Love Island UK stars have strict set of rules they must follow including 'nap times'

When trapped under the watchful eye of ITV producers 24 hours a day for eight weeks, it's no surprise that Love Island must adhere to some strict rules.

According to former contestant Jessy Potts, however, there are more restrictions than fans might expect.

As a reminder, the 27-year-old appeared on the 2024 series of the reality TV hit, where she famously struck up a brief romantic connection with TOWIE alum Joey Essex.

She also landed back into the villa last summer for a huge-name Love Island: All Stars series, where she enjoyed a short-lived fling with Tommy Bradley.

More recently, however, Jessy has turned her attention to spilling some behind-the-scenes tea on what life is really like as a contestant on the show, including which actions and topics are 'off-limits'

Jessy claimed producers have strict rules on nap times (ITV)

Speaking in partnership with Mecca Bingo, she began by claiming that no outside references are permitted during poolside conversations.

"There are a lot of conversations you're not allowed to have," Jessy explained. "You're not really allowed to talk about outside life too much because it's not relevant to the TV show. You'll be having a chat, and the Voice of God will come over and say, 'No outside chat'."

The influencer added: "You're not allowed to talk about people you know, name celebrities or discuss things that wouldn't be shown on TV. A lot of the time, if you're talking about something that isn't relevant, they'll just tell you to stop."

It's not just small talk that producers stay on top of, but mealtimes and nap schedules.

"I think people know about the boys and girls not being allowed to chat during lunch and dinner. There are a lot of conversations you're not allowed to have," Jessy reiterated.

Jessy claimed boys and girls can't converse during mealtimes (ITV)

"You're not really allowed to talk about outside life too much because it's not relevant to the show. A lot of the time, if you don't want something to be shown on TV, you can't really talk about it. If you are talking about it and it isn't relevant, they'll just tell you to stop."

Of downtime away from the cameras, she added: "During lunch and dinner, you can nap in the bedroom or on the daybeds, but if you're napping outside of those times, you're not being shown, and it's boring TV.

"They try to make sure nobody is napping during the main daytime hours."

The on-screen alum went on to confess: "I'm a big napper myself, so I would try and nap as much as possible. Tommy would be napping 24/7. Any chance he'd get, if it was lunchtime or dinnertime, he'd be asleep. Guaranteed.

"But yeah, you're not really supposed to nap during the day because they're not getting much out of you if that's the case."