Athough it’s still early days, fans are already hailing the tenth series of Love Island as one of the best yet, and former Islander Anna Vakili – who appeared on the reality dating show back in 2019 – agrees. Speaking to Closer about the changes made for the current series – which includes three bombshells and multiple challenges in the first week alone – Anna, 33, reveals she’s been pleasantly surprised by summer Love Island 2023.
She says, “I’m hooked, they’ve changed up the format and the cast are just so likeable and diverse this year. It’s also great to have people from different backgrounds who are looking for different things in their partners. Plus, this year’s contestants seem like they’re a bit more mature in how they act – at 22 I was crazy, but they all know what they’re doing.”
Anna admits that despite being picked to star on one of the most popular series on TV, appearing on the show actually knocked her confidence because she felt that the boys weren’t attracted to her.
The pharmacologist-turned-influencer explains, “They put five guys in the villa who all had the same type – blonde and petite, so I started to feel like something was wrong with me. I felt like an unattractive giant in the villa and really had to work on building my confidence back up once I left.”
She also feels that the show has become less superficial by allowing viewers to pick the initial couples – something that was introduced earlier this year in the winter version of the show, which also marked Maya Jama’s first time hosting after she took over the role from Laura Whitmore.
Anna tells Closer, “I think it’s great that the Islanders don’t pick initially because it’s very much based on attractiveness which can cause confidence issues. I like that they’re getting to know each other before choosing their couples.”
While Anna didn’t have much luck in the villa herself – originally coupled up with Sherif Lanre before he was kicked out and then ditching basketballer Ovie Soko for Jordan Hames whose head was then turned by India Reynolds – she admits that the 2023 Islanders are more her type.
She reveals, “I’d definitely couple up with Zachariah [Noble], he’s got so much masculine energy. I also like Mitchel [Taylor] but he just reminds me so much of Luca Bish from last year. They look identical!”
“Of all the boys in there, only Tyrique [Hyde] isn’t for me because he’s just a bit too much of a flirt. 100 people is a lot of people to have slept with considering he’s only 24! I’d never judge someone for how many people they’ve slept with, but I personally wouldn’t go for a guy with such a high body count.”
Despite having a hard time on the show, Anna is now loved-up with her boyfriend – whose identity she has kept secret since they first started dating back in 2021.
Anna reveals, “It was a rocky start – and we were on and off for a year – but we finally sorted ourselves out and celebrated our official one-year anniversary recently. We’re currently living together and it’s going well, although I’m trying to convince him to let me post him on Instagram so that I can show him off, but he’s a very private person.”
As well as not finding a boyfriend on the show, Anna admits that she hasn’t really kept in touch with her co-stars, despite appearing close with eventual winner Amber Gill and Yewande Biala in the villa.
She explains, “I’m loosely in touch with a few of the girls and we meet up for drinks once in a blue moon, but we’re not super close. Maybe it’s because there was so much drama and craziness in my series and everyone needed to take a step back once we left.” Luckily Anna’s sister Mandy, 31, was her rock once she left the villa, and the pair regularly work together on fashion edits as well as their podcast Sisters In The City where they offer advice to listeners based on their own dating experiences.
Anna tells Closer, “I love working with her, we’ve always been super close. The first thing I did once I left the villa was give her a ring. We were on the phone for ages!”