3 hours ago
3
Despite her 25 years on the reality show scene, beginning with Popstars and spanning The Celebrity Apprentice Australia and The Bachelorette, Sophie Monk still hates being vulnerable on camera.
She’s much happier playing someone else, with her acting career including the movies Date Night and Click, and the upcoming Zombie Plane, with Chuck Norris and Vanilla Ice. Even hosting reality series, such as Beauty and the Geek, and now seven seasons of Love Island Australia, she feels self-conscious.
Sophie Monk returns to host another season of Love Island Australia.
“I just feel for everyone,” she says. “If someone starts crying, I start crying, and you’ll notice I put my head away because I’ll look like a serial killer if I’m crying. I get as emotional as they do because I can feel what they feel in there. It feels so enormous. I feel very protective of them.”
She even refuses to watch herself on television.
“I hate it so much, I don’t know why,” she says. “It’s funny, I can talk about myself if I’m joking a bit, but for me, being vulnerable, I feel like I’m so naked. I’d probably rather be naked. I’m not saying that, but I’m a lot more shy and guarded than people think I am.”
Loading
Of this season’s bathing beauties on Love Island Australia, shot on the Spanish island of Mallorca, where the original British series is also filmed, Monk is most excited about the female cast.
“The girls are really strong and impressive,” she says. “There are a couple of them that I was like, ‘God, I wish you were my friend and you could stand up for me’. It’s really inspiring. Even at my age, I’m learning.”
Among the women searching for love by the infinity pool are Yana, a plumber, and Lacey, a pageant queen, both from Sydney; and Bailey, a model from Toronto, Canada. The men include Connor, a nurse; and Zac, an Olympic swimmer, both from the Gold Coast.
“If they reach out to me, I’m always there to help,” says Monk. “They’re so confident, and they will do so well after [the series]. Like Callum and Mitch [from season four], who just announced to be on Travel Guides. Even though I’m just the host, I feel so proud of them.”
Monk speaks from experience when she describes the dating-show bubble.
Despite her ups and downs on the reality circuit, Sophie Monk thinks reality TV is a valid way for people to find love.
“It’s like being at school. You’re all in one spot and you’re focused on one thing,” she says. “There are no phones, no television … What I learnt from being on a love show is, you have to say what you want because you’ve got to choose the right person. The advantage of dating on [television] is, you’ll know really quickly if it’s a good person for you or not.”
Monk’s relationship with the 2017 Bachelorette winner, pub dynasty heir Stu Laundy, famously ended after four months. Her husband, medical supply executive Joshua Gross, whom Monk married in 2022, joins her on the Love Island set. “He’ll come and say hello [to the cast],” she says.
Loading
While the trysts and betrayals at the Love Island villa might appear to be fuelled by copious amount of alcohol, Monk says there is “minimal” drinking. “They have sips, but it’s nothing. They’re so fit anyway. They go to the gym and drink their smoothies.”
Having spent her 20s in the spotlight, Monk isn’t concerned for the cast members’ future selves, when they might look back on how they were portrayed in the series.
“I think that age is a forgiving age,” she says. “It’s all learning. I don’t think there’s any bad people in Love Island … I’m all for finding love on reality shows. People are on apps anyway and getting catfished and struggling out there. I think reality shows are a great way to find love as well.”
Love Island Australia returns at 6pm on Monday, October 27, on 9Now.
Most Viewed in Culture
Loading
