Love Island’s Sophie Piper On Periods, Plastic Surgery And Her Famous Sister

Whether you're choosing to watch Love Island or simply absorbing it via osmosis, you probably know the life cycle of an Islander by now. After being booted out of the villa they emerge, reincarnated as celebrities with huge social media followings, ready to make the most of their new fame. Last week, it was Sophie Piper’s turn.

‘I was on 10k [Instagram followers] before and now it’s 500k,’ she laughs. ‘It started creeping up when people thought I might be going in the villa... On Instagram, that is probably the biggest thing, where you’re getting follow after follow,’ she says. The 21-year-old, who lives in Essex,is now as notable for her trademark scream-laugh as she is for her famous sister, television presenter Rochelle Humes. ‘She watched the show and she enjoyed it; she’s always supporting me,’ Sophie adds.

Her sister’s approval is one thing, but leaving the villa must be daunting, if only to find out whether or not the public warmed to you. Sophie needn’t have worried, but concern grew online about the way her love interest, Connor Durman, was treating her. ‘I have heard that people thought he was being controlling,’ she says. ‘Honestly, you see such a small part of what goes on in there; he was nothing but nice to me. He wasn’t controlling at all. I feel sorry for him that he got painted in that light.’

With viewers seeing a heavily edited fraction of what goes on, many wonder how staged the show is. Do rows and relationships develop organically, or are they nudged towards people and told what to discuss?

‘A bit of both, but it’s not massively staged,’ she says. ‘[Producers] might suggest, “Why don’t you speak about this and that?” A lot of stuff happened naturally. People think it’s more staged than it actually is.’

Her relationship with Connor had its moments but seemed to strengthen over the weeks. She found it ‘weird’ seeing him again after they reunited back in the real world, but says she missed him and wants to see how things go. ‘It would be nice if he took me out for a couple of dates and we’ll see where things go from there... Everyone takes the mickey out of his teeth but I like them,’ she adds of his dazzlingly white teeth, which he revealed he had ‘done’ in Thailand.

He’s not the only one who has had work done; a lot of the Islanders have had ‘tweakments’ like Botox or lip filler, to the extent that the ‘Love Island face’ has become a lucrative cosmetic trend. Earlier this month, doctors told Grazia it’s now more desirable to look like an Islander than an A-lister. What does she think about that?

‘It’s your own body, you can do what you want to,’ she says. ‘I wouldn’t have surgery myself; I don’t want it. I’ve got such a low pain tolerance as well; I’d be squirming around.’ Surgery or not, for many people being in a bikini on TV is their idea of hell. ‘You’ve got to be body confident,’ Sophie says. ‘A few gym classes can’t hurt either.’

On top of this, there’s the issue of navigating periods while wearing swimwear to consider. ‘It’s not a biggie,’ Sophie insists. ‘Some people are more uncomfortable at that time, but it’s just one of the things you deal with. People still wear bikinis,’ she says.

If Sophie had to pick a winner it would be ‘my boy’ Nas or Callum and Shaughna (although that seems pretty unlikely now). She can’t say who she hopes to see booted out next, instead giving an answer so diplomatic it defies the rules of the game. ‘I hope they all stay in as long as possible.’

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