Reality TV

EXCLUSIVE: Love Island winners Josh and Anna admit to feeling body image pressure in the Villa

''If you watch the show, the last two weeks I was rocking the one-piece!''
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They may have the bodies of Greek gods and goddesses, but it seems that even the Love Island contestants aren’t immune from feeling self-conscious in their swimmers.

This year’s winners Anna McEvoy, 27, and Josh Packham, 25, confessed to Now To Love on the ARIAs red carpet that snacking became the norm in the Fiji Villa, and many of the contestants struggled with body image issues.

Josh and Anna were smitten on the ARIAs red carpet.

(Image: Instagram @packhampear)

“We got bored in there, once we’d talked about all the feelings we possibly could talk about, we were eating a million cookies. Cookie diet, everyone gained a bit of weight in there,” Anna exclusively told Now To Love.

“I used to sit in that kitchen in the Villa and eat 20 at a time,” Josh added. “It was bad.”

But all those cookies and snacks, combined with the rule that contestants weren’t allowed to leave the Villa unless it was for an official date, meant weight gain became an all-too-real issue behind the scenes.

“If you watch the show, I swear for the last two weeks I was rocking the one-piece, I was like ‘I’ve had too many cookies, one-piece only!” Anna joked.

Josh added: “All the boys were worried too, going ‘We’re getting plump, it’s Plump Island, we’re losing our size.’ Everyone was freaking out.”

“If you watch the show, I swear for the last two weeks I was rocking the one-piece!”

(Image: Nine Network)

In a previous chat with Now To Love, former contestant Gerard admitted that the contestants would jokingly call the show Flab Island as well, due to the constant snacking.

“We were all stressed out and emotional, eating 12 Weet-Bixes each at 2am but I think I almost won the Flab Island contest in the end!” he joked.

“They had to start rationing how many cookies and snacks were in there because we were smashing through them all, we were taking the hints when there was only one box of cookies instead of two that they started off with!”

WATCH: Josh asks Anna to be his girlfriend on Love Island. Post continues after video…

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Anna and Josh were joined on the ARIAs red carpet by Love Island runners-up Cartier Surjan, 19, and Matthew Zukowski, 24, the former of whom showed off her new blonde locks.

While Anna dazzled in Con Ilio sequined mini dress, Cartier kept it chic in a one-sleeved tan jacket dress by Mariam Seddiq that looks like something Meghan Markle would wear if she didn’t have to adhere to royal protocol!

Meanwhile, Josh embraced the summer vibes in a matching jacket and shorts ensemble by M.J. Bale, while we were captivated by Matthew’s daring Jack London look.

The Love Island top four slayed at the 2019 Aria Awards.

(Image: Getty Images)

Cartier and Matt’s joint appearance on the red carpet put to be the break-up rumours that first arose when Matthew did not comment on Cartier’s recent snaps of her blonde hair dye job.

Both shared photos from their ARIAs adventure on their respective Instagram accounts, but we’re yet to see a Cartier and Matt couple photo on social media.

Watch this space…

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