The reality TV gods have truly blessed us, as right now, not one, but two series of Love Island are currently airing, and honestly what a summer we have ahead of us. Earlier this week the 12th series of Love Island UK landed on ITV2 and last week Love Island USA began its seventh season on Peacock.
Much of the show remains the same on both sides of the pond—a group of eligible singles are on the lookout for love spending eight weeks in a villa, where they have a summer of cracking on, “got a text” and deep meaningful chats around the firepit. However, there are some pretty major noticeable differences between both iconic shows. Curious to know more? These are the biggest difference’s between Love Island UK and Love Island USA.
The biggest differences between Love Island UK and USA
The host
UK
Love Island UK is of course hosted by the icon that is Maya Jama. The TV presenter has been working on the show since series nine in 2023, after taking over from Laura Whitmore. She also hosts the show’s spin-off Sunday night episode Aftersun.
USA
Meanwhile in the USA, former Vanderpump Rules cast member Ariana Madix presents the show. Ariana joined last season, following former host Sarah Hyland’s exit from the show. While the hosts may be different, Iain Stirling does in fact do the voiceovers for both series.
The location
UK
Since the show’s inception 10 years ago with series one in 2015, Love Island has always been filmed on the Spanish island of Mallorca. In the first few series it was shot in Santanyi, however since 2017 it’s been filmed in Sant Llorenç des Cardassar. The winter version of the series takes place in South Africa.
USA
Love Island USA has filmed in a variety of locations since it began. When the show was out on CBS the first season was filmed in Fiji, however it was moved to Las Vegas for season two due to the pandemic. The third season then took place in Hawaii.
The show was then moved to be shown on Peacock and as part of this for the show’s first season on the new network the series was filmed in California. And for the last three seasons, including the one currently airing, Love Island USA is filmed in Fiji.
The Villa
UK
This season Love Island returns to its Mallorcan Villa, which is traditionally available as a holiday let, but is taken over by ITV every summer to create the legendary villa. In the villa there’s one bedroom and one bathroom for all the Islanders. As well as the hideaway, outdoor kitchen and firepit.
USA
Like most things in the States, the Love Island USA villa is much bigger than the UK version. Unlike the UK one however, this villa is a set designed entirely for the show, rather than using an existing structure. They also have the addition of a ‘speakeasy’. Unlike in the UK where the beds face each other, in the US all the beds are in a long line in the bedroom.
The challenges
UK
Over the years there’s been a lot of challenges in the UK version of the series, from the Twitter challenge, to the baby challenge and of course all those gross food tasks. Thankfully the food tasks are now gone and generally the producers have cut back on the game element of the series. Now, the biggest challenges are the “snog, marry, pie” and the snogging line up challenge.
USA
In the USA, the series does a variety of challenges and while they keep some the same such as “snog, marry, pie” there’s still a lot of different ones. Earlier this season they did a blind-folded test with the new bombshells and last year they continued the tradition of doing the food challenges they’ve axed in the UK.
The prize fund
UK
Since the show began in 2015, Love Island UK has always given away a prize fund of £50,000 to the couple who are crowned the season’s winners. For many of the seasons the winning couple would then be asked if they wanted to split or steal the money from their partner, however this part of the show has since been axed.
USA
Over on the other side of the pond, the winning couple walks away with a joint prize fund of $100,000.
