As someone who’s written about Love Island for over five years and been a fan of the show for even longer, I always look forward to the first week of June when ITV bigwigs finally reveal the identities of the first 12 Islanders just before they’re let loose in the villa.
I’m usually lucky enough to get to speak to some of the contestants while they’re in the holding villa on Zoom, alongside a selection of other journalists ready to grill them on everything from their dating history to what they’re looking for in the villa and whether they’d have sex on TV.
This year, I got to interview all six OG Love Island 2025 boys – Harry Cooksley, Ben Holbrough, Blu Chegini, Dejon Noel-Williams, Tommy Bradley and Conor Phillips – and I have to admit, producers have casted a GOOD bunch of boys this year. The male Islanders can sometimes be a bit… questionable, compared to the girls but this year’s lads all seem like genuinely nice guys – and let’s face it, they’re pretty easy on the eyes too.
Here are my first impressions…
Harry Cooksley
Harry's already hit the headlines after a girl he was seeing before the villa claimed he dumped her to go on Love Island, however he's insisted that wasn't the case. At 30 years old, Harry is the oldest boy this year and he says he's ready to settle down and find The One but he's not going to be short of attention from the girls and I reckon he will lap it up, so he could turn out to be a bit of a player. He seems like he's got good intentions though and he did say his mum is his 'everything', which earns him some brownie points.
Ben Holbrough
He's only 23 years old, but Ben is definitely very confident and sure of himself. That's not a bad thing, of course, and I think the girls will love his confidence and cheeky banter. As a taxi driver, Ben is clearly used to talking to new people and he's got the gift of the gab. I can see him forming good connections pretty early on, but he did admit that he might be tempted to stray in Casa Amor if he makes it that far...
Blu Chegini
Blu seems like the kind of man who knows what he wants and I don't think he'll be afraid to step on some toes to get it. He was in a long-term relationship up until a couple of years ago but ended things as 'she wasn't what he wanted'. It's been reported that some of the Islanders exes could pop up as bombshells, but Blu says that wouldn't faze him. His parents own a sex shop in Spain and he teased a naughty side, revealing that he's looking forward to getting in the Hideaway.
Dejon Noel-Williams
I'm just going to say it: Dejon was my favourite boy from the interviews. He's confident, but also cool, calm and collected and I think he's going to bring some harmony to the villa amongst all the chaos. The footballer and personal trainer has already won loads of fans thanks to his super cute relationship with his dad and I'm sure that he's only going to get more and more supporters as the series goes it. But it is Love Island and you can never be 100% sure if someone's going to move mad...
Tommy Bradley
Tommy genuinely seems like a really nice boy and he's another one that is going to have loads of support from viewers. If he finds himself in a good couple, he could end up in the final and even going all the way. I think he's also going to bring a lot of laughs to the villa, he's already spoken out about the extreme lengths he goes to to keep his hair looking perfect - including wearing a beanie hat in bed.
Conor Phillips
Conor comes across as an absolute charmer and he's going to have no shortage of admirers both inside and outside of the villa. He seems like a really nice guy and he's good pals with Love Island 2019 winner Greg O'Shea, which is a good sign (even though he did Amber Gill dirty). However, Conor did admit that he can be a 'sh-t stirrer' at times, which could rub his fellow Islanders up the wrong way.
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Nathan Katnoria is heat and Closer online’s senior digital writer. He became obsessed with Love Island when Malin Andersson came back to confront Terry Walsh in series two and hasn’t looked back since. When he’s not interviewing former Islanders, Nathan is scrolling through their Instagram feeds for relationship updates and piping hot tea.