Public To Decide Who Couples Up In Huge Love Island Shake-Up

Love Island is set to mix things up this year as fans will be able to get involved in the coupling-up process from the very start.

Fans of the reality TV show will know that the series typically kicks off with a handful of girls and boys who enter the villa one at a time, before members of one group step forward to show their interest the other contestants.

The initial couples are decided on the first day, when the islanders are forced to go off first impressions to pick their match, and it's usually not until later in the show that members of the public start to get involved by voting for their favourite couples.

This time, however, contestants might not get any say at all on who they initially have to share a bed with, as a post on the official Love Island Twitter explains: "For the first time ever, you get to have your say on who couples up on Day 1! Head to the app to play matchmaker and pick which boy you think should couple up with each girl. The polls will close at 9am Saturday."

The lineup for the upcoming series has already been released, so fans now have the opportunity to check out the contestants and see who might fit well together.

The girls that have been announced for this year's series include model and dancer Tasha Ghouri, the show's first deaf contestant; Gemma Owen, daughter of former professional footballer Michael Owen; paramedic Paige Thorne; hotel waitress Indiyah Polack and nanny Amber Beckford.

For the boys, we have businessman Davide Sanclimenti; senior microbiologist Dami Hope; masters student Liam Llewellyn; pharmaceutical salesman Ikenna Ekwonna; estate agent Andrew Le Page and fishmonger Luca Bish. However, a post on the Love Island Instagram page explains Davide is not included in the poll.

It's unclear whether the public will get to have the final say on the initial couples; it might be that host Laura Whitmore announces the recommendations from the public before letting the islanders have some say of their own, but we'll have to just wait and see.

As well as the new vote, this summer's series of Love Island is set to look a little different thanks to the brand new villa that will house the contestants because the previous property, located near Sant Llorenc des Cardassar in the east of Majorca, is apparently unavailable.

Polls for the vote are set to close at 9pm on Saturday (4 June) ahead of the show's first episode on 6 June, so put on your matchmaking hat and get to work!