Even by his own standards, Love Island's Alex Bowen is a busy man. As well as being as a fitness influencer, running coaching platform Pure 45 and working out to keep that six-pack in shape, he’s got his hands full with three-year-old son Abel, and making sure wife Olivia gets plenty of rest ahead of their latest arrival, a baby girl, this summer.
We sat down to chat with him about having the most important job in the world…
Do you love being a dad?
I didn’t know my dad growing up, it was always just kind of me and my mum. So, being a parent was always something that I wanted to be, just so I could be the best dad ever. And then when I had my son – it really is the best job in the world. And now I’ve got a little girl on the way, so that’s amazing. Yeah, I’m super-excited – it’s going to be a different dynamic as well.
Will you be doing her hair before school? Can you do a plait?
Probably not. But you know what? I’m gonna bring this up with Olivia, and I’ll probably practise on her first. I feel like I will struggle.
Are you up for doing girly things?
I will let my daughter do my nails, I’ll let her dress me up, I’ll do whatever. Me and my son, we kind of play fight with each other all the time. Now, I know it’s going to be different with a little girl. So, yeah, whatever she wants to do, I’m there. If she wants me to go out the house dressed in something silly, I’ll go out the house dressed in something silly.
Matching Elsa costumes?
I mean, I’m not so sure about that, but maybe give it a couple of years!
How do you think becoming a dad has changed you?
I feel like it’s taught me a lot more about patience. I’m an only child, so I kind of probably had a bit of a selfish streak in me. And I think, since having Abel and being married to Liv, it’s not all about me any more. Obviously, a lot of my work is done through my phone and stuff, so I’m trying to really make a conscious effort with only being on it at certain times, not when he’s around me. Because me and Liv, I think we only want two kids. Well, I’m not too sure yet, but I think two and I’m done, so I want to enjoy that time when they’re young while we can.
Who’s Abel most similar to?
If you saw me and Liv having a little bicker or something, Liv will probably bring out all these big words that I don’t really understand, so she’ll win the argument. And I feel like Abel is going to be that way, as well. Some of the sarcastic stuff that he says to me, I’m like, ‘I’ve got another little Liv running round!’ But I think he’s got a bit of me in there, as well. He likes having fun – he likes being silly.
Who do you think is going to be helping them with their homework?
Oh, definitely Liv. It’s so funny, the other night, because I hadn’t read a book in ages, I was reading Abel a bedtime story, and I’m struggling to read some of it. I was messing up the words, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, I’ve not read in a while.’ God knows, when he’s going to bring his English work back, or his math sums, and I’m going to be Googling the answers on my phone.
What kind of man would you like Abel to be?
I just want him to be very polite. I want him to hold the door for people – women, men, older people – anyone. I just want him to be a nice, kind person. I feel like that’s what makes a man, to be honest. And I want my son to have a lot of resilience. To me, the world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. I mean, you’re not always going to win the trophy. Like, now you get trophies for coming fifth and sixth. That’s kind of all right, I suppose, but when they get a little bit older, you’ve got to realise that you don’t always win.
Do you have any habits some people would label ‘girly’?
I use a brand of men’s make-up. Sometimes – say if I’ve got a few spots, or blemishes – I’ll use that to cover them up. And that could be looked at as unmanly, or whatever. But I feel like that doesn’t really matter.
Are there any male celebrities who you think are doing a really good job in terms of being modern men, or embracing their feminine side?
I like Sam Thompson. He talks about some of the stuff he’s gone through, and he’s such a nice person. Pete Wicks is doing an amazing job on his Man Made podcast, too. I did a podcast the other day called Tom’s Talks, and it’s like a mental health podcast. Tom lost his brother to suicide. We had a chat about it. He does talks onstage to kids, and I think that’s amazing.
Would you ever get Sam and Pete to babysit?
No, to be honest, absolutely not. I feel like Pete babysits Sam all the time. So, I think Pete already has his hands full.
You're working with the Samaritans to support men’s mental health. Can you tell us why?
I lost my best friend a few years back, and we never saw it coming. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to go through. And it took one of my best friends to die for me to use my platform to do something good with it, and promote that men can talk. Within my friendship group, as well, I think that we do check in with each other a lot more now.
I feel like there’s always been a stigma around men, like being upset and crying and whatever, and showing it as weakness. But I mean, to me, crying is just weakness leaving the body. Do you know what I mean? I feel like you need to do that sometimes, that’s just a part of life and being a man and human. I feel like men should just open up and talk more, and I’ll try to say that as much as I can. Even if it helps one person – that’s enough for me.