Who knew that throwing a bunch of influencers into a house with no access to social media, 24/7 surveillance, and £1million up for grabs, would be so gripping? Full of familiar faces, such as Mandi Vakili and Love Island darling Whitney Adebayo, the hot new series sees 10 contestants living in a shared house for seven days and taking part in laugh-out-loud challenges, in hopes of winning £1million.
Sounds easy but what’s the catch? Well, the ‘Insiders’ start with basic living – think beans and rice for dinner – and must buy necessities and luxuries from the in-house shop which charges sky-high prices, which is then deducted from the £1million prize fund.
YouTube's Sidemen are the masterminds behind the reality show which launched last summer on their platform Side+. The series drew in over a million views, piquing the interest of streaming giant Netflix, which partnered with the group to release the second season of Inside exclusively on their international platform.
It's obvious that the world misses Celebrity Big Brother as the show has been a huge hit for Netflix, becoming the second-most watched show during its release week.
The player giving main character has got to be Mandi Vakili, whose blunt one liners and willingness to splash the cash has rubbed her fellow stars and some viewers up the wrong way. Here’s everything you need to know about Mandi…
Who is Mandi Vakili?
Mandi is a Persian and Iranian Instagram model, social media influencer and co-host of podcast, Sisters in the City alonside her sister Anna Vakili. Inspired by their shared love of Sex in the City, the sisters launched the podcast in 2022 to share their unique experiences as 21st century middle eastern women living in the city.
Mandi first became known when her sister starred on Love Island in 2019. Now, Mandi is stepping out of her sister’s shadow and is hoping she’ll be known for her own star power, after appearing on Netflix series Inside.
Fun fact, Mandi’s real name is Mandana – it means everlasting in Persian. She revealed on her Instagram that she was relentlessly bullied and mocked for her name as kids could not pronounce it. While she regrets succumbing to the bullies, Mandi ‘can’t imagine being called anything else.’
What does Mandi do?
The 33-year-old content creator has racked up 371K followers on Instagram and 150K on TikTok - a significant growth since becoming a Netflix star. Mandi regularly posts fashion and lifestyle content on Instagram and TikTok as well as funny podcast clips. The influencer is a Fashion Nova ambassador and loves sharing get-ready-with-me videos to highlight her gorgeous style. Not only that, but Mandi can also be found here, there and everywhere as she is often seen travelling to exotic countries such as Dubai and more recently, the Maldives.
What happened when Mandi was on Inside?
Mandi entered the Inside house as the oldest female contestant on season 2. She quickly struck up a friendship with Whitney Adebayo and Mya Mills, forming an iconic trio and providing us with many memorable moments. Mandi was a big spender, often to the dismay of her fellow Insiders. When the shop opened, her first question was, 'Where’s the vodka? I want a bottle of Belvedere!' – it was only one hour into their seven-day lockdown.
Mandi also bought the £2.5k golden straw that fascinated viewers since season one. What is it? you ask. Well, it’s exactly what it says on the tin – a golden drinking straw – definitely not worth the extreme mark up. Explaining her spenny purchase, she laughed, ‘I thought maybe it’d be more than just a standard golden straw. My imagination was taking me places, you know. I’ve been here for a whole day and I started thinking is it so big that we can walk through like a tunnel?’
Who could forget when she was asked to share the story of her first kiss, which happened in a shisha café mind you, while worms were sprinkled over her hands and two chickens pecked at her. She screamed, ‘You guys have done me dirty bro!’ Then she was quizzed on what was more important to her – money or loyalty – she hilariously spat out ‘money! money! money!’ without a second thought. This had the Sidemen hosts bowled over in laughter and us too.
Despite being a fan favourite, her reckless spending of over £36k lead to her elimination on episode three by PK Humble and footballer Patrice Evra. She was up against Milli Jo Mcloughlin and Farah Shams, but the pair chose Mandi because it was harder to control her spending habits. Their decision rocked the Insiders as they couldn’t believe Mandi would be leaving the show so early. The social media influencer was devastated, saying, ‘Honestly, I’m really upset. I feel like you can’t trust anyone. I thought there was no way Patrice and PK would vote me out’.
As she was leaving, fellow contestant, Cinna Brit, told her ‘You were good energy the whole show, I hope you know that’ and not one lie was told. She walked into the Inside house on a mission carve a name for herself and have Anna Vakili ‘be known for being Mandi Vakili’s sister from Sidemen Inside’. After spending £5k on a fluffy pillow and £1k on a plastic club cup of Prosecco – we’d say, mission complete.
Who is Mandi's sister?
If you’re stuck on why Mandi’s name rings a bell, it’s because her sister Anna Vakili was an OG cast member on Series 5 and made a name for herself because of her unapologetic personality. The pharmacist coupled up with model Jordan Hames and eventually the pair went villa official as boyfriend and girlfriend.
Then the unthinkable and unforgettable happened – Jordan tried to crack on with India Reynolds only 48 hours after asking Anna to be his girlfriend. Who could forget Storm Anna raging over to the pair to scream, ‘You asked me to be your girlfriend so you could get through to the final because you are a game player!’ Iconic - everyone remembers Anna but who’s Jordan again? Mandi, who looked after her sister’s socials while she was in the villa, went viral when she gave Jordan a dressing-down on her Instagram stories, calling him a ‘Shrek lookalike’ – ouch!
Anna and Mandi Vakili were thrown into the world of influencing after the series ended. ‘I became popular without having to go on the show. How lucky am I?’, she laughed on her podcast’s pilot episode. The pair are very protective of each other and extremely close with the longest time spent apart, with zero communication, was when Anna lived in the villa for two months. In 2020, Mandi posted a tribute to their ‘rare bond’ sharing that they have been ‘inseparable since birth’.
On her podcast, Mandi detailed just how much their lives are intertwined. ‘We share everything – we went to the same school, same university, we’ve got the same friends, we share clothes and money.’ The sister’s even have one bank account between them. Safe to say the only things the girls do not share are men and shoes.
Who is Mandi's boyfriend?
Mandi prides herself on being open and honest about her personal life including dishing the dirt on her relationship regularly on her podcast. Despite this, she has kept her boyfriend’s identity a secret, only ever showing fans a glimpse of his face on her Instagram and TikTok. We also are unaware of his name as Mandi only affectionately refers to him as ‘Gingerbeard’ on the podcast. Some may call it a soft launch, but Mandi and her boyfriend have been together for almost four years. More like a medium launch then.
All we know about Mandi Vakili's boyfriend is that he is Greek-Cypriot with light hair, a frequent sun bed user, and we can assume he has a ginger beard based on his nickname. Mandi described him as a little socially awkward, ‘I kind of like that he is reserved and closed off, but he is open with me.’
Mandi often details the difficulties in her relationship with Gingerbeard and she recently cried on an episode where she shared that he was reluctant to propose to her. ‘I do believe he loves me, but his lifestyle, mannerisms and behaviour are quite childish. I feel like I’m a lot more mature. He’s so scared of losing me that I think he’d do it, and I don’t like how that feels for me. That’s not a nice feeling’.
Did Mandi go to university?
Before finding fame, Mandi worked in Boots prior to moving to Harvey Nichols as a professional makeup artist for NARS Cosmetics. There is more than meets the eye with Mandi as she graduated with a law degree from Kingston University in 2014. Ultimately, the beauty decided to pursue her passion for make-up instead.
On her podcast, she spoke about the pressure from her Iranian parents to be a woman in STEM despite her desire for a more creative career path. ‘We had to be a doctor, a lawyer, or surgeon or a pharmacist – there was no ‘pursue your dreams’. It was like no, if you’re not one of these things then you’re just a failure in life.’ Despite this, Mandi and her sister used their respective degrees as a bargaining chip to persuade their parents to let them decide their adult careers beyond their academic accolades. Mandi is hoping her degree will be used as a back-up option should Netflix and Instagram fame not last in the future.
Has Mandi had surgery?
The 33-year-old has spoken candidly about the cosmetic procedures she has undergone in her pursuit of perfection. Her surgeries started when she was 25 and include BBLs, breast lifts and implants, Botox, fillers and veneers. Despite the corrective surgeries, Mandi is still unhappy with how she looks and claims she has ‘ruined’ herself.
Opening up on her podcast, Mandi shared, ‘I have actually destroyed myself to the point where now I can't even walk around in a bikini without thinking everyone around me is looking at these massive, sticking out, keloid scars.’ She added, ‘someone said to me at the very beginning: 'The more surgery you get, the more surgery you get. Why? Because the more surgery you get, the more you're going to need to fix and undo all the previous surgeries. Oh my god if I could just only turn back time.’
Mandi, breaking down in tears, advised women against elective surgeries after experiencing ‘nightmare’ side effects and recoveries. Her ‘cheap’ £4k BBL in Turkey left her screaming, shaking and vomiting in a hellish ordeal. She even accuses her second surgeon in Spain, who she paid to boost her underwhelming Brazilian bum lift, of ruining her life. ‘He was the best BBL surgeon, and he destroyed me,’ she cried.
She goes on to reveal that her Instagram pictures might look perfect, but that it’s all ‘lighting, poses and angles’. Mandi warned viewers to be careful when thinking of undergoing cosmetic procedures. ‘If there’s any young girls watching this, really, really think hard before you go for surgery. Is it something you really, really, really need?’