He may not have found romance in the Love Island villa in 2019, or again on the show’s first All Stars series earlier this year, but Chris Taylor hasn’t given up on love – or reality TV – just yet.
The former business development manager, who rose to fame on the fifth series of Love Island, has spent this summer searching for a partner on Celebs Go Dating under the watchful eye and guidance of the E4 show’s dating experts.
But for Leicester native Chris, the show has opened some past wounds. During a recent episode, the 34-year-old held back tears as he gave Paul Brunson, Anna Williamson and Dr Tara a rare insight into his relationship with his ex, Maura Higgins.
The couple met in the Love Island villa, and started dating soon after Maura split from Curtis Pritchard. Speaking to the Celebs Go Dating experts, Chris explained that he and Maura were friends before their relationship progressed to something more romantic. However, they only dated for six months before deciding they were better off as platonic pals.
On the show, Chris emotionally explained that he had loved Irish beauty Maura, 33, but revealed that he didn’t believe the feelings were mutual. When Anna said that the experience sounded ‘very painful’, Chris agreed that ‘it was’.
Speaking recently to Closer, Chris was unwilling to go into details about Maura, explaining that the pair have an ‘agreement’ where they ‘just don’t talk about’ their relationship. He did, however, explain that he’d agreed to go on Celebs Go Dating for a real shot at love, believing there would be ‘a lot of value in going through the process’.
‘When you go on Celebs Go Dating, you get the support of the agents, whereas a lot of Love Island is trial by fire,’ he says. ‘You don’t get people coaching you, saying, “Uh, that was wrong to do that”, or, “That was right to do it” in a dating sense.’
The journey, Chris says, has been one of self-discovery as much as a quest for connection. ‘I mean, let’s face it; at 33, I’m single and I’ve been on two reality dating shows,’ he says. ‘I need more help so I don’t think it can hurt. It’s been really helpful for me and hopefully I’ll be equipped to get a girlfriend out of it.’
It’s hard to imagine Chris having trouble with the ladies. When he returned to the villa for Love Island: All Stars earlier this year, he was immediately popular and caught the eyes of Demi Jones, Molly Smith and Sophie Piper.
In the end, his exit wasn’t quite so impressive. Chris and Arabella Chi were automatically dumped from the villa after their respective partners, Joanna Chimonides and Joe Garratt, were first given the boot.
Despite this, Chris says he has no regrets about his All Stars adventure. ‘I knew that if I was myself the whole time, I could die on that hill when I came out,’ he says. ‘If I’m getting stick or something, I can embrace it because I’ve made a decision which I wanted to make then.’
It helps that, post-villa, Chris is in the best shape of his life. ‘I think I had a bit of a pouch when I went into Love Island, because I didn’t know I was going on it,’ he explains. ‘I lost loads of weight while in the villa because it was just so hot and I wasn’t eating as much. I’ve got the abs back, so I’m just maintaining it now.’
Chris is pretty disciplined about it all, doing meal-prep most days and working out and running every day he can. ‘It’s not that inspiring quoting genetics and horrible discipline patterns, but it’s achievable,’ he says. ‘Considering I’m cracking on to 34, I’m probably feeling the best I’ve felt, to be honest.’
The star is still riding high from the biggest success – and surprise – of his career. Last year, Chris made a shock cameo in Greta Gerwig’s Oscar-nominated box-office smash Barbie. It was the film’s lead actress and co-producer Margot Robbie, who is herself a massive Love Island fan, who got Chris the job, although he admits he no longer has her contact details.
‘I don’t know if I could be trusted with them, to be honest,’ he jokes. ‘She’s just so stunning. I saw her at the Barbie premiere on the pink carpet and that was the last time I saw her.’
Should the long-rumoured sequel come, Chris would absolutely be up for returning. ‘I want to do more acting and I have an acting coach and I am having lessons,’ he says. ‘I doubt I’d get the call, but if there’s a Ken spin-off or a Barbie 2, I would well be up for it.’
