Latest news with #AlexBowen
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Alex Bowen shares Love Island nostalgia and insights on evolving the hit ITV show
EXCLUSIVE: Alex Bowen, who appeared on Love Island in 2016, has been watching the latest series of the ITV dating show closely - and he has some thoughts It's been nearly a decade since Alex Bowen set foot in the iconic Love Island villa—but the 33-year-old reality star is still as invested in the hit ITV dating show as ever. Alex, who rose to fame on Love Island's second series back in 2016, has been watching the current series closely—and he's got thoughts. Speaking exclusively to Mirror Online, the former Islander shared his nostalgia, behind-the-scenes memories, and what the show needs to do to keep viewers hooked. 'It's crazy to think it's been nearly ten years since I was in the villa,' Alex admits. 'I always feel nostalgic watching the show. So much has changed over the years, but that core feeling—the excitement, the drama, the relationships—it's all still there.' Now happily married to fellow Love Island alum Olivia Bowen, with whom he shares a son, Alex's life has moved well beyond the villa. But as someone who found genuine love on the show, he's passionate about what the format still gets right—and what it could do better. Since their time on Love Island, Alex and Olivia's relationship has blossomed into one of Love Island's biggest success stories. The couple married in 2018 and are now expecting their second child together. They already share a son called Abel, who was born in 2022. 'I think it's a really exciting series!' he says of the 2025 edition. 'Love Island have already shown so many fun twists and turns, and they introduced quite a few bombshells really early on. It feels like a fresh take, which has been great to see.' One change Alex welcomes is the producers' plan to start filming mealtimes—an area viewers have traditionally not seen. 'Back when I was in there, we used to make our own breakfast,' he recalls. 'Lunch and dinner were brought in, and we weren't allowed to talk about villa drama while eating, in case cameras missed something good. Showing that now could definitely give fans more insight into the Islanders' personalities.' As for villa life off-camera, Alex has some amusing memories—including the challenge of keeping track of laundry. 'We had laundry baskets for each person—but I used to lose my stuff all the time,' he laughs. 'We'd end up wearing each other's clothes without even realising!' Despite the evolution of the series, Alex believes Love Island's success lies in sticking to what it does best. 'If it's not broken, don't fix it,' he says. 'People love Love Island for the excitement, the drama, and of course, the romance. The key is giving Islanders more time in the villa. Sometimes they get dumped too early, and we don't get a chance to see their journey or who they could connect with.' He also backs the idea of bringing back past Islanders—particularly those who didn't get their full moment. 'There are so many great people from earlier series who didn't get enough time. It'd be amazing to see them back. They'd be more mature now, and it would bring a nice balance to the villa.'
Daily Mirror
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Love Island star says he'd rather watch his children on very different TV show
Alex Bowen appeared on the second series of Love Island back in 2016 and has since gone on to marry his co-star Olivia Buckland but joked he wouldn't want his children to follow in his footsteps Alex Bowen has opened up about the prospect of his future children following in his footsteps on Love Island. Nearly 10 years have passed since Alex, a former scaffolder, made his bombshell entrance into the renowned villa in 2016. He swiftly struck up a romance with Olivia Bowen, and the couple have since married and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their second child. Reflecting on how he landed a spot on the second series of the ITV2 dating show, Alex disclosed: "I didn't apply for it. They messaged me when I was scaffolding one day." He continued, recalling the moment that changed his life: "It was really raining and they'd messaged me a few times and I was thinking 'I'm going to message them back'.", reports OK!. Alex shared the support he received at the time: "I went for my interview and I told my boss and he was kind of laughing it off and he said 'you'll always have your job back here'." He also mentioned the encouragement from his loved ones: "I told my mum and friends and they said 'you've got to do it' so I just kind of went for it." Interestingly, Alex admitted to his lack of prior knowledge about the show: "I didn't watch the show before going in so I went in there blind because it wasn't as big as it is now." The love story between Alex and Olivia saw them finish as runners-up, and they exchanged vows in 2018, an event captured for their TLC series titled Olivia and Alex: Happily Ever After. The pair welcomed their son Abel in 2022 and are now expecting a daughter this summer. When quizzed about his reaction to the idea of his kids following in his and Olivia's reality TV footsteps, Alex Bowen humorously responded: "I dunno, can't they go on something else like The Chase or something? They can go on another programme." He continued, acknowledging the dilemma: "It's a difficult one because I went on it so I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't allow them but then it depends on what the show will be like I guess." For those not in the know, The Chase is a popular ITV quiz show where contestants team up to take on the Chaser, a formidable quiz expert, with the aim of winning a cash prize.
Daily Mail
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Pregnant Olivia Bowen shows off her 'bowling ball' bump at dinner with pal Tina Stinnes and shares clip of unborn baby kicking
Olivia Bowen showed off her 'bowling ball' bump while out for dinner before sharing a clip of her unborn baby kicking. The pregnant reality star, 31, enjoyed a catch up with her former Love Island co-star and bridesmaid Tina Stinnes on Wednesday. Taking to her Instagram Story, Olivia showed off her blossoming baby bump in a black and white skintight tiger print wrap dress. 'Catch up with my princess @tinastinnes,' Olivia captioned a seflie of herself and Tina - before sharing the baby bump snap where she wrote: 'Took a bowling ball with me xx.' Later in the day, Olivia shared a clip of her bare bump as she lay in bed, where the baby could be seen kicking. She wrote: 'This might be the biggest one I've caught on camera. Do you think it's a foot or a leg or what... I can't work it out?!' Olivia also posted an adorable picture with her son Abel, two, who she shares with husband Alex Bowen. The snap showed Abel hugging Olivia's pregnant belly while both beamed huge smiles. It comes after Olivia soaked up the sun during a babymoon with Alex earlier this month. looked every inch the glowing expectant mother as she sat on the edge of a hot tub during a loved-up break at the Wilderness Reserve in Sussex. Olivia looked relaxed and at peace as she lifted her head towards the sun while soaking her feet in the water. The blonde beauty, who teamed her two-piece swimwear with dark sunglasses, was later joined by her husband, who rested his head against his wife while showing off his hunky frame. Olivia also uploaded a romantic video of herself and Alex packing on the PDA while sitting together on a sun bed. Alex could be seen kissing and doting on his wife as they took in a sunset while clad in matching pink robes. The couple, who met in the Love Island villa back in 2016, looked as loved up as ever as they counted down the days till they welcomed their second child. Olivia also showed off her blossoming bump last month, just weeks ahead of welcoming her baby daughter. Olivia displayed her bump in a casual bralette and joggers as she shared candid insight into her final weeks of pregnancy. She captioned the snap: 'She's so high now right up in my lungs'. In July, Olivia posted a sweet clip from her family of three as they enjoyed their last holiday all together before the birth. It looked like a truly relaxing trip, with the trio appearing to be spending the majority of their time at the beach. Olivia wrote: 'Another trip to Spain - the last one before baby girl comes, and next we'll return as a family of four to our own villa out here - never felt so lucky.' The stunner wore a colourful bikini for the beach trip, accessorising with a pair of dark sunglasses while her husband and son wore beige swimming trunks. In another snap with Alex, Olivia showed off more of her extensive summer wear collection, this time wearing a blue bralet that comfortably sat above her growing bump. Olivia looked every inch the glowing expectant mother as she sat on the edge of a hot tub during a loved-up break at the Wilderness Reserve in Sussex The star kept it cool on the trip too, covering up with a black and white mesh sundress as she cuddled Alex and Abel on a lounger. Olivia announced that she was expecting in February of this year and has been keeping fans updated with her pregnancy. Sadly, it has not been smooth sailing for the family as Olivia was expecting twins, but sadly lost one of her babies eight weeks into her pregnancy. She made the revelation on Loose Women, where she recounted their tragic experience of vanishing twin syndrome. The couple were told they were having twins just before Christmas, when they attended an early six week scan.
Daily Mirror
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Love Island star shares off-camera moment he first told wife he loved her
EXCLUSIVE: Alex Bowen and Olivia Buckland were the runner-up couple in the second ever series of Love Island. Now they are still happily married with a kid and one on the way Love Island star Alex Bowen has revealed the unexpected moment he first told Olivia Bowen - then Buckland - he loved her, and as it turns out it actually happened in the villa, just moments before they were about to go live for the 2016 series finale. In an exclusive interview with The Mirror, the ITV alum shared: "On the day of the final before we went live, I said to Liv that I loved her, but I didn't mean to say it, and I wasn't on camera. But then it was literally about — I think they were counting down like 10, 9, 8, ready to go live, and I said oh it's fine, like I love you, and then she never heard me say it. "And I was kind of like, oh my God, I just said I love you, and then that was the first time I was kind of like, oh, I'm in this. That was probably like my fondest memory from it all, to be honest." However, he cheekily admitted that he didn't tell her he dropped the L bomb until she told him she loved him two weeks later. After that he came clean, saying that he thinks it would have been mean not to. Since their time on Love Island, Alex and Olivia's relationship has blossomed into one of Love Island's biggest success stories. The couple married in 2018 and are now expecting their second child together. They already share a son called Abel, who was born in 2022. While Alex ended up getting his fairytale ending, he did admit that for a while after being featured on the ITV dating show, he felt an internal pressure to keep up the image of himself that audiences got to know. He acknowledged that Love Island producers have limited one-hour television slots to fill, and believes that because of this, they didn't have the time to showcase certain aspects of his personality. He shared: "They only showed like certain sides of me on the show, like the Prince Charming or the bombshell that comes in that kind of messes things up. They never really showed other sides to me. So I felt like for a few years after I kind of played up to it a little bit. "I used to care about what I wore to events or how I looked, or I need to say certain things and now I just don't really care. I'll kind of say what I want, wear what I want, like I don't know. I feel like it's the art of like not caring really." Alex went on to elaborate on some of the moments were not aired, explaining: "So obviously they used to show me and Olivia chatting all the time, or the drama that happened. But I remember me and Nathan, when people were having chats, we were throwing fruit at people and just messing around, being stupid. "And they never really showed any of the funny side of it. I feel like that side of my personality kind of got lost, but obviously we did like a show after that, me and Liv did. It's a 66 part series that was on like a different channel, but I could kind of be myself more then and people were messaging saying like I didn't realize you were like this." He was keen to make it clear that the same goes for contestants who are on Love Island this year, adding: "Now when people judge people on there, like they're only seeing certain aspects of their personality." Reality TV aside, Alex and Olivia are now focused on creating a happy life for their growing family. They shared the news of baby number two on social media in a sweet video where Olivia showed Alex the positive pregnancy test. Later on the whole family got together around the Christmas tree in matching jumpers to hold up snaps of the baby scans. Alex previously spoken about how he and Olivia keep their relationship strong after all these years, saying: "You've just got to try and pretend you're still getting to know each other. Even if it's just watching a movie together, it's about making time for yourselves."
Daily Mail
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Pregnant Olivia Bowen displays her growing bump in a navy bikini as she soaks up the sun during loved-up babymoon with husband Alex
Olivia Bowen displayed her growing baby bump in a navy bikini on Thursday as she soaked up the sun during a babymoon with her husband Alex. The former Love Island star, 31, looked every inch the glowing expectant mother as she sat on the edge of a hot tub during a loved-up break at the Wilderness Reserve in Sussex. Olivia, who is 34 weeks pregnant, looked relaxed and at peace as she lifted her head towards the sun while soaking her feet in the water. The blonde beauty, who teamed her two-piece swimwear with dark sunglasses, was later joined by her husband, who rested his head against his wife while showing off his hunky frame. Olivia also uploaded a romantic video of herself and Alex packing on the PDA while sitting together on a sun bed. Alex, who shares son Abel, two, with Olivia could be seen kissing and doting on his wife as they took in a sunset while clad in matching pink robes. The couple, who met in the Love Island villa back in 2016, looked as loved up as ever as they counted down the days till they welcomed their second child. It comes after Olivia showed off her blossoming bump last month, just weeks ahead of welcoming her baby daughter. Olivia displayed her bump in a casual bralette and joggers as she shared candid insight into her final weeks of pregnancy. She captioned the snap: 'She's so high now right up in my lungs'. In July, Olivia posted a sweet clip from her family of three as they enjoyed their last holiday all together before the birth. It looked like a truly relaxing trip, with the trio appearing to be spending the majority of their time at the beach. Olivia wrote: 'Another trip to Spain - the last one before baby girl comes, and next we'll return as a family of four to our own villa out here - never felt so lucky.' The former Love Island star, 31, looked every inch the glowing expectant mother as she sat on the edge of a hot tub during a loved-up break at the Wilderness Reserve in Sussex The blonde beauty, who teamed her two-piece swimwear with dark sunglasses, was later joined by her husband, who rested his head against his wife while showing off his hunky frame The stunner wore a colourful bikini for the beach trip, accessorising with a pair of dark sunglasses while her husband and son wore beige swimming trunks. In another snap with Alex, Olivia showed off more of her extensive summer wear collection, this time wearing a blue bralet that comfortably sat above her growing bump. The star kept it cool on the trip too, covering up with a black and white mesh sundress as she cuddled Alex and Abel on a lounger. Olivia announced that she was expecting in February of this year and has been keeping fans updated with her pregnancy. Sadly, it has not been smooth sailing for the family as Olivia was expecting twins, but sadly lost one of her babies eight weeks into her pregnancy. She made the revelation on Loose Women, where she recounted their tragic experience of vanishing twin syndrome. The couple were told they were having twins just before Christmas, when they attended an early six week scan.
