The winter series of Love Island is set to return on January 16 with a new batch of hopefuls looking for romance.
And one of the contestants, Lana Jenkins, already boasts a famous love life after previously dating Hollyoaks and I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here star Owen Warner.
The makeup artist, 25, enjoyed a summer romance with the famous actor back in 2020, following his very public split from Stephanie Davies.
Exes: After his break-up with Stephanie, Owen found love with celebrity make-up artist Lana Jenkins after being introduced through mutual friends (pictured together in 2020)
Lana and Owen confirmed their romance via Instagram as she shared a sweet snap of them together in June 2020.
The duo beamed as they cuddled up outside in the picture, which has now been deleted, holding each others hands.
While Owen also left flirty comments on the blonde beauty’s posts – with one still remaining on a post from July that year.
They began dating following Owen’s split from fellow soap star Stephanie, who he dated for nine months before their split in September 2019.
Contestant: Lana is a makeup artist from Luton and met Owen through mutual friends, two years prior to signing up to Love Island
History: Owen dated the beauty in the summer of 2020, following his split from Stephanie Davis
Glowing: He sweetly commented on one of Lana’s pictures in July 2020, during their relationship
Lana and Owen found love with after being introduced through mutual friends when she worked on CBBC’s So Awkward and was good friends with many of the Hollyoaks’ cast.
However, just months later, it was reported that the couple had sadly decided to part ways.
But keeping the relationship under wraps, Lana revealed a slightly different encounter when she was asked for a ‘claim to fame’ by ITV2.
The beauty revealed that she appeared in an episode of TV comedy Benidorm when she was six-years-old and living in Spain, while nowadays her work as a makeup artist sees her working with ‘lots of celebrities’.
All in: Revealing that she falls fast, Lana told ITV2: ‘I tend to know quite soon if I could fall in love with that person and then, as long as everything is going well, I’ll probably tell them I love them in about a week’
Socials: Lana boasts almost 4,000 followers on her Instagram profile – which will now remain dormant during her time on the show
Lana also revealed that she falls in love quickly, explaining: ‘I tend to know quite soon if I could fall in love with that person and then, as long as everything is going well, I’ll probably tell them I love them in about a week.’
As for what gives her the ick, it’s over-enthusiastic texters.’I don’t mind people texting me all the time but if you send me question marks if I’ve not replied to you in a while, you’re gone,’ she insists.
‘That’s a really big red flag for me! Also if I see a guy trip over, that’s an instant turn off.’
Lana boasts almost 4,000 followers on her Instagram profile – which will now remain dormant during her time on the show.
She will join a slew of young contestants all looking for love on the show, with the lineup including their first ever partially-sighted contestant, Ron Hall, 26.
LOVE ISLAND 2023: MEET THE CONTESTANTS
Tanya Manhenga
Name: Tanya Manhenga
Age: 22
Location: Liverpool
Occupation: Student and model
Something not many people know about her: ‘I have Vitiligo, which is a skin pigmentation, you may not even notice it.’
‘It’s on my lip and I have a stripe on my hair. Not many people know that but I think it’s quite cute.’
‘I don’t care about covering it up all the time, I think it’s a vibe.’
Lana Jenkins
Name: Lana Jenkins
Age: 25
Location: Luton
Occupation: Makeup artist
Something not many people know about her: ‘In my work as a makeup artist I’ve worked with lots of celebrities.
‘Also, when I was 6-years-old I used to live in Spain and I was in an episode of Benidorm as an extra.’
Anna-May Robey
Name: Anna-May Robey
Age: 20
Location: Swansea
Occupation: Payroll assistant
Something not many people know about her: ‘I went on a date once and I never saw him again.’
‘We went for food and shared a bottle of wine. As I was speaking to him he fell asleep!’
‘I had to clink his wine glass to wake him up.’
Kai Fagan
Name: Kai Fagan
Age: 24
Location: Manchester
Occupation: Science and PE teacher
Something not many people know about him: ‘I’m a Jamaican citizen. Because of that I played rugby 7s for Jamaica.’
‘I play semi-professional rugby now for Burnage RFC.’
‘I’ve technically got three different degrees and went to three different unis.’
Ron Hall
Name: Ron Hall
Age: 25
Location: Essex
Occupation: Financial advisor
Something not many people know about him: ‘On meeting me, you’d never know I am blind in one eye.’
‘It was the result of a football injury when I was 8. I’ve got two different coloured eyes, one blue and one green.’
Will Young
Name: Will Young
Age: 23
Location: Buckinghamshire
Occupation: Farmer
Something not many people know about her: ‘Every night I light a candle and meditate for 20-25 minutes.’
‘A girl I was seeing told me to meditate, I tried it and loved it. I stopped seeing her and carried on meditating! It’s a nice way to self reflect’
The ninth series of Love Island will be hosted for the first time by Maya Jama, after Laura Whitmore stepped down from the position following former presenter Caroline Flack’s tragic death in 2020.
In an interview with over the weekend Maya revealed she did not have to audition to present Love Island and accepted the hosting gig straight away.
She told The Times: ‘Once you start doing TV, you meet a lot of producers, through different shows, and the heads will be aware of talent . . . That’s weird, to call yourself talent, isn’t it? I talk for a living. It’s not exactly tap dancing everywhere or performing a ballad.’
New home: The new supersized luxury eco-retreat villa boasts stunning mountain views and is nestled away in a ‘protected area’ in the heart of the Franschhoek wine valley
‘So I think I’ve always been in their eye line, but I was super young when the presenter shifts were happening in the past.’
The presenter was having some time off when she got the call about the Love Island gig, explaining: ‘I got the phone call saying, “we wanna meet you.” Or, they offered it to me straight away? Or “They’re in discussions’? I’m trying to think! Anyway, I didn’t have to audition.”’
When asked if she said yes immediately, Maya exclaimed: ‘Straight away! Of course! Golden ticket.’
Record-breaking viewing figures saw the last series of Love Island, which aired in summer 2022, become the most-watched series ever on ITV Hub, amassing over 269 million streams.
The debut winter series aired in January 2020 – shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic – and was won by Paige Turley and Finn Tapp.
New recruit: The ninth series of Love Island will be hosted for the first time by Maya Jama , after Laura Whitmore stepped down from the position last year
