Love Island’s Zara Holland regrets having sex on TV, warns new contestants against such acts
Ex Love Islander Zara Holland, 22, revealed that she has turned down several TV jobs as she feels petrified to pursue her career after the way she was treated since she starred in the show.
She quit fame following the Love Island romp amid fears that she would be remembered as the girl who had sex on TV. Zara was stripped of her Miss Great Britain crown and title in 2016 after she slept with Alex Bowen in the villa’s Hideaway.
Two years have gone by but Zara still feels that she was the only contestant in the history of Love Island to have pai dearly for a brief moment of intimacy. She warned this year’s islanders saying, “I would say to any contestants this series, don't do anything that you would regret later in life.”
“Sometimes things in the moment never leave you and it can be hard to get over. To put it down to one thing and it is still a fact now; I can't get away from what happened.
“I feel like there were other girls on my series, not naming names, that did way worse than me but just because they didn't have a title no one really cared.
“I was offered other TV shows, I can't say what but I was so petrified that the whole time I would be taking part that it would be mentioned the whole time. Why do I want to put myself in that position?
“I have the most amazing family, amazing boyfriend, and amazing job. I am really happy.”
Zara feels that she was unfairly targeted for her act and resents the fact that she will have to bear the brunt for the same for the times to come.
Her experience on Love Island has resulted in her shunning other TV projects that were later offered to her as she didn’t want to jeopardize her happiness and mental peace by coming back on screen.
She further said, “People see me as the girl who lost her title on Love Island. People targeted me.
“No one else from my series gets mentioned. It's not like I was the only person who slept with a guy on there.
“I feel like even now if I go to an event people say 'oh look there's Zara who slept with Alex in The Hideaway.' I am so sick to death of it. I have a bikini range, I was on Release the Hounds, but before I even went on the show I was running two fashion boutiques.
“I am a 22-year-old who runs two successful fashion businesses and people just don't see that side. People see me as the girl who lost her title on Love Island. I was offered a show recently but the reality thing isn’t for me anymore.”
Luckily her appearance on the ITV2 show didn't put off potential suitors from wanting to pursue her.
Zara found the man of her dreams just four weeks after leaving the villa in Elliott Love, who she met on holiday, or as she tells it their very own "island."