Therapy has helped me get to the best place'

Former Love Island winner Amber Gill opens up about life after the show, her new novel and her 'queer journey'

- MITYA UNDERWOOD

Five years after winning Love Island, Amber Gill is the happiest she’s ever been and has no regrets about the show.

That said, it hasn’t come without downsides – dating difficulties, for one – but she’s in the best place she’s ever been.

Following a trip to Paris to watch some of this summer’s Olympic action, the 27-year-old Newcastle native is about to publish her second fiction novel, One Summer In Miami. Here, she chats to us about embracing and representing queer joy, her biggest life lessons, and her love of therapy.

Hi, Amber! It’s been five years since you won Love Island, how do you feel about the show now?

It definitely got me places in the first year or two after the villa, but five years later I don’t put everything I have down to Love Island. I definitely don’t regret doing it, it’s opened the door to so many opportunities and experiences, but I think I’ve shaped my journey since then into something different, which is what I was always going to do.

Did you come out with a strategy to get to where you are now?

No! I didn’t understand anything about the TV industry, or the influencer thing, I had no experience of it. I think part of any success afterwards was just luck, and that this is what I was supposed to do. I always just followed my heart and focused on what I enjoy and my own interests.

You seem to have handled the fame very well, would you agree?

You come off the show and get training and therapy, but you just have to experience it and live it. I’m probably the most comfortable I’ve ever been because I’ve got the experience now, and I can make good decisions about what I want to do and where I want to go. Although, the dating side of things isn’t ideal!