If You Think You've Seen 'Love Island' Star Hayley Hughes Before, Then This Is Why

Love Island's 2018 line-up was finally unveiled by ITV on Monday night, ushering a new crop of contestants into the nation's living rooms. But as is perhaps often the case with reality TV shows, the big reveal left many fans squinting at a parade of semi-recognisable faces, wondering "where do I know you from?" Hayley Hughes' day job may be the reason why her face looks so familiar. But what does she do exactly?

Well, ITV tells us that 21-year-old Hughes is actually a full-time model, represented by Manchester-based agency J'adore Models. According to ITV, she was signed up as a model after being scouted at the Miss British Isles Beauty Pageant, which she won back in 2015 (FYI, the Liverpool Echo reported at the time that she apparently only competed in the contest because her mum entered into it). Now, she regularly works with a slew of high street labels, and you may well have spotted her in adverts for fashion houses like Pretty Little Thing and Parisian Fashion.

Hughes also has a huge following on social media. Just 12 hours after her Love Island announcement, she now has 18.1 thousand fans on hwe Instagram account, and pulls in anywhere between 500 and 2,000 likes for each of her posts. She already has a few celebrity pals too, and counts Geordie Shore's Vicky Pattison and former Love Islander Katie Salmon as friends on social media.

Opening up about her career and biggest claims to fame, Hughes said in an ITV statement: "I’ve modelled for some fashion brands, and I did an advert for ITVBe. I’ve modelled full time now for two years. I did a pageant, which I won, and then got scouted by an agency in Manchester. I go to drama school as well."

But has she ever dated anyone famous? No. In fact, before signing up for Love Island, Hughes had only ever been in one relationship. The pair dated for five years before they decided to break up, which she did not take well. She explained: "It’s still quite raw. I knew the relationship was over before it was over. But I kept going back. And then I thought ‘why am I going back?’ I wasn’t getting what I wanted out of it, I didn’t feel happy, and I sort of lost myself. It wasn’t a particularly bad break up. It was just sad because of all the memories we had."

Looking back on her relationship, Hughes confessed that she doesn't think she actually had anything in common with her ex. In fact, the lesson she learnt from the split was to never again date anyone just because they're good looking. "I want someone with a nice personality who knows how to treat a girl. I want the package," she continued.

"I like someone that is not afraid to show emotions. I don’t like a guy that puts a front on for his friends. I like being wined and dined in that traditional sense. I like a nice restaurant, a glass of wine. I also like spontaneous dates, things like walking up mountains."

In addition to recognising Hughes, another islander fans may think looks familiar is 22-year-old Dani Dyer. She's the daughter of Eastenders actor Danny Dyer. Like her dad, Dani (it's all a bit confusing) has also tried her hand at acting and is a previous reality TV series participant, after a brief stint on the ITV2 show Survival of the Fittest. She left the show after just one day after the poor thing dislocated her arm, so let's hope she does a bit better on the island.

The new series of Love Island starts on Monday June 4 at 9pm on ITV2. So far, 11 contestants have been revealed but there will be plenty more where that came from as the show unfolds.