You won't believe how much this year's Love Island contestants are being paid

Isn't that less than minimum wage...?

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

Isn't that less than minimum wage...?

The new season of Love Island is upon us and we're already obsessed - and looking into forms so that we can join the famous TV villa next year.

But if you thought appearing on Love Island was a cushty, well-paid deal, you couldn't be more wrong, as the contestants are paid peanuts for their time in the villa.

'All the islanders are getting £200 a week to be on the show,' a source has told The Sun. 'If you break it down to how many hours they’re filming every day it’s absolutely nothing!'

If you do the maths, that works out as only £2.80 an hour – less than half the UK minimum wage for 18-20 year olds. Yikes.

They're doing better than last year's lot, though, the likes of Marcel, Olivia and co got paid absolutely nothing for their time in Season 3.

Love Island 2018

(Image credit: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

It seems stingy, but the contestants know that being on the show means they're almost guaranteed to get a ton of publicity (and cash) once the series is over.

'If they win, it could be £50,000 they leave with or £25,000 if they split the pot,' the source added. 'Then they'll make loads off the back of magazine deals and sponsorships.

'They're all prepared to take the hit now because this time next year they could be rolling in it!'

Could be worse...

Lucy Abbersteen
Beauty Contributor

Lucy is a freelance beauty editor and contributor at Marie Claire, and has written for titles including Glamour, Refinery29, Popsugar, woman&home and more. She was previously Marie Claire’s junior beauty editor. During her career, she’s covered everything from backstage beauty at fashion week to interviews with famous faces like Drag Race royalty and Little Mix. As for her beauty ethos, she’s a big advocate for not having to spend a fortune on beauty products to get good results, and when she’s not got beauty on the brain you’ll find her reading or hanging out with dogs.