The sun. The slow-motion walks. That specific, slightly aggressive text notification sound that haunts the dreams of single people across the UK. It feels like we just finished watching the last batch of islanders "crack on," but honestly, the craving for the Mallorca villa never really goes away. If you've been staring at your calendar wondering when does Love Island start 2025, you aren't alone.
Everyone wants to know when the 9 p.m. curfew begins.
The Official Kick-Off: When Does Love Island Start 2025?
Let's skip the fluff. Love Island 2025 officially premiered on Monday, June 9, 2025. It was a bit of a milestone year, actually. It marked the 10th anniversary of the show's massive revival. Because ITV loves a bit of a celebration, they didn't just dump us straight into the villa. We got a special treat exactly one week before the main event. On June 2, they aired "Love Island: A Decade of Love." It was basically a massive nostalgia trip featuring all the icons—think Dani Dyer and the legendary chaos of the early seasons—to get the hype levels through the roof.
The show followed its usual pattern: Monday night, 9 p.m. sharp on ITV2 and ITVX. If you were watching from across the pond, Hulu stayed about a week behind, dropping the first episodes around June 16. It's a brutal wait for US fans who have to avoid spoilers on TikTok, but that's the price of international romance.
Why the June 9 Date?
ITV is nothing if not predictable with their scheduling. Historically, the show almost always lands on the first or second Monday of June. In 2024, it was June 3. For 2025, the June 9 slot allowed them to align the finale perfectly with the peak of summer, wrapping things up on Monday, August 4.
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Who Was Running the Show?
Maya Jama. Obviously.
There were some whispers back in late 2024 about whether she’d return, especially after she stepped down from the second series of Love Island: Games in September 2025 due to some scheduling conflicts. But for the main summer series, she was back in the slow-mo walk business. Honestly, it’s hard to imagine the show without her at this point. She brings a specific kind of energy that just works, especially when she has to deliver the "Tonight, two islanders will be dumped" news with a straight face.
And yes, Iain Stirling was back in the voiceover booth. His jokes about the islanders' questionable fashion choices and even more questionable decision-making skills are 50% of the reason people still tune in every single night.
The Cast That Defined the Summer
The 2025 lineup was... interesting. They leaned heavily into "real" jobs this year, though we all know they’ll be selling hair gummies on Instagram by September. The starting squad included:
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- Meg: A 25-year-old payroll specialist from Southampton.
- Dejon: A 26-year-old personal trainer from London.
- Sophie: A 29-year-old motivational speaker and author.
They also threw in a professional rugby player named Conor and a private hire taxi driver named Ben. It felt a bit more diverse in terms of personality than some previous years where everyone seemed to be a "model/influencer" from the jump.
Of course, the real story of the season was the winners: Toni and Cach. Toni, a cabana server from Connecticut, and Cach, a professional dancer from East London. It was actually one of the closest finals in the show's history, with them taking home the £50,000 with only 33.5% of the public vote. People were stressed during that finale.
What Most People Get Wrong About the 2025 Schedule
A lot of fans got confused because of the "winter" slot. For a while, there was talk about a traditional winter series, but ITV has seemingly pivoted toward the "All Stars" format for the colder months.
In early 2025, we had Love Island: All Stars Season 2, which saw Casey O’Gorman and Gabby Allen take the crown. That finished in February, leaving a big gap until the June premiere of Series 12. Some people thought the summer show would start earlier to compensate, but the producers stuck to their guns. They know that summer is Love Island. You can't force the vibe in April when it's still raining in London.
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The "All Stars" Delay of 2026
If you’re looking forward and wondering why the 2025 series felt so long ago, it’s probably because the next installment (All Stars Season 3) hit a major snag. Just this January (2026), the South African villa had to be evacuated due to wildfires in Franschhoek.
It was supposed to start on January 12, 2026, but ended up being pushed to January 15. Maya Jama had to jump on Instagram to reassure everyone that the islanders were safe and the "glam" was ready to go. It just goes to show that even the biggest production machine in reality TV is at the mercy of the elements.
How to Prepare for the Next Round
If you missed the 2025 madness, you can still catch the whole thing on ITVX. It’s 49 episodes of pure, unadulterated drama. Here is how to actually survive a season of Love Island without losing your mind:
- Don't get attached early. The person you love in Week 1 will almost certainly do something "movey" by Casa Amor.
- Watch the Unseen Bits. People skip the Saturday episodes, but that’s where you actually see the islanders' personalities. The main show is all about the "where's your head at?" chats, but Unseen Bits is where the actual comedy happens.
- Clear your 9 p.m. slot. It’s a commitment. Eight weeks. Six nights a week. It’s basically a second job, but with more neon lights.
The 2025 season proved that even after a decade, there is still plenty of life in the old villa. Whether it's the 10th-anniversary nostalgia or just the sheer chaos of people like Toni and Cach finding love against the odds, the formula still works. Now, we just wait to see who enters the villa next.
To get ready for the current 2026 All Stars drama, you can head over to the ITVX app and catch up on the first few episodes of Season 3 that just dropped after the wildfire delays.