Love Island 2023 is almost here, with the series’ second-ever winter episode due to premiere in January.
The cast has been unveiled, and it includes a James Bond actress and a TikTok celebrity farmer.
Lana Jenkins, one of the contestants, has a connection to another recent ITV show: she dated I’m a Celebrity runner-up Owen Warner.
Lana isn’t the only Love Island contestant with celebrity connections and relationships.
Here, we look back at prior islanders’ exes, children, and other celebrity connections…
Which Love Island 2023 stars have celebrity connections?
Olivia Hawkins

Michelle Keegan’s good buddy (and body double) is entering this year.
Michelle gave Olivia Hawkins a special mention on social media ahead of the premiere of Love Island.
Michelle wrote on Instagram: ‘So our girl is going into Love Island. Genuinely one of the nicest girls you’ll ever meet.’
She added: ‘Go and smash it darlin’,’ alongside Lana’s official Love Island contestant photo.
Lana Jenkins

Lana Jenkins, 25, dated Owen Warner, 23, from Hollyoaks.
Lana reportedly fell in love with Owen after being introduced by mutual friends while working on CBBC’s So Awkward.
They were supposed to have parted ways after a couple of months.
Owen’s celebrity just skyrocketed after finishing second in the 2022 season of I’m a Celebrity… Lana didn’t watch her ex in Get Me Out of Here.
Which previous Love Island contestants had celebrity connections?
Reece Ford

Reece Ford, 23, debuted as a bombshell on the show in 2022.
A Coventry-born model, he earned a name for himself in sports modelling, working with major companies such as Under Armour and Levi’s for JD Sports.
But his tie to the sporting world does not stop there, as he also has a connection to Paris Saint-Germain football club superstar Kylian Mbappe.
He is Mbappe’s official body double, appearing in various modelling ads in his place.
Reece used to be a professional footballer, though not quite to the level of Ligue 1.
According to Transfer Markt, he was a Centre-Back with Redditch United in the Southern League Premier Division Central until May.
Gemma Owen

Michael Owen, a former England player, is Gemma Owen’s father.
The 19-year-old inherited her father’s competitive spirit as an international dressage rider and owner of a bikini business.
Her father played for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle, and Manchester United until retiring due to an injury in 2013. He is reported to be worth £54 million.
Michael, 42, said that his daughter attending the famed dating programme was ‘certainly a father’s worst nightmare’.
Nonetheless, Michael and his wife, Louise, continue to support Gemma on the ITV2 success.
He told the Mirror: ‘I have no doubts that she will make us all proud. It’s probably a father’s worst nightmare, but whatever she wants to do you’ve got to be supportive.
‘I think old, grumpy men like me will always have an opinion on it because I don’t watch it and you just hear the snippets. But she assures me it’s not as bad as I think.’
Ahead of appearing on the show, Gemma revealed she is ‘very close’ to her family and ‘wouldn’t do anything’ to ‘disrespect or embarrass them.’
Luca Bish

While Luca Bish, 23, is not linked to any celebs, he is related to EastEnders icon and Dancing on Ice 2023 competitor Patsy Palmer.
In the 1990s, she portrayed Bianca on the soap. She now lives in Malibu and owns a haircare line, but she still found the time to thank Luca on Instagram before he left for a spell on the UK reality show.
Luca quickly explained that Patsy was a close family friend who had known his parents for many years.
Luca also had another celebrity connection: he knew Nick Cave’s children.
Nick Cave writes touchingly on how his parents supported him and his wife after the death of their son, Arthur.
In his Red Hand Files newsletter, he wrote: ‘These people, Luca’s parents, are as good as people get, and they love their son, Luca. So, Susie watches Love Island and cheers him on, and hopes that he will win. I also hope that Luca wins, and wins soon, because then I can get the f*cking TV back.’
Liam Llewellyn

Series eight star Liam Llewellyn, like Gemma Owen, comes from a sporting family.
David Llewellyn, a former member of the Welsh rugby team, is his father. He played in several World Cup games in 1999, as well as games for Ebbw Vale, Newport, and Neath.
Antigoni Buxton

Antigoni Buxton, like Gemma, is the daughter of a celebrity.
Antigoni, 26, is the daughter of celebrity chef Tonia Buxton, who appears on shows such as GB News, This Morning, and Sunday Brunch.
Posting a string of snaps of Antigoni, including her Love Island promo photo and some sweet mum-and-daughter pictures, Tonia wrote: ‘I can not believe that my @antigoni is in the Love Island Villa, she mentioned she would be sunbathing this week I didn’t think she meant in Mallorca!
‘We are all so excited for you and know you will be amazing! You have always been an island girl, so I know you will fit right in! 🏝🌊
‘Hoping you all love and support my girl, I know she will make us proud! ❤️
‘Tune in to my stories every night where I will be commentating the show, or trying to! 🫣😳 #loveisland.’
Tonia’s not Antigoni’s only famous connection though, as she reportedly previously dated Love Island favourite Jack Fowler.
However, their romance wasn’t to last, with the pair going their separate ways after eight months.
Jack Keating

Casa Amor shocking revelation Jack Keating shares one trait with fellow candidate Gemma Owen: both have renowned parents.
Boyzone heartthrob Ronan Keating is the Dublin lad’s father, and the singer has thrown his support behind his son as he entered the villa.
Before entering Casa Amor, the 45-year-old Life Is A Rollercoaster hitmaker took to Instagram to repost Jack’s own Love Island announcement, saying, ‘Let’s go.’
On The One Show with co-hosts Alex Jones and Jermaine Jenas, Alex inquired how he felt watching his son work.
‘I’m a mess, I’m an absolute mess,’ Ronan said.
‘I mean Storm [stepmum] is doing better than I am. We all miss him in the house, we really do, little brother Cooper and his little sister Coco and Missy, we all miss him.’
Mike Boateng

Mike Boateng, a former police officer, appeared on Love Island in season six in 2020, falling in love with Priscilla Anyabu before the couple divorced.
But the 26-year-old comes from a family of reality TV stars, as his brother, Samuel, appeared on BBC’s The Apprentice.
Samuel, the family’s business wiz, administers Mike’s excellent social media account as a social media influencer.
Dani Dyer
Dani Dyer, daughter of EastEnders legend Danny Dyer, is one of the most well-known former candidates with ties.
The 25-year-old followed in her father’s footsteps, first appearing on TV in Survival of the Fittest in 2018, before winning Love Island with her ex-boyfriend Jack Fincham the following year.
Dani has collaborated with her renowned father on multiple occasions, including an appearance in EastEnders as a cab driver and their podcast Sorted with the Dyers.
Dani admitted in one episode that she hadn’t spoken to her father in weeks and assumed he ‘hated’ her after she agreed to go on Love Island.

The former dental nurse said: ‘You hated me’ before Danny replied: ‘I didn’t hate you, I never hated you ever.’
‘He didn’t like me. We didn’t really talk. It was very awkward. Oh my god, I’d walk into the room and it would be so awkward,’ she continued.
‘No, we didn’t talk,’ Danny added, ‘I think I was upset because we were very close and you’d spoke about it to everyone, I was the last f***er.’
Tommy Fury

Tommy Fury and his co-star Molly-Mae Hague won the hearts of Love Island viewers in the 2019 season. The couple went on to finish second and are still living together in Manchester.
Tommy Fury is the heavyweight champion’s brother, and while Molly-Mae is the Creative Director of Pretty Little Thing and a social media icon, Tommy has followed in his older brother’s footsteps as a professional fighter.
Despite his outstanding connections, Tommy is eager to make his own mark in the industry rather than follow in his brother’s footsteps.
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‘I’m my own man and I’ve said it throughout my whole boxing career,’ Tommy said in an interview.
‘I don’t want to be labelled as his little brother, I’m my own man and I’m doing the best that I can do in life and that’s all I’m setting out to achieve.’
Paige Turley

Paige Turley notably dated award-winning musician Lewis Capaldi before to appearing on the show in search of love.
The 24-year-old was in a relationship with the Before You Go artist from 2014 to 2016 when the two were college teenagers, and during her time on the programme, she would bring up her previous flame, while it was rumoured that some of his successful songs, such as Someone Like You, were about her.
However, Lewis cleared the matter by admitting that Hold Me While You Wait was about the Islander after she savagely rejected him.
He recalled that things were as ‘smooth as a ski slope’ before: ‘She said to me, “Lewis … slight issue with me and you as a couple. I find you revolting in every way possible, and you are really a disgusting human being. And I would like to leave you, effective immediately”.’
However, the couple is still on good terms, and Lewis said that he would have liked being informed about her presence on the show.
‘She never told me she was going on it,’ Lewis told The Edge in New Zealand. ‘It would have been a nice heads up. But I mean, fair play, good luck to her.’
The former Britain’s Got Talent star went on to win the 2020 winter series with her beau Finley Tap.
Curtis Pritchard

Curtis Pritchard joined the Love Island cast in 2019, following in the footsteps of his renowned brother AJ.
Since 2019, AJ Pritchard has been a professional dancer on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, and he will appear on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in 2020.
Curtis had already appeared on Ireland’s Dancing with the Stars prior to his time on the island of love, but the ITV2 show catapulted him into the spotlight.
Following the show, the reality star began dating his co-star Maura Higgins, with whom he later parted in early 2020. Curtis has since collaborated with his brother to choreograph the hit BBC Three show RuPaul’s Drag Race and co-host the podcast AJ v Curtis.
Sophie Piper

Sophie Piper kept her celebrity connection in the villa a secret, although she is the half-sister of The Saturdays singer Rochelle Humes.
The 21-year-old bears a strong similarity to the This Morning host, yet no one mentioned it on the air.
Sophie, a former medical assistant, was rejected in week four of the show and now works as an influencer.
The TV personality claimed that there was a ‘period’ when she didn’t communicate with Rochelle, but the two are now close.
She told the MailOnline: ‘It was weird growing up not knowing Rochelle but since we have spoken, we speak every day so it is nice all of us being in each other’s lives now.’
When Sophie announced she’d be joining the line-up, Rochelle commented in support: ‘Good luck baby sis. Bring us back a keeper.’
Belle Hassan

Belle Hassan is the daughter of actor Tamer Hassan, who has acted in shows such as Game of Thrones and The Football Factory.
‘He is my link to the famous world,’ said the 21-year-old, who starred on the fifth series of Love Island. He is a very supportive father; he is like a best friend to me and is always available to me.’
On the show, Belle dated Anton Danyluk, however the couple eventually split up.
Samira Mighty

Samira Mighty was linked to none other than Hollywood star Chris Pine before she searched for love on the show.
The former West End star met the actor at a GQ party, and revealed to Digital Spy: ‘I knew him from the Disney Channel. I thought, “My God, he was in that movie with Lindsay Lohan,” and he kind of moved to me and I thought, “He seems fun, he seems cool”.’
The couple only went on one fancy date in Soho, before they cut ties with each other.
Luke Trotman

Luke Trotman, the son of another reality celebrity, appears on the sixth series of Love Island in 2020. Beverly, his mother, came in sixth place on season four of The X-Factor after dazzling the judges with her lovely voice.
The semi-professional footballer said he has always supported his mum’s career and added: ‘She’s done a few musicals and she’s in the Kingdom Choir now… but she didn’t perform at Harry and Meghan’s wedding!’
Winter Love Island 2023 starts tonight at 9pm on ITV2.