Former Love Island contestant Yewande Biala says the show is bad for her dating life

The Dublin-born scientist appeared in the 2019 reality series

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Former Love Island contestant Yewande Biala has said appearing on the show has made it even more difficult to date.

Biala, 25, appeared on the reality dating competition in 2019 and with viewing figures in the millions, she instantly became recognisable.

Speaking to Cosmopolitan, she said she has changed the way she dates because of the worry that people will only want to see her because she’s in the public eye.

Biala said: “I had trust issues before I went in, but once I left, it got even harder.

“Normally if you want to meet someone, you go on Tinder, but if someone matches with me, I think it’s because they’ve seen me on TV. I’m so paranoid that now I just don’t put myself in that situation.”

Despite the downsides that have come with being recognisable, the Dublin-born star said she really enjoyed her time in the Love Island villa.

She said: “I had an amazing summer. The way it’s engineered is so clever because you’re so completely focused on your time there that you forget about what we called ‘The Outside’.

“It means you’re really in the moment and I had my highest highs and my lowest lows in that villa.”

After appearing on the show, Biala, a scientist, faced accusations of bullying from fellow contestant Lucie Donlan.

Biala responded to the claims, highlighting how her co-star Donlan refused to call her by her name, leaving the star “stripped” of her identity.

She wrote in a statement on Twitter: “You as an oppressor, have stripped me of my identity, you’ve taken my power in choosing how I want to be addressed.”

In an op-ed for The Independent, Biala wrote: “When someone doesn't take the time to learn the proper way to pronounce another person's name, or worse – intentionally mocks it for being ‘too difficult’ to pronounce, or tries to ascribe another name to make themselves feel comfortable – it can come across as malicious.

“It also evokes a history of dominant groups forcing new names on people of oppressed groups. If you have known somebody for a long time, and are still pronouncing their name incorrectly, guess who has power in that relationship?”

In a statement to Mail Online, Donlan said of the incident: “I said on the show I had trouble pronouncing Yewande’s name, it’s just what I’m like.

“And I asked if I could use a shortened abbreviated version of her name instead as a term of endearment – there’s nothing sinister to it.”