The Truth About Love Island USA Host Arielle Vandenberg
In late August 2020, the highly anticipated second season of Love Island USA arrived, and while it might look a little different due to the coronavirus pandemic, host Arielle Vandenberg is holding it down for the Islanders and doing her best to keep things as steamy as possible. The reality show is actually one of Vandenberg's first hosting gigs, and she really eased right into the Love Island universe with her over the top antics and quick jokes.
One of the hallmarks of the original U.K. version of Love Island is snark. It's a reality show that likes to make fun of itself. While the narrator directs viewers' attention to certain couples and hijinks, the host pops in from time to time to check on the relationships in the house and throw curveballs at the contestants just when you least expect it. For that reason, Vandenberg's role is not to be taken lightly. The late Caroline Flack was the host of the U.K. version, along with Iain Stirling as narrator, so Vandenberg and narrator Matthew Hoffman have some big shoes to fill.
Here's everything you need to know about Arielle Vandenberg.
Is 'Love Island' Arielle Vandenberg's big break?
Being part of a franchise like Love Island is likely a pretty big deal for host Arielle Vandenberg, considering her previous acting gigs. Scrolling through her IMDb profile, she's had a ton of roles in movies and television shows, but a lot of them were barely speaking roles. That being said, she did play "Mary" in the How I Met Your Mother episode "No Tomorrow," which was a slightly bigger part.
Over the years, Vandenberg's other roles have included "Party Girl" on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in 2006, "Model" in the Bones episode "The Science in the Physicist" and "The Hot Girl/Lisa Lawson" in the series Greek, among others. All things considering, it's a pretty big deal that she gets to, you know, talk as the host of Love Island and be so visible. If the U.S. version of Love Island is even half as popular as the U.K. version, this could definitely be a big break for the Los Angeles-born actress and model.
Before it was shut down, Vandenberg was popular on Vine and she has a podcast with fiancé Matt Cutshall called Riled Up with Arielle & Matt. As of this writing, the reality show host has more than one million Instagram followers, which provides proof that being a social media personality can, indeed, lead to bigger things. Some of her famous Insta followers include Lucy Hale, Hillary Swank, Ronan Farrow and Tom Schwartz. A bevy of other reality TV stars like Cassie Randolph and the majority of the Summer House cast are also following Vandenberg, so she's definitely got connections.
The second season of 'Love Island' is a bit different, but Arielle Vandenberg doesn't mind
In light of the coronavirus pandemic, the second season of Love Island USA looks a little different than the show's first season. That being said, the workaround is actually pretty genius. Instead of going to some tropical island, the series took over a Las Vegas hotel and re-created the villa on what appears to be a roof. The Islanders, along with host Arielle Vandenberg, were quarantined and tested multiple times before filming began and they were good to go, per The Hollywood Reporter. Vandenberg thinks the set up is pretty impressive.
In an August 2020 interview with Parade, she said: "Where else can hot singles meet each other right now?! We're providing the literal safest option for them. It's pretty cool. But like most of us, they've been locked up. These people are more excited to date than they ever have been. So they're ready to get in there, I can tell you that much."
For the show's second season, there will be a Casa Amor like in the U.K. version, per Entertainment Tonight, and Vandenberg seems to be just the woman to guide the Islanders and viewers through the rollercoaster ride of a season.