Love Island winner Paige Turley: ‘I’d never return to the villa – it scarred me and is savage’

Paige Turley has been glued to this summer's Love Island, along with the rest of us. And she thinks it's very different this time around.

The former Love Island winner opened up in an exclusive interview with new!, saying: “Oh they’re definitely bringing the drama. Nobody is hanging around, they’re all going for it and getting to know everyone.

“I think previously people have been a bit more wary and stick to those they’re coupled up with. But the cast have been a bit savage this time.”

And as for if she would ever return to the iconic villa? It’s a definite no from the 25 year old, who admits that it “scarred” her.

“I wouldn’t do it again .. purely because of the challenges, especially the food ones,” she laughed.

“They’ve left me scarred for a long time. But it was also the best experience and a once in a lifetime opportunity. Even things like not having your phone was so liberating.”

When it comes to favourites, it’s clear the star is backing the girls and will be cheering them along the way.

“I love Whitney, Jess and Ella – I’ve got to support a Scottish girl, obviously! It’s nice to see someone Scottish on the TV, usually a lot of contestants are from down south.”

Spilling some behind-the-scenes secrets, Paige happily admitted the thing she found so fascinating were the cleaning and grooming ‘wizards’ who would visit.

“There were a few meltdowns in the girls’ dressing room, that’s for sure! We’d leave it in such a mess every night and then when we came back the next day, it had all been tidied up. I have no idea how they did it. I won’t lie though, it was stressful trying to work out where they’d put everything.

“We also spend some afternoons having glam sessions. Viewers would be watching the guys having breakfast with longer hair and then it would cut to them with a fresh trim. Same for us girls and the colours of our nails!”

The star also explained she had really “happy times” in the villa and the best bit about her experience was the heart-to-hearts with fellow contestants.

She continued: “We had some of the best days together, especially the ones when we weren’t filmed. It meant we could switch off a bit – that’s when we really got to know each other. We’d talk about families and have more personable chats.”

Paige is quick to credit the show for opening up doors when it comes to her career though and is happy to admit she doesn’t regret any of it, even her relationship with now ex, Finn Tapp.

The pair who had been dating for three and a half years and living together, recently called time on their relationship and Paige moved back home to Glasgow to be with her family.

She said: “The break up has obviously been tough. I’ve only ever been in this world of fame with him so it’s been difficult in both personal and professional ways. It feels a bit like I’ve lost the left side of me.

“But we’re still really good friends and keep in touch to support each other.”

When admitting why they split, Paige hinted there were multiple reasons.

“We just drifted apart – we faced a lot of stuff between multiple lockdowns… just the kind of struggles that this world [of fame] brings. We drifted but we still call each other.”

Now Paige exclusively revealed that she is ready to wave goodbye to reality TV and return to following her passions.

While she may be known for her Love Island stint, her first brush with fame actually started way back in 2012.

Following a similar path to ex Lewis Capaldi who is known for topping the charts, Paige is dedicating her time to music. In fact, some may remember that the West Lothian singer reached the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent 2012 by wowing the judges at age 14 with a rendition of Birdy tune Skinny Love during her audition.

She revealed, “Music was my first love. To be honest, TV was never really part of my plan and I was so hesitant to go on Love Island. When the opportunity came up, I just went for it and, of course, I’m so glad I did. I met some really amazing people.

“But now music and singing is my goal. Even during my time at school, it was always my main passion. I was never ‘rubbish’ at school but the only subjects I was interested in were drama and music. I guess you could say I’m a bit of a drama queen.”

Paige’s new single, ‘Lonely Tonight’ in collaboration with Leon Taro, is billed as the ‘hit of the summer’, but the singer admits it was recorded in a bedroom.

“I went to a song writing camp in the north of Scotland, which is where I met Leon. We started writing songs together and found something that really clicked.

“We then recorded the song in around two hours in a bedroom in the house where the writing camp was held.”

Although she’s keen on not wasting any time in getting her music career going full steam, Paige is also aware there’s no doubt that being on TV helped boost her profile in the industry.

“I’m grateful that I have a following but I did worry people wouldn’t take me seriously after Love Island or think ‘oh all you can do is reality TV.’

“There’s definitely a stigma against reality stars doing anything other than reality tv, but that shouldn’t be the case.”

Paige’s new single, Lonely Tonight, is out now.

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