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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Katie Gallagher

Where are the Irish contestants from Love Island now - OnlyFans move, TV career and forgotten stars

Love Island is in full swing with the new cast of singletons already single and more than willing to mingle in the iconic villa.

And once again, it is the Irish humour that fans have been loving at home, with Dubliner Dami Hope flying the flag for the country in style.

As other Irish connections continue to pop up in the villa, with Ekin Su being pictured wearing a Miss Ireland sash in resurfaced images from 2012, we've taken a look at the most memorable Irish alumni from the show over the years and where they are now:

Read More: Inside Irish Love Island star Dami Hope’s family life - from Wexford upbringing to plush Dublin pad

Maura Higgins

Top of the list has to be Longford’s Love Island legend Maura, who is one of the most memorable and most successful Islanders of all time.

Maura Higgins (INSTAGRAM)

The model turned TV presenter entered the 2019 series late as a bombshell contestant but it wasn’t long before she became the star of the show thanks to her no nonsense attitude and witty one-liners, including her famous “fanny flutters”.

Since the show, she has gone on to bag major deals with the likes of Boohoo and Ann Summers as well as her own TV gigs, including a stint on Dancing on Ice, slots on This Morning, and hosting RTE’s Glow Up Ireland.

Maura was initially unlucky in love in the villa but finished the series in fourth place alongside former Dancing with the Stars professional dancer Curtis Pritchard.

The couple split months later and she went on to form a romance with fellow Love Islander Chris Taylor, before the pair also split months later.

Her unlucky in love streak continued after splitting from Strictly hunk Giovanni Pernice just before Christmas last year, but the in demand star is now reportedly in love with Milton Keynes Dons footballer Connor Wickham.

Greg O’Shea

Right up there with her is Greg O’Shea, who also landed as a late arrival in the 2019 series of Love Island just two weeks before it ended.

(Matt Frost/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

But his timing was impeccable it seems, as the Limerick native went on to win the series with Amber Gill.

Greg, 27, was a huge hit with viewers at home from the get go, but faced backlash when his relationship with Amber came to an end just a month after they were crowned the winners.

He is currently single again, following a split from his ex-girlfriend of two years before Christmas.

Shortly after appearing on the show, the international rugby star returned to his law studies, and training with the Irish rugby 7s squad, who he went on to take part in the Tokyo Olympics with last summer.

He has since launched his own fitness app Bettr with Greg and has also been a familiar face on screen hosting various shows, including Virgin Media’s Six O’Clock show.

Matthew MacNabb

Matthew shot to fame on the show last summer mid-way through the series after joining the Love Island cast for Casa Amor.

Laura Nolan and Matthew McNabb at the official launch of Love Island 2022 (Brian McEvoy)

The 27-year-old went on to gain even more fame nationwide in Ireland when he joined the cast of RTÉ's Dancing With The Stars.

And despite struggling to find love in the match making villa, the Co. Down native sparked a romance on the dancefloor instead with his professional partner Laura Nolan.

The reality TV star pair are now in a relationship and often spotted out and about together since the show has ended.

Kaila Troy

Kaila also entered the show during Casa Amor last summer, despite originally being told she was going to arrive in the beginning as a main cast member.

But the Dublin born DJ’s stint in the villa was unfortunately short lived as she struggled to find love during the popular house swap phase of the series.

TheOnlyFans star, 28, who lives in the US, has since been has been busy back working in the entertainment industry in Chicago and has recently made the move to LA where she hopes to pursue more TV and radio.

Salma Naran

Salma was the third arrival to the villa during Casa Amor last season, alongside Kaila and Matt.

(ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

But like the others, she struggled to make a match, and ended up being booted back out when she wasn’t picked just three days after arriving.

During her time in the show and after she left fans and friends complained about the lack of airtime she and others were given during their time in the famous villa.

Yewande Biala

Yewande Biala was part of the original line-up for the summer series five in 2019.

Yewande Biala is set to release her first book, Reclaiming, on July 14 (Instagram: Yewande Biala)

The Dublin native was originally coupled up with Michael Griffiths and had a brief romance with fellow islander Danny Williams, but was unlucky in her love pursuit as she was dumped from the island after three weeks.

The 26-year-old is now set to open up about the time and her mental health for the first time in her explosive new book, Reclaiming.

Rob Lipsett

Rob Lipsett was an Islander on Season 3 of the revived series of Love Island.

The Dubliner entered the villa late almost a month into the series, but was dumped just a couple of days after arriving.

Speaking afterwards, the fitness influencer said it wasn’t "his style" to create drama just for the sake of staying in the show.

Rob claimed contestants were expected to "gossip and talk down about people" and said: "Basically in reality TV, you need to create drama.

"They wanted me to gossip and talk down about people and that's not my style."

Love Island's Rob Lipsett and Shannen Reilly McGrath (@roblipsett Instagram)

Shannen Reilly McGrath

Shannen Reilly McGrath appeared on Love Island in 2017.

The Dubliner also failed to find love and was dumped from the villa after just three days too.

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