Love Island 2022: Meet the contestants before the series launch | Ents & Arts News

Love Island 2022 is officially here – and this year’s singletons include former England striker Michael Owen’s daughter Gemma.

The 19-year-old dressage rider and international businesswoman will step into the Mallorca villa when the popular ITV2 dating show returns for its eighth series next week.

She will join the new generation of candidates which includes a dancer with a cochlear implant, a paramedic, a senior microbiologist and a hotel waitress.

Here is an overview of the other competitors. Will heads be turned?

Tasha Ghouri, 23 years old

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Model and dancer Ghouri, from Thirsk, North Yorkshire, is the show’s first deaf contestant.

The self-proclaimed ‘party girl’ has a cochlear implant and said she hopes to find ‘the one’ as she feels her love life is a ‘mess’.

She said her friends and family would say she is “inspiring” because of her hearing problems and her cochlear implant because she is “really open about it”.

Ghouri also admitted that despite being a “girl’s girl”, she is willing to tread on toes “in the nicest way possible” in her quest to find a man.

David Sanclimenti, 27 years old

The Rome businessman – who now lives in Manchester – has promised to bring his “Italian charm” to the villa.

“I’m good looking and I’ve realized since coming to Manchester that a lot of English girls really like me,” he said.

“They like being with me and I like being with them.”

He too is looking for his “soul mate” and a serious relationship – someone he can “really build something with in the future, grow with them, be a family”.

“My biggest dream is to find someone to spend the rest of my life with,” he added.

Gemma Owen, 19

Owen said she was competitive like her former professional footballing father, Michael – who played for Liverpool, Real Madrid and England at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups.

She said: “I will always go for what I want. But, at the same time, I’m not going to mess something up for someone who’s in a decent relationship or embarrass a couple if they have a real connection.

“I wouldn’t do anything to another girl that I wouldn’t be happy for her to do to me.”

She has competed for Great Britain in dressage since the age of 11.

Damien Hope, 26 years old

The senior Dublin microbiologist also hopes to find love in the villa.

He said he participated because he wanted to be “more open to new things”.

“Love Island is a different experience. I’m going to talk to different girls, it might not go well with some, it might go well with others, so it’s a fun experience,” he said. .

Paige Thorne, 24

The paramedic said she would bring a lot of ‘positive energy’ to the villa, was ‘mom enough’ and also ‘a good cook’.

She struggled to find a partner in her hometown of Swansea, South Wales.

“I need to get out and expand my horizons, and Love Island brings everyone together for me,” she said.

She added: “I got out of a relationship and I was so fed up with the guys, so I was like, ‘Okay, that’s it. I’m going to focus on me’. Then I was like, ‘Okay, I’m bored now, I’m lonely and I miss the love and the connection and everything else’.”

Liam Llewellyn, 22

The Welshman from Newport has revealed that he is quite an emotional person and will wear his “heart on his sleeve” during the series.

Studying for a master’s degree in strength and conditioning, Llewellyn said he likes to impress those he cares about with compliments like “Your eyes are sharp, I’m lost in your eyes” or “You have beautiful feet”.

Indiya Polak, 23 years old

The London-based hotel waitress said she would bring “a lot of flavor and vibrancy” to the show.

“I feel like a pretty down-to-earth person, so it shouldn’t be a problem to meet a lover or a friend,” she said.

“Love Island, in particular, is like a closed space and I think it’s a great place to get to know someone one-on-one and make a real connection.”

Ikenna Ekwonna, 23 years old

He said he would bring “spontaneity and excitement” to the villa.

Ekwonna comes from Nottingham and works in the sale of pharmaceuticals.

He’s only had one relationship before, but now feels old enough to find someone to settle down with.

“I’m not really shy about talking to people and I don’t really care what people think.

André LePage, 27 years old

The estate agent, who is usually in a relationship, said he applied to appear on the show because he is “actually single for once”.

The Guernsey native has described himself as a ‘good boyfriend’ who once surprised an ex with a spontaneous trip to Paris.

He said, “When I’m with someone I’m very faithful, I’m a good boyfriend like when I’m with someone I’m everything to them.”

Amber Beckford, 24 years old

The London nanny completes the line-up while waiting to find love at the villa.

She said, “I don’t like guys who show off, like flashy, flashy guys – just have a personality and make me laugh.”

“I can certainly have opinions, so I don’t know how it’s going to be. As I work with children, I have patience with children but adults, they annoy me!” she added.

Luca Bish, 23 years old

The fishmonger, from Brighton, is hoping to be this year’s award winner.

He said: “I got out of a four year relationship about a year ago. I liked being in a relationship, there were just things I didn’t like and we broke up.”

He also said he prefers meeting girls outside, but thinks it might seem “too desperate” if you’re looking to find a partner.

This year the candidates will move into a new villa in Mallorca as the previous property, near Sant Llorenc des Cardassar in the east of the Spanish island, is said to be unavailable.

Laura Whitmore will return as host when the series begins on June 6 at 9pm on ITV2 and ITV Hub.