Ex-Love Island Contestants Are ‘Offered Thousands’ For Sex With Private Clients

It's a well established fact that life after reality TV isn't always easy. For every Megan Barton Hanson, there are dozens of other contestants who don't find the love, wealth and status that they were dreaming of.

There are only so many BooHoo endorsement deals to go around, and going on Love Island creates a career break which might make re-entering the traditional work force difficult. Which is how, according to the Victoria Derbyshire programme, some contestants end up being offered money for sex.

Speaking to former contestant Tyne-Lexy Clarkson, the season three bombshell says she was once offered £50,000 for five nights in Dubai from an agency - the offer included a non-disclosure agreement that stated whatever she would be required to do would remain confidential.

'It's high-end prostitution,' she said. 'It's just scary to think if they've messaged me, they've probably sent it to thousands of pretty girls on Instagram. It's a lot of money for some people, it's life-changing amounts of money.'

Incidents of this were first reported by The Sun back in August 2019 when one celebrity agent reported a number of contestants have been offered money for sex.

'Celebrity agent Rob Cooper says that previous Love Island contestants are particularly vulnerable when their job offers dwindle, and are often offered between £4,000-£20,000 for sex,' The Sun wrote at the time.

While sex work is a legitimate profession like any other, there's a difference between making a choice to work in the sex industry and feeling that your only option in order to bring in enough cash to support yourself is to have sex with high net worth men who want you because you were on tele.

Women such as Lauren Goodger and Sophie Anderton have previously said they were offered large sums of money for sex. Sophie said that she she accepted one offer, and made £50,000 for five ‘sessions’ - a huge amount more than a non famous escort would earn.

Megan Barton Hanson has been open about previous escorting and sugar baby work.

Apparently men seeing women on television and then offering them money for sex - as if Love Islandis some kind of catalogue - has been on the rise over recent years.

'Between 2013 and 2018 there was a steady growth in the number of men reaching out to stars and propositioning celebrities' says Rob Cooper. 'But since the start of this year there has really been a dramatic increase in men wanting to hire celebrities for sex, he says. 'It's becoming more normal because fame is nothing like people imagine it to be.'

We know from the testimonies of previous reality TV stars that it can be a lonely experience, and also that it's often not as lucrative as expected, which could explain why these offers are accepted or considered instead of being dismissed outright.

Presumably, being a reality TV star is a numbers game - contestants only have until the next series of the show to establish themselves, otherwise they're forgotten. And while some contestants make big bucks from sponsored posts, not all of them do.

Zara McDermott told Grazia recently that she would charge a brand £100 to appear on her Instagram story. While that'sa . lot more than you or I could charge (try £0), you'd have to do a lot of stories to keep living the 'influencer lifestyle' expected by your followers.

As more and more reality TV is made, more and more 'stars' are pumped out, devaluing them. It's a classic case of over supply for a limited demade, and it makes being a reality tv veteran more and more difficult.

Much of the perks of being well known come as freebies rather than cash payments. Brands might be falling over themselves to send over clothes and make-up, but that doesn't pay the rent or keep the lights on.

Love Island and other reality TV producers have frequently come under attack for not safeguarding their contestants mental health after the shows finish.

Perhaps they should also be mindful of supporting their contestants through prudent financial planning, so that anyone who does enter into sex work is doing so by choice, not desperation.