NEED TO KNOW
- Season 8 of Love Island Australia premieres today, Monday, October 26, dropping at 10AM AEDT on 9Now before airing at 8.30PM on Channel 9.
- Sophie Monk returns as host, with this year’s Islanders taking over the Love Island USA villa in Fiji.
- There are 10 starting islanders, with 4 “bombshells” set to join them.
- An exclusive companion series, Love Island Australia: Unseen. Uncut., will also premiere on Stan on Monday, October 26, offering unfiltered footage of the Islanders in real time.
- Previous success stories (and fan favourites) from Love Island Australia will also be calling the shots inside the villa.
Love Island Australia Season 8 is coming in hot, with a slew of sexy singles ready to grace our screens in pursuit of love, lust and Instagram fame.
This year, Sophie Monk will reprise her hosting duties, while a handful of familiar faces will be calling the shots inside the villa. Dubbed the “Power Couples”, the returning alumni include Claudia and Austen (season four winners), Kale and Tyra (season five winners), Georgia and Nate (season five), Eric and Kaylah (season six), Kye and Yana (season seven winners) and Connor and Isabel (season seven).
For the first time, the Islanders will be taking up residence in the renowned Love Island USA villa, where they’ll be marooned in Fiji and asked to couple up based on attraction, first impressions or even strategy. The season will kick off with 10 original Islanders, with four bombshells waiting in the wings to shake things up. These nuclear hotties are expected to make their grand entrances over the coming episodes, no doubt stirring up a little chaos among the OGs.
Season 8 premieres today, Monday, October 26, with the first episode episode dropping at 10AM AEDT on 9Now before airing at 8.30PM AEDT on Channel 9. New episodes will drop weekly, Monday to Thursday.
And for those craving even more villa drama, an exclusive companion series, Love Island Australia: Unseen. Uncut., will also premiere on Stan on Monday, October 26, with drops of exclusive footage releasing Monday to Thursday. Featuring juicy, unfiltered moments from inside the villa, the series will offer fans an intimate glimpse into the Islanders’ lives in real time.
With the new season premiering today we’re taking a closer look at the Islanders vying for love, the coveted $50,000 prize and, of course, a healthy influx of followers.
Skip ahead to:
- Lachie, 26, Chiropractor
- Jarrar, 22, Diesel Fitter
- Jack, 24, Tradie Trainer
- Keanu, 25, Tradie
- Oli, 26, Personal Trainer
- Shawnee, 27, Online Fitness Coaching Business
- Phoebe, 23, Funemployed
- Layla, 22, Global Learning Manager & Pilates Instructor
- Amanda, 26, Part-time Jeweller & Model
- Natalie, 23, Airline Ground Crew
Meet The Love Island Australia 2026 Cast
Lachie, 26, Chiropractor
Lachie is a Sydney-based chiropractor and content creator who has become something of a familiar face in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs social scene. The self-described “full package” is fitness-obsessed and no stranger to controversy, thanks to his penchant for outspoken TikToks.
After three years of singledom, Lachie insists he’s finally ready to settle down. And what better place to find lasting love than the Love Island villa, right? While he admits to having a preference for “fit, slim women”, Lachie says he’s increasingly drawn to intelligence, humility and a sense of adventure.
Despite attracting attention from models and influencers, he’s hoping his time in the villa will lead to something a little more meaningful. Although, given that he also believes he’ll be “the alpha in the villa”, we’ll have to wait and see just how sincere his romantic intentions really are.
Instagram: @lachiecubis
Jarrar, 22, Diesel Fitter
How would Jarrar describe himself in three words? Moustache, mullet, muscles. The FIFO diesel fitter from Wollongong considers himself something of a Reece Walsh doppelgänger and counts barking at attractive women among his go-to flirting tactics (apparently, it works?).
Having already navigated three long-term relationships, Jarrar is now on the hunt for his dream girl, who, according to him, is “hot, energetic” and blessed with a plump derrière.
Instagram: @jarrarhaidar
Jack, 24, Tradie Trainer
Jack fancies himself a man with “the gift of the gab”, admitting there’s little he loves more than a night out chatting up women. This time around, however, he’s hoping to find one woman and actually stick with her. A noble ambition, albeit one his own track record suggests might be easier said than done.
“Everytime I feel like this is it, I’m gonna be a better guy, someone too good looking comes along and just ruins it for me…that is no accountability at all hey?” Right you are, Jack. At least self-awareness isn’t in short supply.
A qualified electrician and refrigeration mechanic by trade, this Islander has since swapped the tools for a career in sales on the Gold Coast, where he’s also busy pursuing a few business ventures of his own.
Instagram: @j.wheldon
Keanu, 25, Tradie
Originally from New Zealand, Keanu made the move across the Tasman at just 17 to pursue his footy dreams, going on to play for the North Queensland Cowboys and later the Newcastle Knights. These days, he’s traded the footy field for life as a tradie in Sydney, where he’s on the hunt for a lucky lady who’s ideally “brunette with pretty eyes and an athletic build”.
A self-confessed mummy’s boy through and through, Keanu admits he gives off something of a red-flag energy, but insists that beneath it all, he’s actually “quite soft-natured”. TBD on that one.
Instagram: @keanuwainohu
Oli, 26, Personal Trainer
Standing at 6’6″ and apparently emotionally available, Oli is this season’s resident “Tarzan”. The Perth-based personal trainer, who previously went viral after enlisting his nan to film one of his thirst traps, has undergone quite the glow-up from a self-described “nerdy, overweight kid” to a model-dating heartthrob.
These days, Oli certainly isn’t lacking in confidence. In fact, he reckons his biggest obstacle in the dating world is being “too tall and handsome”. A burden, we’re sure. But beneath the playboy exterior, Oli insists he’s a self-confessed lover boy who favours emotional connection over casual flings.
Instagram: @oliverspitteler
Shawnee, 27, Online Fitness Coaching Business
Gold Coast-based Shawnee is no stranger to Love Island Australia, having previously dated season four Islander Callum Hole. Now single and ready to mingle, she describes herself as energetic, chaotic and genuine, admitting she has a tendency to overshare and rarely manages to conceal what she’s really thinking.
Drawn to men who can match her infectious energy, Shawnee has little patience for superiority complexes, arrogance, bad manners or chewed-up nails. And while she suspects viewers will either love her or hate her, she’s confident her unapologetic personality will leave quite the impression in the villa.
Instagram: @shawnee.schein
Phoebe, 23, Funemployed
You read that right, Phoebe is currently “funemployed” and embracing her “hot, single girl travel the world era”. Fair play. Phoebe keeps a journal under her bed in which she manifests her dream man, and as a self-confessed hopeless romantic who falls hard and fast, she’s certainly not short on enthusiasm when it comes to matters of the heart.
While her bubbly blonde persona might have some mistaking her for a ditz, Phoebe is quick to point out that she’s actually highly educated, with two degrees under her belt (bikini?). Having historically given her heart to all the wrong people, she’s hoping her time in the Love Island villa will be as much a journey of self-discovery as it is a quest for romance. Good luck, girl!
Instagram: @febejamieson
Layla, 22, Global Learning Manager & Pilates Instructor
Layla is a Pilates enthusiast and Canberra’s (self-proclaimed) hottest export with a fiery Aries personality and no shortage of confidence. Having been in two serious relationships and a string of disappointing situationships, her most recent romance ended in heartbreak when her boyfriend ghosted her after an argument before dumping her just days before their planned European getaway.
Describing herself as “hot, fiery and multifaceted,” Layla admits she can appear intimidating at first, but insists there’s a softer, more affectionate side beneath her tough exterior. Tired of Canberra’s drab dating scene, she’s entering the villa in search of a tall, confident and ambitious man who can match her energy and, hopefully, restore her faith in love.
Instagram: @laylaawilsonn
Amanda, 26, Part-time Jeweller & Model
Amanda has no interest in participating in the nonchalant Olympics currently sweeping Australia’s dating scene. Instead, she’s on the hunt for a tall, tattooed and emotionally available man who’s secure enough to be properly obsessed with her. After all, she firmly believes that if a man really likes you, you should never have to question it.
Fresh out of a five-and-a-half-year relationship, she has since embarked on something of a glow-up and is finally feeling ready to find someone who can match her energy. And hopefully, make his intentions abundantly clear.
Instagram: @amandaboue
Natalie, 23, Airline Ground Crew
Gold Coast-based Natalie is a fiery, quick-witted airline ground crew worker hailing from Mackay, Queensland, who has grown tired of the city’s commitment-phobic dating scene.
A self-confessed lover girl who wears her heart on her sleeve, Natalie has had two serious relationships and is hoping her next romance will be her last. But will she find lasting love in the Love Island villa?
Instagram: @__nataliemaree
