Entertainment

This Rule About Nudity On 'Love Island' Might Surprise You Somewhat

by Rebecca Fearn
Love Island / ITV 2

Love Island 2019 is upon us, and with it will surely come some great love matches, fiery fallings out, and some seriously steamy moments around the fire pit. But when it comes to being in the villa, there are certain rules the Love Island contestants have to follow. While what we see from the outside looks super chill and fun, the TV bosses are apparently strict on certain things, and over the years have developed rules that must be followed.

In fact, in July 2018, former Love Islander Simon Searles told The Sun that when they enter the villa, the rules are laid out pretty clearly. “They give you a bit of a handbook before and it’s in regards to consent, nakedness, condoms, what’s right and what’s not," he explained.

Another contestant from 2018, Chloe Crowhurst explained: “It’s a pretty thick book. It’s always available for people to flick through.”

Former contestant Zara Holland (from the 2016 series) also shared that there are definite set rules, explaining to The Express that, “It was so controlled in there, you got told when to go to bed, when to wake up, when dinner was."

After doing a little research, it does seem as though the main Love Island rules centre around sex, nudity, and drinking. While the full extent of rules is hard to discover, let's take a look at the list of rules Love Island contestants are known to have to follow when in the villa.

Smoking

Love Island / ITV

If you're an early fan of the show like I am (I still remember the OG series from back in 2015), you'll definitely have noticed the amount of smoking the gang all did over the years. That is, up until 2018, when as Radio Times reports, ITV took the decision to ban cigarettes on the screen after receiving a number of complaints. If they wanted to smoke, Islanders had to exit the villa and go to a designated smoking area, and could only go one by one so that camera did not miss any of the social interactions. It's a rule that, according to the Daily Star, still apples today.

Drinking

Love Island / ITV / Shutterstock

There have been rumours over the years about the restrictions on drinking, and 2016 contestant Liana Isadora Van-Riel revealed in an interview with The Sun, that in fact, people on the show can't really drink like you would think they can. "You're allowed one or two drinks a night, either wine or beer, no spirits," she explained. Apparently, most contestants either have a drink or just stick to cups of tea! People after my own heart, I say.

Safe Sex

Love Island / ITV / Shutterstock

While there is a hell of a lot of under-the-sheets goings on in the show, it sounds as though ITV bosses are actually pretty responsible in the way they encourage sex within the villa. As well as spilling the tea on the lack of alcohol and, well, drinking of tea, Liana also told The Sun that there are a ton of Love Island branded condoms in the villa. And contestants are offered STI testing before they enter the villa, and are encouraged to talk to a counsellor after any sexual activity, Heat reports. “The therapist will give them advice on a range of sex-related issues and will also be able to provide an emergency contraceptive pill if needed," a source explained. Apparently, masturbating and drunk sex are also banned, according to the publication.

Nudity

Love Island / ITV / Shutterstock

Now this is a bit of an interesting one, and a rule earlier contestants of the show definitely did not abide by! According to The Mirror, because the Love Island villa is deemed a public place, nudity is banned — even in the bathroom. I'm guessing this could lead to some interesting and creative techniques to get clean while showering.

So as it turns out, Love Island has quite a few rules for contestants to follow, but by the sounds of it, most of them are probably for the best.