The Value of Verity

How Staying True to Yourself Wins Hearts (and money) on Love Island

Let’s say I was baking a Love Island cake, I followed the recipe to a Tee, but it was still missing something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Maybe reading this, you can determine what’s wrong. Here are the ingredients:

1 cup of influencers, 1/2 cup of love, 1 tbsp of forced sisterhood, 2 cups of toxic positivity.

Can you tell what’s wrong? Now I know! I was missing the secret ingredient: authenticity!

When the Recipe Goes Wrong?

Although Love Island began its first season with a cast that seemed genuinely there for love, as the show grew and became more popular, so did the participants. As time went on, it became clear that being on the show was synonymous with a boost into fame and the opportunity to shift it into becoming an “influencer.”

This idea is only growing as we see the age of influencers seems to be upon us. According to a study done by Influencity, 3% of the total US population could be considered influencers. This equals around 10.5 million people and counting. And as Love Island increasingly attracts people with influencer goals, the line between love and branding begins to blur.

However, the audience is growing tired of the lack of authenticity, as seen recently with Season 7 participant Cierra Ortega. Ortega is known to be a friend of season 5 Love Island participants Johnnie Olivia and Kassy Castillo.

As the show went on, many viewers speculated that Cierra was “coached” by her friends and former cast members. There are several clips where she is seen reciting lines from previous islanders (S6’s Leah Kateb and S3’s Genny Shawcross). These references could just be paying homage to these islanders’ iconic moments, but many viewers see it as copying and, ultimately, a lack of authenticity.

This inauthenticity can be connected to the negative backlash Cierra has received. Many on social media have scolded her for “studying” and being “coached” before entering the villa. Ironically, the homework seemed to hurt more than help.

When the Recipe Goes Right

Two Islanders known for their authenticity are Season 7’s Amaya Espinal, dubbed ‘Amaya Papaya’, and Season 2’s Cely Vazquez. While Amaya’s authenticity helped her win the prize money, Cely’s helped her maintain her relevancy 5 years after her season originally aired.

Cely Vazquez has been honest from the beginning of her Love Island journey, being unapologetically herself. During her time on both Love Island and Love Island Games, she showed her full personality and portrayed true emotions. And even after leaving the villa, she has publicly shared her journey with dissolving her facial fillers and her journey to sobriety.

This authenticity and honesty have paid off as Cely still retains her “fame” from the show. She was a constant feature of Love Island: Aftersun, and she was dubbed the Season 7 “social ambassador”. Even after her season ended, she still has 1.2 million followers on TikTok and 778K on Instagram. And even after so much time, she is still positively associated with the show. This just proves that her authenticity on and off the show made her a likeable and admirable figure.

Season 7 winner Amaya was well-loved from the beginning. Unlike most other Love Island cast members, she had nobody running her social media pages to help her increase her likes and following. Meaning all of the engagement on her social media was purely organic and based on her performance during the show and nothing else. She began the show with less than 100K on Instagram followers and now has 3.8 million. How?

It’s simple, Amaya was true to herself throughout the whole season. From her bombshell arrival in the beginning, she was her bubbly, loving, and kind self. Even when the other islanders, especially the men, tried to tear her down for her loving nature, she stayed assured in herself, not changing. She became known for her singing sessions with self-assuring quotes.

“Sometimes I’m not the book that someone should be reading, and that’s OK.”

-Amaya Espinal (Season 7,Love Island)

The fact that Amaya was unapologetically herself helped her to steal the hearts of the viewers at home, as well as win the prize money with her partner, Bryan Arenales.

Recap

The Value of Verity: On Love Island, cast members who stay true to themselves win hearts, and often, the prize money. Authenticity has always been the secret ingredient.