming, but that wouldn't be Attwood's last time on television. She appeared on "Celebs Go Dating" later that year and joined the wildly popular British reality series "The Only Way is Essex" in 2019, where she stuck around for three seasons. 

In October 2019, Attwood got engaged to former flame, footballer Bradley Dack, posting a sweet photo on Instagram alongside the caption, "He must be crazy ... Here's to forever. I love you BD." The relationship landed her yet another reality show, this one titled "Olivia Meets Her Match." The series debuted in 2020 and chronicled the couple settling down in Manchester, followed by the 2023 series, "Olivia Marries Her Match," which documented preparations for the couple's lavish June wedding. 

These days, Attwood is happily married and still has a bustling television career. She hosts documentaries on ITV on topics ranging from selling sexual content online to plastic surgery. 

"Love Island USA" star Rob Rausch appeared on the show twice. The handsome snake wrangler originally appeared on the show's season 5 as a bombshell sent in to tempt the ladies during the Casa Amor twist, but after a short stint on the island, he was brought back as an original islander for S6. He partnered with fan favorite Leah Kateb and quickly jumped ship when bombshell Andrea Carmona entered the villa, angering fans of the series.

This love triangle triggered one of the franchise's most memorable meltdowns — when an emotional Rausch tried to escape the cameras by hiding in ... the pool. While truly bizarre, the move was pretty genius, as cameras couldn't catch Rausch's sobfest. After Carmona was dumped from the island, Rausch would go on to couple up with not one or two, but four more ladies, before eventually being booted himself.

While Rausch's S6 co-stars appeared in the US's first spin-off, "Love Island: Beyond the Villa," he did not join them. Though he never confirmed the reason, fans gleaned from a Snapchat Q&A in December 2024 (via People) that it was because he wasn't thrilled with his treatment on the show. A fan asked Rausch the biggest lesson he learned from doing the show, and he responded, "Never trust a TV producer." It appears he's willing to trust them one more time, as he is confirmed to be among the cast of Peacock's "The Traitors" S4. 

Rebecca Gormley graced our television screens during S6 of "Love Island," arriving as a bombshell during the iconic heart rate challenge as a total surprise to the islanders. She scored a date with the boys whose heart rates she raised the most, Callum Jones and Connor Durman, but she had her sights set on Connagh Howard. 

Viewers weren't impressed with how she treated Howard, but they would be horrified to see how she behaved with Wallace Wilson. After the two coupled up, Wilson innocently fixed her avocado on toast, to which Gormley replied (via Grazia), "Aw, Wallace, I'm not a fan of avocado on toast." If that were not rude enough, she would end the whole relationship over the breakfast incident, explaining to cameras in a confessional, "I love my food and if you can't get the food right it's not going to work." 

After leaving the villa, Gormley would go on to date a Casa Amor bombshell from her season, Biggs Chris. The couple were an item for over a year before calling it quits in August 2021. The exes reunited for the 2025 Netflix series, "Cheat: Unfinished Business," where Chris explained, "I'm hoping to rekindle things with Rebecca, but she doesn't know I cheated on her, and to move forward I have to come clean." Gormley was infuriated by the admission, and the two went their separate ways for good. She has not had another public relationship since. 

Handsome islander Adam Collard appeared on the show twice, both on S4 and S8, but it was his first run that earned him a villain edit. He entered the villa as a surprise bombshell on the first day and coupled up with Rosie Williams early on in the season. Unfortunately, his relationship with Williams got him attention for all the wrong reasons. A domestic abuse charity, Women's Aid, even raised an alarm over his behavior, with the chief executive, Katie Ghose, stating (via BBC), "In a relationship, a partner questioning your memory of events, trivializing your thoughts or feelings, and turning things around to blame you can be part of pattern of gaslighting and emotional abuse."

After the outrage over Collard's actions, the show's decision to bring him back for S8 was also met with some controversy. Women's Aid released another statement when the news broke, sharing (via ITV), "We saw Rosie rightly call out Adam for his unacceptable behaviour, which included gaslighting and emotional abuse. We hope that ITV recognize how serious this issue is and that it must be learned from, considering they have asked Adam to return to the show."

Collard got engaged to sports presenter Laura Woods in September 2024. The couple announced their pregnancy a few months later and welcomed a son, Leo, in January 2025.

Adam Collard's S4 castmate Megan Barton Hanson takes the next spot. The blonde beauty was definitely painted as a villain, a fact she believes so strongly that she refuses to watch her season back. "I feel like I was definitely pigeonholed into being the maneater, the ex-stripper, the crazy one ... But that's absolutely not me! I like to get what I want, but I can equally be a girl's girl," Hanson explained on her OnlyFans' OFTV docuseries, "In Real Life, Megan" (via Daily Mail).

Hanson's villain edit kicked off with a coupling with Eyal Booker, whom she later dismissed for not being "fun" enough, famously stating (via The Sun), "You're not exactly Jim Carrey. I can't have fun with myself." She then set her sights on her pal Laura Anderson's man, Wes Nelson, stealing him away and infuriating viewers in the process. Hanson and Nelson remained a couple for the rest of their time on the island, and dated a few months after before splitting. 

After the series, Hanson was temporarily banned from Instagram for racy photos and decided to launch an OnlyFans account – like many other reality stars. By 2021, she was the ninth-highest earner on the platform, earning $1.06 million a month. In 2024, that figure was estimated to be $1.4 million a month, and she launched the previously mentioned docuseries, "In Real Life, Megan," on the platform's streaming service. Hanson is currently single.

Jonny Mitchell appeared on "Love Island" S3 and sparked criticism for his treatment of women. After stringing along fan favorite Camilla Thurlow for weeks, Mitchell unceremoniously dumped her and kissed his new love interest, Tyla Carr, just minutes later. Unfortunately for Mitchell, Theo Campbell coupled up with Carr before he could, resulting in some statements that raised eyebrows with viewers. 

Mitchell disturbingly stated Campbell would have to pry Carr from his "cold, dead hands", which resulted in domestic abuse charity Women's Aid putting out a statement (via BBC). Then-CEO Polly Neate said, "When Jonny said that new arrival Theo would have to prise Tyla 'from my cold, dead hands,' it was not romantic. It did not demonstrate just how much he liked her. It was possessive and controlling. What can be all too easily passed off as banter actually carries the underlying sentiment that this man believes he owns this woman." 

After being dumped from the villa, Mitchell opened up to the Daily Mail about the backlash, explaining, "I personally think it takes a special kind of person to look at that and see that I wasn't joking... Obviously, I was joking. That was not meant in a literal sense." In July 2025, Mitchell revealed on Instagram that he is expecting his first child with girlfriend Simone Engelhardt.

Some "Love Island" stars earned their spot on this list for being downright devious. But "Love Island USA" S2 star Mackenzie Dipman joins the ranks due to the utter chaos she brought to the villa. Dipman quickly paired up with Connor Trott, but the couple didn't have an easy go. In fact, Dipman became widely known for the amount of tears she shed over Connor. The couple ended up going their separate ways, only to reunite outside of the villa. Sadly, their relationship came to an end in March 2021. 

Despite having a rough run her first time, Dipman returned to "Love Island USA" for S4. She opened up to People about her decision to head back to the villa, explaining, "I'm just really excited to enjoy it in a way that I don't think I did the first time. Just being able to just freely experiment, try new things, have fun, meet new people." Unfortunately, she didn't fare any better that time around. In fact, Dipman shockingly decided to dump herself from the villa after not finding a good connection. 

These days, Dipman remains in the Peacock family with some strong ties to Bravo. In 2024, it was revealed she's working as the general manager at "Vanderpump Rules" stars Katie Maloney and Ariana Madix's sandwich shop, Something About Her. The former reality star is currently single.

If you're looking for the most recent addition to this crop of despised islanders, look no further than Dejon Noel-Williams from season 12. Although he coupled up early with Meg Moore and stayed with her the whole show, his flirtatious and questionable behavior still gave viewers pause. While Moore stayed true to Noel-Williams throughout the season, he infamously got very close to Casa Amor newcomer Andrada Pop and flirted with bombshell Billykiss Azeez. 

Viewers and fellow houseguests alike called Noel-Williams out for being fake, most notably for how he would strategically take the next step in their relationship when he seemed to be in hot water. As one fan on X said, "The way Dejon has carefully curated the path he's paved with Meg... In the history of Love Island, I don't think we've ever seen anyone as shamelessly calculated and competitive as him. The funniest part? He thinks we don't see it. No good Dej'." This resulted in the couple being brutally dumped by their former islanders, who all returned for an unprecedented dumping ceremony.  

Despite all the doubt, now that they're outside the villa, Noel-Williams and Moore are still reportedly going strong — though he was spotted putting his arms around two former blonde bombshells, Poppy Harrison and Lucy Quinn, at the reunion afterparty.