Love Island Star Claims The Show ‘Changed Her Name’ 5 Mins Before She Went In

Love Island is known for completely transforming contestants’ lives, but it’s not always for the better. Hidden behind the brand deals and influencer status, some contestants find the switch back to ‘normal’ life a struggle, especially after baring all on the show.

And for former contestant Andrea-Jane Bunker, known as AJ on the show, that’s exactly what happened when she found out that Love Island producers changed her name just minutes before she entered the villa, leaving her family and friends totally confused. 

The TV personality opened up in an interview with OK Magazine, revealing that the unexpected switch had a huge impact on her life outside of the show. 

“My actual name is Andrea Jane, so people either call me Andrea, Jane or Janey. No one ever calls me AJ,” she told the publication.

“I filled out all of my forms using my full name, so my suitcase and water bottles both read Andrea Jane.

“When I was in the holding villa, the producers used my initials AJ as a codename in order to keep my identity secret.”

However, Andrea, who was a contestant on the show back in 2021, left her family and friends bewildered when she walked out with a brand new name.

“Minutes before I walked into the villa, an exec asked if it was ok if I was called AJ. I thought he was speaking about the codename and wanted to keep my real name under wraps. I didn’t realise they were actually going to change my name,” she explained.

“When I first went into the villa, my friends and family didn’t know I’d got a place on the show because I couldn’t tell them. Then when they saw my photo they thought it looked like me but that it must’ve been a different person because that wasn’t my name.

“My friends have told me it took a few minutes for them to actually realise I was on the show – even my best friend running my social media account was confused.”

As fans will be aware, no Islanders are allowed access to social media while they’re on the show, which meant that AJ had no idea about the whole situation until she left the villa. This obviously left her completely overwhelmed, revealing that she “cried [her] eyes out” when she eventually discovered what had transpired.

“I remember coming out of the villa and turning my phone on and seeing everyone calling me AJ. I cried my eyes out as soon as I saw it,” she said.

“I had loads of messages from my friends and family too asking why I’d changed my name to appear on the show – I had to convince them that I didn’t do anything. They didn’t know whether to dispute it because they thought that’s what I wanted to be called and that I’d rebranded now that I was in the public eye.

“Now I’m stuck with the name because that’s what everyone knows me as – luckily I don’t mind it.”

What do you make of her shocking experience?


Leave a Reply

Discover more from The Hook news

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading