Who is Joey Essex? Meet Love Island’s first ever celebrity contestant

Joey Essex caused a shock among followers as he made his debut on the Love Island 2024 villa, becoming the dating show’s initial famous participant.

The latest season of Love Island UK, which began on June 3, introduced a fresh group of contestants to the beautiful Mallorca villa. Their mission? To find love and compete for the grand prize of £50,000.

Following the introduction and pairing of the 12 islanders, host Maya Jama brought out the first celebrity surprise, Joey Essex. His debut appearance on the show left his fellow contestants in shock.

Despite being a popular television personality in the UK, some viewers from other countries were not familiar with him and took to social media to inquire about his identity.

Who is Joey Essex on Love Island?

At 33 years old, Joey Essex hails from Essex and has gained fame as a reality TV star. He has made appearances on various shows throughout his career, such as “The Only Way Is Essex,” “Dancing on Ice,” and “I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!”

In addition, he is recognized for his famous saying “reem,”which is used to describe something as “good”or “cool.”He has also gained attention for occasionally displaying a surprising lack of overall knowledge.

The only way is… Essex 🔥 The #LoveIsland Villa just got a bit more ‘reem’ as Joey Essex has arrived to find his future wife ❤️‍🔥 pic.twitter.com/Xf0C9nFWNE

— Love Island (@LoveIsland) June 3, 2024

In 2021, a BBC documentary titled “Joey Essex: Grief and Me” was released, focusing on grief and its effect on him as a result of losing his mother to suicide when he was 10 years old.

The 33-year-old has been on multiple dating shows before Love Island, including Celebrity Ex on the Beach, Celebs Go Dating, and its spin-off Celebs Go Dating: The Mansion.

Essex has been known for his involvement in high-profile romantic relationships, such as those with Rita Ora and Maura Higgins. Additionally, he has been previously engaged twice to fellow “TOWIE” cast member, Sam Faiers.

According to The Sun, the reality star, Joey Essex, made the decision to apply for Love Island on his own. In an interview with the newspaper, he described the application process as a “military operation,”not just in terms of the journey to the show, but also the entire process leading up to this point.

“As a single person at the moment, my ultimate goal is to leave the villa with my partner by my side. That is all I am focused on and I am hopeful that my prayers will be answered.”

Love Island viewers are abuzz with excitement after a surprise appearance from the star on the show. The islander is set to make a move on one of the girls tonight.