Love Island 2023 stars’ jobs from TV salesman to property developer

The portfolio career is the new default

Olivia Hawkins, 27, combines ring-girl work, acting and body doubling for Emma Watson and Michelle Keegan, with credits including a James Bond scene with Daniel Craig, a Jason Statham film and EastEnders. Tanyel Revan, 26, runs a London hair salon and posts transformations on her second Instagram account, @revanhair. Lana Jenkins, 25, counts George Ezra and Hollyoaks actors Jennifer Metcalfe and Anna Passey among her make-up clients. Zara Deniz Lackenby-Brown, 25, is a performer, singer and property developer who trained in ballet, tap and jazz, gained singing qualifications, and appeared in videos for Hardy Caprio, Headie One, Aitch and Tione Wayne.

These are overlapping revenue streams, not bolt-on side hustles. The make-up artist's Instagram portfolio attracts private clients; the property developer's performance background builds confidence in negotiations. For consultants, the lesson is to find adjacent skills that amplify the core offer, rather than treating them as distractions.

Qualifications still matter — if they move across sectors

Tanya Feathers, 22, postponed the final term of her biomedical science degree to appear on the show and plans to return. Kai Fagan, 23, has three degrees from three universities, teaches science and PE in Manchester, and plays semi-professional rugby for Burnage RFC after representing Jamaica in rugby sevens. Ron Hall, 25, is a qualified financial advisor helping clients build long-term wealth strategies.

They treat education as a portable asset. In consulting, a certificate only retains value if it solves problems in more than one market. A biomedical student who models for Boohoo and EGO Shoes understands both lab protocol and brand briefs. Freelancers should audit their qualifications twice a year and repackage the relevant ones as workshops or frameworks for new clients.

Personal brand is infrastructure, not vanity

Will Young, 22, works on his family's £1.6 million sheep farm in Buckinghamshire and has 1.2 million TikTok followers documenting the work. That audience is a marketing channel for direct sales, sponsorships or speaking slots. Tanyel Revan's @revanhair account functions as a live portfolio and booking tool. Lana Jenkins uses Instagram to showcase celebrity work that validates her rates.

For consultants, a website, LinkedIn presence and consistent content are the shop front. The freelancer who publishes regular case studies builds a searchable track record that outlasts any single contract.

Physical-world skills anchor digital flexibility

Shaq Muhammad, 24, is an airport security officer in London. Haris Namani, 21, is a boxer and television salesman. Anna-May Robey, 20, is a Swansea payroll administrator who resolves pay queries and explains benefits. Tom Clare, 23, is a semi-professional footballer for Macclesfield FC, which granted him extended leave to appear on the show.

These roles demand physical presence, regulated processes and real-time problem solving. They provide cash flow and credibility that purely digital work sometimes lacks. A consultant who spends time on-site gains domain knowledge that remote strategists cannot fake. Hybrid workers who can operate both online and on the ground survive downturns better than specialists who cannot.

Negotiation starts with knowing your alternative

Every islander entered the villa with a fallback. The footballer has a club contract; the teacher has a classroom; the financial advisor has a client book; the property developer has development projects. That security changes how they negotiate, whether for screen time or post-show deals.

Freelancers should calculate their minimum viable income — covering rent, tax, insurance and pension — before quoting a day rate. The payroll administrator who knows her exact take-home pay after deductions negotiates from data. Pricing confidence comes from financial visibility, not bravado.

In many economies, the portfolio career is already the default

Where a single salary rarely covers living costs, the Love Island pattern is common: a teacher who plays international sport, a student who models, a security officer who graduated from university. The challenge is formalising each stream — registering a business name, opening a corporate account, issuing invoices, filing taxes and securing insurance. The freelancer who treats every hustle as a business unit with its own records builds a track record that banks and international clients respect.

Remote work expands the field, but not the safety net

Kai Fagan teaches in Manchester and has played rugby sevens for Jamaica; geography is no longer a ceiling. Lana Jenkins showcases celebrity work on Instagram and can take bookings well beyond her Luton base. Zara Deniz Lackenby-Brown dances in music videos for UK and global artists.

Remote tools let freelancers serve clients across time zones, but they also expose them to global competition. The defence is specialisation: a PE teacher who designs rugby-conditioning programmes has a niche a generalist coach cannot touch. A payroll administrator who builds automated compliance checklists solves a specific, painful problem. Remote work rewards depth over breadth.

Skill stacking beats credential chasing

Zara Deniz Lackenby-Brown stacked capabilities — musical theatre training, singing qualifications, modelling, dancing in global music videos, property development — rather than collecting degrees. Each skill opened the next door. Consultants should add one complementary tool each quarter so that each new capability answers a client question they could not answer yesterday. Skill stacking is intentional; credential chasing is reactive.

What this means

The Love Island cast did not set out to illustrate career strategy, but their job titles — ring girl and body double, hairstylist and content creator, teacher and international athlete, payroll administrator and reality-TV contestant — are the new normal. For freelancers and consultants, the lesson is to build options, formalise every stream, stack compounding skills and never negotiate without a credible alternative. The villa is a television set; the portfolio career is the real workplace. Start stacking.