FOR many, Love Island is a chance to achieve fame and fortune beyond their wildest dreams.
It was recently revealed that the most successful contestant of all time, 24-year-old Molly-Mae Hague, made a whopping £3.4million last year.
But a stint in the Love Island villa doesn’t always equate to the streets being paved with gold.
Here we reveal the stars' troubled business empires, including one former winner who racked up £53,000 in debt.
Gemma Owen
Gemma Owen, daughter of former England striker Michael Owen, was one of the most popular contestants in the villa last year.
The 20-year-old’s company, GRO Clothing Limited, takes in cash from her OG Beachwear range – but we revealed last year that accounts showed it made a loss of £756 in 2021.
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The dressage rider set up her swimwear brand in 2020, with her mum Louise listed as a director of the company alongside Gemma.
She regularly posted pictures of her posing in bikinis and swimming costumes on Instagram.
Gemma's beachwear isn't cheap, however, with two-pieces selling for upwards of £70 when it's on sale.
Jack Fincham
Jack Fincham won the show in 2018 with Dani Dyer, with him choosing to share the £50,000 prize money with her. They dated for nine months before splitting in April 2019.
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Following on from his success in the villa, the former stationery sales manager set up Fincham LTD to manage his personal appearances – but last year the star filed to liquidate his business after racking up £53,000 in debt.
According to documents on Companies House, Jack, 32, voluntarily chose to enter liquidation for his company.
The business owed £3,000 to HMRC and £50,000 to NatWest after it received a bounce back loan, designed to help businesses through the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ekin-Su Culculoglu
Love Island winner Ekin-Su Culculoglu was at the centre of a bidding war after her victory in the villa last year, before signing a £1million contract with online clothing brand Oh Polly.
She launched her first collection last October with a huge party attended by her Love Island co-stars.
But six months later Eki-Su, 28, was dropped by the fashion label.
It was reported Oh Polly and Ekin-Sun parted ways because their relationship "wasn't working".
A source added that Ekin's range also "struggled to appeal to Oh Polly's customer base".
In March we revealed the star was taking legal action against Oh Polly after the collapse of her contract.
Paige Thorne
Former paramedic Paige Thorne signed a £1million contract with clothing brand Forever Unique after leaving the Love Island villa last year.
Run by Real Housewives of Cheshire's Seema Malhotra, the brand has been worn by a host of celebs including Holly Willoughby and the Princess of Wales.
After signing the partnership last August, Paige said: “This is a real pinch me moment, I can't believe I have my very own collection with a brand I've loved for years!”
She released a 40 piece-collection for the party season in October. However, in April it was reported Paige was taking legal action against the brand for an alleged breach of contract, seven months after she signed the six figure deal.
She said: “I was literally like, ‘Oh my god, I’m owed money. Like, what am I meant to do?’ I was relying on that contract so much.”
Paige, 25, added: “It’s shaken my confidence. I wish I could say it was a good experience, but it’s just been an absolute nightmare, and it’s ongoing.
“It felt like the darkest time of my life, and it put so much stress on my family as well – they were so worried about me.”
The Manchester-based brand, founded in 2008, collapsed in April and went into liquidation. It was revealed the company had debts of more than £2.8million when it went bust.
Olivia Attwood
Former motorsport grid girl Olivia Attwood is one of the most high-profile stars to come out of the villa after coming third in the 2017 series.
Olivia, 32, launched her luxury clothing brand, Foolish, in November 2021, with celeb pals including Towie's Pete Wicks, Love Island's Gabby Allen and Made in Chelsea star Tom Dolemore attending the fancy launch.
Speaking at the time, Olivia told the Sun: “I'm really proud of it," adding: “It's not fad fashion, it's about timeless, classic pieces. I would never put my name to something unless it was fully right."
But just three months later she was forced to temporarily halt orders after “customers experienced severe delays with their orders”.
The online store closed to move to a new warehouse in a bid to improve its services and was offering refunds.
A spokesperson for Foolish said in a statement at the time: "Since launching Foolish, our customers have experienced severe delays with their orders. For that we are sincerely sorry for any inconvenience caused and therefore have made the decision to move into a superior and larger fulfilment centre that will ensure our customers receive their orders efficiently.
"We will be back up and running very soon and look forward to providing our customers with the service they deserve.”
While the website is now back up and running, it states only three items of womenswear are currently in stock.
And according to accounts filed on Companies House in March 2022, the company appears to be £72,264 in the red.
Indiyah Polack
Indiyah Polack rose to fame after entering the villa last year. But it was revealed the model had a failed hairdressing business after it was given the chop just over two years from launching.
The 24-year-old started up the London-based Junkie Colours business in 2018 but lost it last year after failing to submit her first year’s accounts.
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The company, which offered hairdressing, custom coloured wigs costing up to £105 and other beauty treatments, was dissolved last March, records from Companies House show.
She has since moved on from the setback and has cashed in on deals with Boots and PrettyLittleThing.
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