‘Love Island’ season 2: Everything to know about the new cast
Love Island is back for its second season on CBS. The reality series will follow a new set of contestants as they search for love at The Cromwell Hotel in Las Vegas. COVID-19 has slowed production on the series, but producers have assured fans they are taking every precaution to protect themselves as well as the new cast members.
“We’ve really built on last year,” teased executive producer Jessica Castro. “We are taking all the good bits fans loved – the fun games and challenges, dramatic recouplings and epic dumpings – and adding more. More islanders, more challenges, more games, more dates.”
Here’s everything you need to know about the cast for Love Island season 2.
5 female contestants
There are five female contestants heading into Love Island 2. They range in age and profession, but each of them are looking for a partner to connect with and eventually start a family.
Kaitlynn Anderson is twenty-seven and hails from Michigan. She claims to have all the characteristics of a classic Gemini, and her favorite activities include “festivals, Pilates, cooking” and eating “bad food.” Anderson currently works in promotions.
Justine Ndiba is a billing coordinator who works part time as a go-go dancer. She was born in Rockaway, New Jersey, and asserts that her ideal partner is tall because she spends most of her day in high heels. Ndiba also values “respect” and “loyalty.”
Mackenzie Dipman is a college student who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. Her celebrity crush is Matthew McConaughey because he’s “a southern gentleman with a Texas accent.” Dipman cites the actor as the template for her dream man.
Moira Tumas is a shopping channel model from Brielle, New Jersey. She’s twenty-eight, and unable to choose between Paul Rudd and Liam Hemsworth for her celebrity crush.
Cely Vazquez is a Sacramento, California native who works as a legal secretary. She was the captain of her high school cheerleading team, and she’s looking for a partner who shares her passion for singing and playing guitar. Vazquez is also fluent in Spanish.
6 male contestants
There are six male contestants this season, which means that one of them could be out of luck when it comes to finding true love. These contestants include college students, sales executives, and a pair of eager personal trainers.
Johnny Middlebrooks is a college student currently living in Chesapeake, Virginia. He cites Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith as his relationship role models, and wants to find a partner who is communicative.
Tre Forte is a personal trainer hailing from Boca Raton, Florida. He’s a Sagittarius and his celebrity crush is Rihanna.
James McCool also works as a personal trainer. He’s based out of Winchester, Virginia and his ideal partner is someone who likes to laugh and doesn’t take life too seriously.
Carrington Rodriguez is a sales manager from Salt Lake City. He’s twenty-two and claims to have been out of the dating game for a long time. Rodriguez is eager to show his future partner that he’s “smart, genuine, nice, and sexy at the right times.”
Jeremiah White is a store sales associate living in De Kalb, Mississippi. He’s a self-professed “flirt” who’s eager to show off his southern hospitality to the right partner.
Connor Trott is an auditor hailing from Pittsburgh. He loves reading and singing karaoke, and he claims to have perfected his dance moves while in quarantine.
Twists and turns
Executive producer Ben Thursby-Palmer has teased lots of “twists and turns” for the upcoming season. “About halfway through, it will be revealed that there’s a second villa. There’ll be a bunch of new girls and new guys coming into the mix,” he said during the Watch With Us podcast.
“It’s sort of done to put temptation in the way,” Thursby-Palmer added. “You’ll have couples that are actually really happy together, and now, it’s like, will they survive this next episode in their journey? That’s what happens in real life!”
COVID-19 precautions
The priority for Love Island producers is the safety of the main cast members. It will be mandatory for all crew and staff to wear PPE and work in their own pods to maintain social distancing guidelines. There will also be routine cleaning and disinfecting of the sets used throughout the season.
Castro said that COVID-19 compliance officers will be on-hand to ensure health and safety protocols are being upheld. “The health and safety of everyone involved in Love Island is the highest priority,” Castro asserted. “We’ve done everything we can to make sure the islanders are safe and have the best summer of their lives and viewers can have a great summer living through them.”
Love Island season 2 air weeknights at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.
