
Since its re-launch in 2015, Love Island has delivered limitless drama, but international versions of the show have made ours appear like an episode of Antiques Roadshow.
We’ve seen numerous Islanders enter villas in search of love or, in some cases, 15 minutes of fame.
There may have been some enduring ties built along the way, but there have also been numerous scandals surrounding the series.
Cheating, text dumps, and even a Miss GB deprived of her title have been seen in the UK version alone (wrongfully, in our opinion).
While we’ve had our fair share of drama, Love Island has outperformed many other spin-offs in other nations in terms of jaw-dropping action.
This year will also feature new series from Albania, Israel, Malta, New Zealand, Nigeria, and Romania, in addition to Germany, Greece, Spain, and Sweden.
With a total of 23 other spin-offs, it’s no surprise that controversies have rocked the series all over the world.
So, before the new season of Winter Love Island begins, here are some of the most important scandals you may not have heard of.
The winner of Love Island Australia was hiding a secret

Love Island Australia’s inaugural season went off without a hitch, and the public instantly fell in love with couple Grant Crapp and Tayla Damir.
Tayla was eventually voted the winner of the show, which was filmed in Mallorca in 2018, and she decided to split the $50,000 (£28,481) prize money with her new beau.
But it was revealed just two weeks after the cameras stopped running that Grant wasn’t genuinely single.
Tayla was informed, hours after the finale aired, that Grant was in a relationship and living with his partner.
Tayla revealed that she discovered damning text messages on his phone during the’secret girlfriend’ incident.
As one of their fellow Islanders wrote on Instagram at the time: ‘Tayla should have walked away with the money…just sayin’.In an interview Tayla stated she had been told Grant had gone on the show ‘to promote his business and get famous’.
Grant stated two years after everything went down that he was expecting a child with said’secret lover,’ with their daughter due in 2021.
Tayla has also moved on with Nathan Broad, an AFL player whom she married late last year.
Love Island Germany’s love triangle

The first season of the German spin-off similarly appeared to be rather easy sailing until it ended.
Elena Miras and Ninja Warrior Germany candidate Jan Sokolowsky won the €50,000 (£43,000) prize in 2017, but they split up less than a week later after flying home.
Elena began dating Mike Heiter, another Islander from their show, soon after.
Things appeared to be going well for the couple, who went on to host the German version of Just Tattoo of Us and have a daughter, Aylen.
They divorced in 2020 and are now embroiled in a nasty custody dispute, with the Switzerland Times claiming this week that he had scarcely seen his daughter in the past year.
Jan, on the other hand, went on to star in Adam Seeks Eve, a naked island-based dating show.
Love Island USA’s cruelly axed an islander

Noah Purvis was fired two days into filming the second season of Love Island USA in Las Vegas after producers discovered he was a porn performer.
Noah claims he was ‘eliminated’ after it was revealed that he had previously appeared in pornographic films.
After being fired, he told E! News that producers told him he couldn’t stay because he didn’t disclose his past and used an alias.
‘And as soon as they said that, it clicked in my brain… that I had buried this thing that I had done, which is pornography,’ he said.
In a statement, CBS and ITV America stated he had ‘given incorrect information on his application, which violated his contestant agreement’ at the time.In the weeks after Noah shared several statements on social media including one that read: ‘Your past doesn’t define who you are. You determine who, what, how and where you’ll end up. I am truly proud of who I am today and excited for what is next.’
Fans were similarly disappointed by his dismissal, with one calling it a ‘bad look’ to discriminate against someone because of their work in the sex industry.
‘If the show kicked Noah out because of his porn past then Imma be p***ed. Even though I don’t know him and don’t really care about him. Sex work is still work,’ another added.
While we hope this season’s Winter Love Island UK candidates avoid too much controversy, there’s a chance they’ll create a splash when they arrive in South Africa next week.
Aside from seeing new host Maya Jama in action, there will be lots of singletons wanting to meet another Islander.
Love Island starts on Monday 16th January at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.