LOVE Island star Ellisha-Jade White thought the show would change her life when she was cast on the ITV2 hit back in 2017, but instead she claims she got a “nightmare of broken promises.”
Almost 10 years ago when Love Island producers slid into her Facebook DMs, Ellisha couldn’t believe her luck.
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Ellisha-Jade White appeared on series three of Love Island Credit: Rex Features
But she has a word of warning for anyone hoping to join the show Credit: Instagram/thesouthamptongirl
As a 22-year-old recent marketing graduate who dreamed of becoming a TV presenter, getting invited to be on the ITV2 dating show seemed like a pipeline to fame.
“I thought my life was about to change forever. I was 22, running my own marketing business straight out of university, and full of ambition,” Ellisha tells The Jattvibe.
“Love Island felt like the ultimate golden ticket.”
She joined the show in series three just as Love Island was becoming a global phenomenon and so she expected career opportunities, brand deals and instant fame.
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Ellisha says she was ‘chewed up and spit out by the reality TV machine’ Credit: Rex Features
She was one of the first group of Love Islanders to enter Casa Amor Credit: Rex Features
But her reality was far from glitzy, instead Ellisha has slammed show producers for what she says was using her as a “guinea pig” for the show’s first-ever Casa Amor.
Ellisha barely got any airtime and was dumped from the villa just days after arriving.
She is now opening up on the psychological toll being on a reality TV series has taken on her and describes her “shattered dreams.”
“Producers paint a beautiful picture during the auditions. They tell you that you’re going to be famous, that the agents are waiting, and that your life will never be the same,” she explains.
“They don’t warn you about the cliff edge. They don’t tell you what happens if you are thrown straight to the wolves and fail to become the celebrity you hoped to be.”
Ellisha says she and the five other girls she entered the show with had no idea they were not being taken to the villa, but instead the new Casa Amor, which was a new twist on the format in that series.
“When six of us girls were piled into a car and realised we were all competing for the same tiny fraction of airtime, my heart sank,” she says.
“After ten days in Spain, I was sent home with £200 in compensation and a shattered dream.”
Ellisha describes returning to the UK from the Majorcan villa as a “psychological whiplash” where she had people “screaming your name in the street, to a total vacuum.”
She had lost marketing clients and had to look for new work.
It was hard for Ellisha to see her co-stars on the same series who were picked as part of the OG line-up, such as Olivia Attwood, emerge to massive careers and millions of followers on social media.
“My flash of ‘fame’ died within a month,” she says.
She barely got any airtime and was given only £200 by ITV after it Credit: Instagram/thesouthamptongirl
She said it’s been hard to see people such as Chris Hughes and Olivia Attwood find success after Love Island Credit: Rex Features
Ellisha claims after she returned to normal life, trauma from appearing on the show began manifesting, including receiving hateful messages from online trolls.
“The emotional burden triggered a severe downward spiral into panic attacks, claustrophobia, and generalised anxiety disorder,” she says, explaining that it all culminated in agoraphobia, a disorder which is an “extreme or irrational fear of open or public places”.
While it took Ellisha years to rebuild herself — she now works in marketing and is studying psychology — she points the finger at show bosses for not better preparing contestants “for the aftermath.”
“These production companies do not educate young, naive contestants on the psychological cost of the reality TV meat-grinder,” she says.
Today, Ellisha-Jade is pursuing a new path in the hope of helping others.
“I am currently doing a psychology degree because I want to truly understand the mechanics of what happened to us and help others navigate the same trap.”
Ellisha explains that her warning is not just relevant for Love Island contestants, but anyone hoping to build a career in front of the camera.
“Young people look at reality TV stars and influencers and see nothing but glamour, but there is a massive, hidden human cost,” she says.
“If you don’t end up super-famous, you are forced to completely pivot, rebuild your mental health from scratch, and find a way to survive in the real world.
“Reality TV isn’t a shortcut to a life of luxury. For most of us, it’s just a long, painful road back to normal.”
When contacted by The Jattvibe for comment, ITV said: “Welfare and duty of care towards our contributors is always our primary concern, and we have extensive measures in place to support the islanders before, during and after their participation on the show. “We have continued to evolve our process with each series, as the level of social media and media attention around the islanders has increased, which includes enhanced psychological support, more detailed conversations with potential Islanders regarding the impact of participation on the show, bespoke training for all Islanders on social media and a proactive aftercare package.”
