Love Island 2018 star Niall Aslam (remember him?) was in the villa for a measly nine days, but he sure made a MASSIVE impact in that week and a bit; mainly on our dreams, because, well, just look at him...
Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and our Chris Taylor wrapped up into one.
Niall’s shock exit from the villa took place just over a week after the 2018 series launched. It was claimed at the time that he quit for “personal reasons”, with Niall later opening up about his Asperger’s syndrome.
After a recent hair transformation, Niall looks almost unrecognisable from his time on the show; growing his beard and hair and opting for some blonde highlights.
And NOW – honestly, just as we were starting to get used to this Jason-Mamoa-esque look – he throws an unholy throwback at us by rebooting his OG Love Island look; opting for a shorter, natural cut, accompanied with a softer beard.
Niall revealed his latest hair transformation with an Instagram Reel, accompanied with the caption, "New look 💇💇💇". Well, old look; but strong all the same.
And, yes, those are his eyes looking into your soul rn.
These Love Island hunks are really keeping us on our toes at the moment. Just last week we reported that Love Island 2019's Greg O'Shea was now sporting a jaw-dropping "silver fox' look and, honestly, we're still trying to lift it off the floor.
Who is Love Island's Niall Aslam?
Before entering the Love Island bubble, Niall was a student and construction worker by day, "The thing that makes me stand out is not my big muscles but my chat. I’m unique and different. My chat is up there!"
Fast forward four years and Niall is an Ambassador for the National Autistic Society and his Instagram bio states that he is the 'Love Island one that got away'.
How old is Niall Aslam?
Niall is 27 years old. He was just 23 when he was on Love Island, which is still about 37 by Love island standards.
Why did Niall Aslam leave Love Island?
Niall quit the show due to "personal reasons". In 2021 he penned a heartfelt post revealing he battled stress-induced psychosis after leaving the villa. He told his followers that he lost touch of reality and began hallucinating due to stress-induced psychosis, which meant he was prescribed heavy medication. Following his exit, he spent two weeks in a psychiatric hospital.
He said, “Essentially what it is, you get so overwhelmed that you lose touch with reality. You kind of hallucinate, you don’t know what’s going on, you’re not fully aware of your surroundings, you’re not safe, you need other people to look after you.
“It takes quite a lot of time to come down from that, but when you come down from it you really come down, you go into a really deep depression. I was at the hospital for two weeks but in my head I wasn’t fully aware of what was going on, I thought it was because of my Asperger’s.”
In 2018, he told fans that he planned to write a book about his experience and spoke about the reason why he's been unable to appear on live television and interact with his fans.
Alongside a picture of himself looking into the distance on Instagram, Niall opened up about how being in the public eye has affected everyday life.
He wrote, "As you all know around two months ago I shared with you my reasons for leaving Love Island and the struggles of day to day life living with Asperger’s syndrome.
"Since leaving the Villa life I have had to confront other mental health concerns including anxiety which has left me unable to appear on live television and to see my fans."
Check out what all of the 2018 Love Island stars are up to now:
Love Island series 4 - where are they now? - Slider
1 of 35Swipe through to see what the Love Island 2018 cast are up to now:
2 of 35Jack Fincham
Pen salesman Jack Fincham won the show in 2018 alongside Dani Dyer, the pair coupled up together in the first show and the rest was history.
3 of 35Jack Fincham
After leaving the villa, Jack landed himself a TV show alongside Dani Dyer, appeared on the Celebrity version of Gogglebox and even hosted the NTA red carpet with Dani. After the pair split up in April 2019, Jack has gone on to be involved in a number of sponsorship deals, as well as attending various events. He also recently appeared on The All New Full Monty.
4 of 35Dani Dyer
Despite already having some fame (due to her famous dad, Danny Dyer) before entering the villa, Love Island certainly catapulted Dani into the limelight when she won the show with Jack Fincham.
5 of 35Dani Dyer
After leaving the villa, Dani was in demand, landing her own clothing brand with In The Style, appearing on more or less EVERY TV show, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for Red Nose Day, and releasing her own book. Following her split from Jack, Dani was accused of 'cheating' with her ex-boyfriend Sammy Kimmence, after snaps of them kissing emerged. However, the Love Island winner totally denied the rumours.
6 of 35Laura Anderson
Despite her turbulent time in the Love Island villa, Scottish beauty Laura Anderson finished in second place with hunky model Paul Knops.
7 of 35Laura Anderson
Despite her relationship with Paul not lasting, Laura has kept herself busy and she recently launched her own fitness and lifestyle website called So-LA. Oh, and her Instagram is also filled with clothing deals from various brands.
8 of 35Paul Knops
He was VERY popular with the ladies when he was a late arrival into the villa (probably due to fact he'd appeared in Britney Spears video), but it was Laura Anderson who he coupled up with finishing in second place.
9 of 35Paul Knopps
After splitting with Laura just weeks after leaving the villa, Paul has continued to work as a model, showing off his good looks on his Instagram page. We wonder if he features in any more of Britney Spears' music videos?
10 of 35Kaz Crossley
After coupling up with Josh Denzel on the show, Kaz made it all the way to the final, with many fans wanting the couple to win ahead of Jack and Dani.
11 of 35Kaz Crossley
Following her split from Josh, Kaz is well and truly living her best life, touring the world on modelling and clothing shoots. Just check out her Instagram to make yourself VERY jealous of her lifestyle. In April 2019 it was announced she's dating Love Island star Theo Campbell!
12 of 35Megan Barton-Hanson
Despite being very unpopular when she first entered the Love Island villa, Megan was able to turn public perception around, leaving as one of the favourites alongside Wes Nelson.
13 of 35Megan Barton-Hanson
She's now a single lady after splitting from Wes, and released one of the best break-up statements of the decade.Megan is now a brand ambassador for Pretty Little Thing, and most recently she took part in ITV's The All New Full Monty.
14 of 35Wes Nelson
It took him a while to settle during his time in the villa, but he eventually seemed smitten when he coupled up with Megan Barton-Hanson, with the pair making it to the final.
15 of 35Wes Nelson
Wes was in demand when he left the Love Island villa, landing a spot on Dancing On Ice in January 2019. Despite impressing with his moves (and being linked to his partner Vanessa Bauer following his split from Megan), the star finished in second place.Wes is now living life to the full as a single man, landing clothing deals, attending events and being flown around the world to promote different brands.
16 of 35Dr Alex George
Aww, Dr Alex! He stole the nation's hearts when he tried and continued to be pied in the villa, ending in him leaving the show as 'friends' with Alexandra Cane.
17 of 35Dr Alex George
Despite this, Dr Alex certainly had the last laugh! After appearing on shows like Lorraine and This Morning to give medical advice, Dr Alex returned to his job at a hospital, saving lives every day!Much to our delight, he's also super loved-up with his girlfriend Amelia Bath.
18 of 35Jack Fowler
Despite leaving the villa with surfer girl Laura Crane, things fizzled out very quickly when they returned to the real world.
19 of 35Jack Fowler
Jack appeared on Celebs Go Dating earlier in 2019, and despite fans loving his date Kate, nothing materialised between the two. Most recently, Jack has been on holiday to America with his Love Island pals, and he often models for BooHooMAN.
20 of 35Georgia Steel
She was like Marmite on the show, and eventually left the villa with Sam Bird, before their very sour split just months after the show ended.
21 of 35Georgia Steel
After her sour split from Sam Bird, Georgia signed up to Celebs Go Dating (on the same series as Jack Fowler). Despite taking a very handsome man to the final show in Tenerife, nothing seemed to happen after the show. She's now modelling and is involved in a ton of endorsement deals on her Instagram page.
22 of 35Charlie Brake
Millionaire Charlie Brake swept Geordie girl Elilie Brown off her feet during his time in the villa, with the pair enjoying a number of luxurious holidays in the months following.
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23 of 35Charlie Brake
Just months later, Charlie was accused of 'cheating' on Ellie, and he's since been linked to former TOWIE star Ferne McCann and Dan Edgar's ex-girlfriend Amber Davies.In other news, he's still a millionaire.
24 of 35Ellie Brown
Following her heartbreak after her romance with Charlie ended, Ellie found comfort in her Love Island besties, including the likes of Zara McDermott, Adam Collard and Kaz Crossley.
25 of 35Ellie Brown
She's now involved in a number of endorsements on her Instagram page, as well as attending events with her co-stars.
26 of 35Samira Mighty
It took her a few weeks, but eventually Samira Mighty seemed to find happiness with late arrival Frankie Foster, with Samira leaving the villa after her man was dumped from the show.
27 of 35Samira Mighty
Despite this, just weeks later, Samira dumped Frankie after he was caught cheating on her.Now, Samira is still best friends with a number of her co-stars including Adam Collard and Dani Dyer, and she often posts super sizzling snaps of herself modelling on her Instagram page.
28 of 35Adam Collard
He was the heartbreak kid at the beginning of the series, gaining the 'player' title, but the public's view of Geordie boy Adam Collard soon changed when he turned smitten with Zara McDermott.
29 of 35Adam Collard
Although they lasted nearly a year, Adam and Zara announced they'd split on Valentine's Day (brutal). The PT has been linked to a number of other woman since, including Harley Brash and Delilah Belle Hamlin, but he appears to be single right now. Adam is keeping himself busy on modelling shoots at stunning destinations across the world, as well as promotional deals and his PT business.
30 of 35Zara McDermott
She was the one girl who seemed to 'tame' Adam when she arrived in the villa, and despite leaving before her beau, Adam and Zara reunited when he left.
31 of 35Zara McDermott
Zara is very active on her Instagram page, landing clothing deals with the likes of Missy Empire, AX Paris and Lasula.
32 of 35Eyal Booker
Despite having one of the best haircuts to ever grace the Love Island villa, poor old Eyal left the show without finding love.
33 of 35Eyal Booker
Don't feel too sorry for him though, as well as THAT snog with Kendall Rae-Knight at the Love Island Christmas reunion, Eyal appeared on Celebs Go Dating and he's now dating American model Delilah Belle Hamlin. Work-wise, Eyal continues to use his handsome face and unreal physique to his advantage, picking up modelling deals left, right and center.
34 of 35Rosie Williams
Poor old Rosie Williams had her little heart broken by Adam Collard in the villa, resulting in her being dumped from the show far too early.
35 of 35Rosie Williams
Rosie recently revealed to fans she'd been editing her photos 'too much' after Love Island left her feeling 'rubbish'. However, the former Islander later told fans how she's been working with her family and friends to come up with ideas of how to recreate her Instagram, to bring back the 'sassy' Rosie her fans know.
What does Niall Aslam do now?
Niall is a huge advocate for mental health and regularly opens up about living with Asperger's and Autism.
After his exit from the show, Niall revealed he suffered from depression and that he had to be regularly checked on, explaining, "I was on so much medication getting loads of side-effects, that's why I didn't really do any interviews as I was getting really slurred speech from the medication."
"Then I had to come off the medication, I was on Xanax, really really strong stuff. I just "cold turkey-ed" it, that was horrible. It was a really upside down time for me. I think it took quite a long time for me to recover fully from it because of the Love Island situation. I was trying to get back to reality and my reality was different. I was really struggling... I was all over the place, I was depressed, I was avoiding things," he said.
Niall wrote in the caption that he shared the video hoping it would help others, "Through talking to people I've realised it's better to speak out as there are people experiencing similar situations and [they] might not want to talk about it either due to similar reasons.
"I’d hope what people get from watching this short video is that people can be very good at masking what they might be going through and just checking up on people can really help."
Where's Niall from?
Niall's from Coventry.
What's Niall's relationship history, then?
He coupled up with Kendall-Rae Knight during Love Island, although things fizzled out when he left the villa and Niall's kept his love life pretty private since.
Prior to entering Love Island, he said, "I was with my ex-girlfriend for just over three years from the age of 17 to 20. She would probably say that I’m immature and a bit of an attention seeker - and she wouldn’t be wrong. I do feel sorry for my ex because this is her favourite programme.
"Then I was seeing someone for about six months then she mugged me off. She went abroad and we said when she got back we’d get in a relationship. Then I got a WhatsApp from her saying it wasn’t really working, then she went Facebook official with a guy out there. Mad."
How can I follow Niall Aslam on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat?
Niall doesn't have Snapchat (boo), but his Instagram and Twitter handle's @niallaslam.