Montana Brown has spilled huge secrets about life in the Love Island villa on The Independent’s Millennial Love podcast.
The 22-year-old appeared on the ITV2 hit show last year and has enjoyed huge success since leaving the villa.
While the show looks like a great way to get a free holiday Brown revealed it wasn’t all bliss, with the gals getting bruises due to hair removal rules enforced by the production team.
Viewers were curious to know if a beautician came to the villa to give the women bikini waxes, but this is not the case.
“Most people just end up shaving,” Montana said.
The gals also took packets of the pill back to back to avoid having to deal with periods while spending the days in bikinis and nights on white sheets which she said “would be horrendous.”
“You have to arrive with eight weeks’ worth of clothes,” Montana revealed dispelling the rumour that they got clothes sent to them in the villa.
“Everyone comes with about 20 bikinis, 20-30 dresses, and obviously you’re exchanging dresses with people, everyone wears each other’s stuff.”
She also revealed that they weren’t allowed to know what time it was on the show.
The villa had no clocks and the Islanders’ phones were set to different times about which she said, “They’ll wake you up by putting the lights on or a voiceover will say ‘Islanders, it’s time to get up’.”
Brown insisted that she would only go on if she was “an original,” and believed she was “quite lucky” to have just finished college when she went on Love Island.
“I know some of the girls who were in Casa Amor and only in it for a week quit their jobs and a week later [had gone home], it’s a massive risk,” Montana said.
She also said they got really bored on the show as they weren’t allowed to have books or any other kind of entertainment.
Regards the camera situation she revealed, “They’re all fixed, or hidden by a tree or a bush – they’re all camouflaged.”
The contestants sorted their own breakfasts but lunch and dinner in the villa were catered into them through a secret door.
“There are salads, a choice of meats, puddings,” Montana said. “It’s really nice food.”
Explaining how the food is snuck in she revealed, “In the larder there’s another door that goes out the back that they lock,” while the food is being delivered, then unlock when the contestants’ food is there and they can no longer escape.
Alcohol is strictly limited in the villa despite what viewers may think.
“Most of the time it’s one beverage a night,” she said before revealing, “They’re really strict about that. At a push it’s two.”
When contestants go on three consecutive dates they could end up having three drinks but that’s the most they would get on the show.
Brown doesn’t drink much so other contestants fought over who drank her drinks during her time on the show.
The producers don’t script the show but they will interject if they thin k the contestants are being too dull.
Montana and Camilla were talking about hymns last year which caused the producers to say, “That’s not interesting.”
“They might be like, ‘Camilla, pull Montana aside and ask how she’s feeling about Alex’,” she said.
The contestants’ mental wellbeing was a priority for the producers Monatana revealed, saying that before entering the villa, they had to have multiple meetings with a psychologist to check they’re the type of person who should be able to handle the pressure.
“She’s always on call once you’re there,” Montana says. “They give you a lot of emotional support in that sense.”
However, after the series she felt support was “lacking.”
They were given the option of talking to a psychologist or the press team, but she said “you’re not going to call some random stranger three, four weeks after the show’s finished.”
Love Island continues at 9pm tonight on 3e.
