It may have been only six months since we watched the likes of Amber, Ovie, Tommy and Maura being put through the emotional wringer on Love Island, but already it’s time for a new series to begin.
The doors to a brand new villa will be opening on Sunday night, as 12 new Islanders begin their search for love in the South African sun for the first-ever winter run of the ITV2 dating show.
We already know their identities, but ahead of the new series kicking off, HuffPost UK was among the select few who flew to Cape Town to meet them, and of course it wasn’t long before we started picking out potential pairings.
While only time will tell who will couple up with who, here’s who we think could be each other’s type on paper...
Siannise and Nas
The most obvious match of them all is Siannise and Nas, who share a lot of the same personality traits and desires in a potential partner - as well as being our favourites when we spoke to them.
They’re both ridiculously chatty, outgoing and likeable, and there would be no chance of any awkward silences or any shortage of laughs if they were to couple up.
They both also place a strong emphasis on family in potential partners, with Siannise telling us: “I love someone who is family orientated. That’s very key for me because I’m very family orientated. And someone who is career driven,” while Nas said: “I’ve always prioritised education, football and my family. Those have always been the three main pillars in my life. Up until now, girls have come second fiddle. Now I’ve got my First, I can concentrate on girls.”
Not only that, but Disney-obsessed Siannise describes herself as Princess Jasmine, while Nas named Princess Jasmine actress Naomi Scott as his ideal woman.
Just send them off on a magic carpet already.
Sophie and Mike
We’re going to call it now - people are going to be obsessed with police officer Mike. He’s charming, smooth, full of chat and looks good in uniform.
After naming Anthony Joshua as her ideal man, Sophie said she was after someone who is “funny, caring, not too overly confident and someone who I can have a bit of banter with”, and we’d say this is a pretty good description of the villa’s hot copper.
Mike is also looking for something long-term, and with Sophie saying how she is hoping form a power couple like her sister and brother-in-law, Rochelle and Marvin Humes, so this could work out rather nicely.
Leanne and Callum
Despite giving it all that about having “great banter”, we didn’t see much in the way of it when we met Callum - but if there’s one person who can bring it out of him, it’s queen of banter Leanne, who said she can’t date anyone “sensitive” as she “will offend you”.
Given that Callum works on a building site, he’s no doubt fully-versed in savage chat, so would be able to take what Leanne dishes out.
She also said and was after someone “rugged” and “manly”, and out of the five boys on the starting line up, that would probably describe Callum the best, although we wouldn’t be surprised if one of their heads turned if someone more suitable walked into the villa.
Ollie and Paige
If we’re being completely honest, there’s not really anyone in the starting line up who is an instantly obvious partner for future Lord of the Manor Ollie, and likewise for Lewis Capaldi’s ex Paige.
But while they may seem like an unlikely match at first, he’s looking for a girl who is “blonde, athletic and funny”, and she told us that “anything is a goer” when it comes to boys, so maybe it’s possible love could blossom?
Connor and Shaughna
Shaughna is after a Jack Fincham-type character who is “funny and a little bit smart”, so she should look no further than Connor.
The former butler in the buff has got all sorts of stories to tell and recently set up his own business selling coffee beans, both of which should tick Shaughna’s boxes.
He’s also after someone who is “really caring”, and Shaughna has spent a large part of her career helping others while working for Lambeth council.
“It’s not really about how much a job pays you, because it’s about helping people,” she said.
This pairing would definitely have the potential to be a cute little match.
And then there’s Jess and Eve...
With five boys and seven girls in the opening line-up, it’s obvious there’s going to be some sort of launch twist, which is surely going to involve the show’s first-ever female twins, Jess and Eve.
We think they will be entering later and tasked with breaking up some of the original pairings, placing some of the other girls at risk.
And having met Jess and Eve, their arrival is bound to set the cat amongst the pigeons.
They said they “normally agree if they don’t like someone”, adding that “people are usually intimidated by them” when they meet them, so expect them not to worry about girl code as they start grafting on the lads, should they be the late entrants we’re expecting.
Love Island begins on Sunday at 9pm on ITV2.
