Are contestants allowed to drink on Love Island UK? Reality show's rules explored

Love Island UK season 12 premiered on ITV on June 9. The reality show introduced a new batch of single contestants hoping to explore different connections and eventually find the love they are looking for.

These contestants have to live in the villa until the finale or until they are dumped from the show. During this time, they have to follow certain rules that are set to showcase a presentable episode, which includes limiting their alcohol consumption.

In an April 2023 YouTube video, season 9 star Samie Elishi shared that participants are allowed to consume alcohol. However, she noted that a single person was only permitted to have one drink per night and two drinks on a special occasion. Additionally, they couldn't share their drinks, and the type of drink they could have was limited to wine, prosecco, or beer.

"Can you really only have one drink on the show? So Yes. That's a short answer. Some nights you get two, and everyone is very excited and happy about it, but it's a very rare occasion.It's impossible to get drunk on that show, I'm telling you. They keep tabs on you. You can't be sharing drinks," she said in the YouTube video.

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Other rules that Love Island UK contestants have to strictly follow

Are contestants allowed to use phones?

Like other reality shows where the cast is confined to an area for several days, Love Island UK also cuts off its contestants' communication with the outside world. They aren't allowed to use their phone or any kind of communication device in the villa.

However, the show often features segments where the instructions to the cast are given through text messages via phone. Each contestant is seen with a phone provided by the production.

Former contestant Lucinda Strafford talked about the production phones in a 2021 YouTube video and shared that it was limited to messaging. The cast uses it to either receive a message from the production team or exchange texts between each other. Additionally, these texts are accessible to the production team.

Love Island UK star, Adam Collard, shared in an interview with OK! in 2018, he and his fellow castmates would use the phone to text other contestants at night to talk without anyone else knowing. He added that even if they deleted the texts, the producers could still see them.

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Are Love Island UK contestants allowed to smoke?

Smoking was a very common thing during the early seasons of the show. Contestants used to be seen smoking on screen casually. However, viewers might have noticed these occasions are nowhere to be seen during recent episodes, and it's because of the viewers themselves.

In a January 2023 report, Metro shared that the contestants were still allowed to smoke in the villa. However, they can do so in a designated smoking area. The rule was introduced after the producers received several complaints from the viewers who were uncomfortable seeing it on screen.

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Do Love Island UK contestants have to follow the bedtime schedule?

Since Love Island UK is a reality show viewed by millions of people, there are several schedules set in place that the contestants have to follow to make sure there are no issues in capturing content in the villa.

One such schedule is the bedtime schedule, which the participants have to adhere to accommodate the filming schedule.

Season 7 contestant, Mille Court, shared in a June 2022 YouTube video that the participants are told by the producers when to go to bed. She added that during certain events, their sleeping time was set very late, and she often felt tired because of it.

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Love Island UK season 12 episodes premiere every day on ITV2 and ITVX.