It’s that time of the year again! the Winter Love Island 2023 cast has been officially released and by the looks of it, its January singletons will be bringing all the heat of its summer stars.
Ever since the start date for Winter Love Island 2023 (opens in new tab) was confirmed last month, we’ve been counting down the days until its highly-anticipated contestants were unveiled. The ITV and ITVX reality show will return on January 16, 2023, or ‘Blue Monday’, which also happens to hold the title of the most depressing date in the year. The hope is that, by airing its premiere on such a gloomy day, viewers at home will get that much-needed dose of sunshine they’ve been craving. And now that it has been several months since the Love Island 2022 final (opens in new tab)we’re long overdue new episodes of the paradisal reality show.
Last June, ITV confirmed that the cast for Winter Love Island 2023 would head to Cape Town, South Africa, where temperatures average around 25°C in January. TV presenter Maya Jama (opens in new tab), who succeeds Laura Whitmore as the new host, has already landed in the gorgeous nation ahead of the series launch after revealing to the times that she accepted the life-changing job offer “straight away.” The 28-year-old will be joined at the luxurious villa by the Winter Love Island 2023 contestants, whose identities have finally been revealed after weeks of speculation and frenzy. So without further ado, here’s everything you need to know about this year’s lineup.
Winter Love Island 2023 cast: Meet the islanders
Tanya Manhenga
(Image credit: ITV)
The first Winter Love Island 2023 star on our list is Tanya Manhenga, a biomedical science student and influencer from Liverpool. This 22-year-old singleton, who currently has 13k Instagram followers, is on the hunt for a boyfriend and hopes that “being in a villa with lots of different people will help me work out who it is I may want.”
Manhenga also has Vitiligo, a condition that causes white patches to develop on the skin as a result of a lack of melanin.
“It’s on my lip and I have a stripe on my hair,” she revealed. “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.”
Follow Tanya on Instagram here (opens in new tab).
Kai Fagan
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Kai Fagan is next on our line-up of Winter Love Island 2023, and by the sounds of it, he’s about to bring a competitive edge to the upcoming series.
Aged 24, this science and PE teacher plays semi-professional rugby for Burnage RFC and has previously played for rugby 7s for Jamaica. Fagan, who is a Jamaican citizen, also seems pretty sure about what he wants in a partner, revealing he’s “single by choice” and has “high expectations.”
“I don’t feel I should commit to someone unless I’m absolutely buzzing over them, because it’s not fair on them,” he revealed.
Follow Fagan on Instagram here (opens in new tab).
Lana Jenkins
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Lana Jenkins, 25, hails from Luton and works as a makeup artist. No stranger to the entertainment industry, she’s already beautified “lots of celebrities” and even appeared as an extra on the British sitcom Benidorm whilst living in Spain as a child.
Jenkins has also revealed she tends to fall in love “quickly” and, if her feelings are real, will even inform the person she loves them within a week. As for her turn-offs, she hates receiving question marks as text messages if she hasn’t replied for a while. “That’s a really big red flag for me!” she admitted. “So if I see a guy trip over, that’s an instant turn off.”
Follow Lana on Instagram here (opens in new tab).
Ron Hall
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Financial adviser Ron Hall originates from Essex and promises to bring “fun and charisma” to the South African villa.
“I just want to be naturally myself in there, have good times and make memories. I think people will enjoy my company,” the 25-year-old said. Hall is also blind in one eye after suffering a football injury at the age of 8, but insists the experience has only “added” to his character.
“There are so many people that are worse off than me,” he said. “And if anything, losing something like that makes you realize that. It’s not prevented me in any shape or form. It’s a good conversation starter I must admit.”
Follow Ron Hall on Instagram here.
Anna May Robey
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At 20, Welsh Anna-May Robey already knows what she wants from Winter Love Island 2023: a relationship.
“I want a boyfriend, I want to find someone who makes me laugh,” the payroll administrator from Swansea said. “I’ve been single for quite a while, my mother is bugging me, she’s like, ‘You need to find a boyfriend.’ I’m just excited to try something new and I think going on Love Island is a good way to meet someone.”
A self-described “chatterbox”, Robey says she’s “always running around singing and screaming” at home and can sometimes even irritate her family with her “energetic” personality.
“My parents are always like, ‘Shut up!’ I work from home all day so I don’t really speak to people in person for two or three days a week, so when my father comes home, he’ll want to sit down and chill out, and I’m there chewing his ears off!” she confessed.
Follow Anna May Robey on Instagram here (opens in new tab).
Will Young
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Farmer Will Young, 23, hopes that Winter Love Island 2023 will give him the opportunity to focus on falling in love after struggling to balance his romantic and work life.
“Having grown up on a farm, it’s been quite difficult juggling relationships and work. Love Island will give me time away from the farm to solely go out and find love,” the Buckinghamshire native said. “I think I’m at the time of my life where I’m mature enough to go and find a wife.”
Young also meditates every night for 20 to 25 minutes, having been introduced to the practice by a girl he once dated.
“It’s a nice way to self-reflect, taking a minute on my day/ week. It’s really nice and sets me up for a nice sleep,” he said.
Follow Will Young on Instagram here.
Tanyel Revan
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Tanyel Revan, a hairstylist from North London, has vowed to bring “energy” and “confidence” to the villa in South Africa.
“I’m funny, loud, feisty, charismatic,” the 26-year-old said, before adding, “I’m also a very loyal person, what is there not to love?”
Revan’s celebrity crush is Channing Tatum, whom she describes as “handsome but not too pretty.”
“He’s manly and he can dance,” she added. “If a man can dance I’m in love with him straight away.”
Follow Tanyel Revan on Instagram here (opens in new tab).
Shaq Muhammad
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Londoner Shaq Muhammad hopes to meet his “future wife” at the villa, having not had the “best luck with previous relationships.” The 24-year-old, who currently works as an airport security officer, also describes himself as “a very emotional person”.
“I’m the type of person that wears my heart on my sleeve. If I find someone I click with, I fall very hard, very fast,” he explained.
Muhammad also revealed that he’s brought to tears every time he watches his favorite film, Dear John.
“Any time I’m with someone and they say, ‘Let’s watch a romantic film’, I’m like, ‘How about Dear John, how does that sound?'” he said.
Follow Shaq Muhammad on Instagram here (opens in new tab).
Olivia Hawkins
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Hailing from Brighton, Olivia Hawkins is 27 and says she’s now “really ready to settle down” despite never having been in a relationship before. The ring girl and actor, who once played a waitress in a James Bond film, says she’ll bring “fun”, “vibes” and “maybe a little bit of drama” to the Winter Love Island 2023 villa.
Follow Olivia Hawkins on Instagram here (opens in new tab).
Haris Namani
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Haris Namani, 21, hopes that Winter Love Island 2023 will help him “find the right one”, having struggled to find love in the past. The TV salesman from Doncaster describes himself as “different” and “unique”, adding that he’s “not awkward, especially with the girls.”
“Anyone who meets me, I don’t think they have anything bad to say about me. I don’t give them that bad impression to say, ‘Oh, I don’t want to speak to him again,'” Namani said . He also said that he’s “never taken a girl home” and would only say he’s fallen in love if his partner had met his family.
Follow Haris Namani on Instagram here (opens in new tab).
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