THE BOYS
AUSTEN BUGEJA
Age: 22
Spray painter / Semi-professional soccer player Sydney, NSW
Growing up outside of Penrith, Austen has natural charm added with lots of class and personality.
Being of Chilean and Maltese background, he looks up to his grandfather who came to Australia from Malta and worked hard to make a success out of his life.
He has excelled at sports all his life, including soccer where he plays at a top level.
Austen is a proud mummy’s boy. When he was younger, he used to get grounded if he left the house without cologne.
He wears a pearl necklace, much like one of his fashion idols, singer Harry Styles.
Austen is extremely popular with the ladies when he goes out and has no trouble picking up, he has just not found ‘the one’.
He works as a spray painter on cars, a job he loves.
With equally stunning eyes and smile that light up any room, Austen will immediately be a target for the girls.
MITCHELL ELIOT
Age: 25 Personal Trainer Sydney, NSW
Our resident Kiwi in the villa, Mitchell (Mitch) just recently moved to Sydney full time from Auckland.
Mitch struck gold when he was studying to be a personal trainer in New Zealand, he met three women who were later to become long term PT clients.
He no longer has those clients after he made the decision to move to Sydney across the ditch.
That’s when the Love Island Australia opportunity popped up, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
Described as a Kiwi prankster with a kind heart, Mitchell is ready to enter the Love Island villa.
He has had one serious relationship with a girl who broke his heart. He was in love with her, but she didn’t love him back.
He admits he played the field but is ready to settle down.
JORDAN DOWSETT
Age: 25
FIFO Electrician Gold Coast, QLD
Originally from the small town of Longford, near Sale in country Victoria, Jordan recently made the move to the Gold Coast and hasn’t looked back.
He moved after an eight-year relationship ended with his high school sweetheart a couple of years ago. He and his girlfriend had been together since they were 14 years old.
Jordan wanted to explore life so he moved to the Gold Coast with mates.
He hopes the Love Island Australia experience is an extension of that by doing new things and being adventurous.
Jordan is an electrician and currently works as a FIFO worker which he loves.
His signature mullet is not going anywhere, officially the first mullet in the Love Island Australia villa in the four seasons of the show.
Jordan is a very talented AFL footballer, having played for Sale in a top country league. He hopes to restart AFL on the Gold Coast once this amazing experience on Love Island Australia ends.
CONOR HOWARD
Age: 26
Real Estate Agent Sydney, NSW
Born and bred in Sydney, Conor went to school in Maroubra in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. At the age of 19 he got a job in a family real estate business and he hasn’t looked back.
He is a top real estate agent in Sydney’s Eastern and South Coastal regions including the hotspot of Coogee.
An alpha male, Conor is ambitious, knows what he wants and isn’t afraid of expressing opinion. He will definitely ruffle some feathers in the villa, with both the girls and the boys.
He takes his fitness very seriously, inspired by his father who has always been super fit.
Conor believes he has never been in love before and wanted to do something completely unique like Love Island Australia to try and find it.
One of the reasons he wanted to go on the show is to also get him out of his comfort zone.
ANDRE COUTINHO
Age: 26
Mental Health Support Worker Perth, WA
Brain, brawn and beautiful could be three words to describe Andre, who was born and raised in Perth.
He has a psychology degree and works as a mental health support worker. Andre is another Islander who is a top AFL footballer.
He had a childhood birth injury with his shoulder and he was banned from playing contact sport. When he was around 12 he convinced his mother to let him have a go at AFL and it was the best thing that ever happened.
Andre has a very on trend fashion style and striking look which will turn heads as he enters the villa.
He is also good friends with one of last year’s Islanders, Noah Hura, who is also from Perth and recommended Andre be part of the show.
CALLUM HOLE
Age: 24
PT / Pool Boy Brisbane, QLD
Huge personality - mixed with naughtiness - is a way to describe Callum.
The girls will drool over his thick Welsh accent, and he admits he will use this to snare a ‘bird’ as he likes to say.
Working as a pool boy at a top Brisbane hotel, Callum is used to entertaining VIP’s and working his charm. He also works as a personal trainer during the week and has some regular clients.
He admits he has ultimate playboy energy as he heads into the villa. He is bound to make a memorable entrance.
Will he be able to contain that and actually meet someone special and who can embrace his outgoing, strong personality?
The girls, the boys and the Australian public are going to fall in love with the hilarious Welshman.
TAK CHIPANGURA
Age: 22
Security Guard / Tik Tok Rapper Brisbane, QLD
At 22 Tak has already achieved and done so much with his life.
Born in Zimbabwe, he came to Australia when he was a boy after his parents emigrated to Australia to become nurses, working their way up in the hospital system.
Tak grew up in Wagga Wagga where he became a champion footballer. He has been selected for youth AFL games for both the Brisbane Lions and Greater Western Sydney but gave up the game after falling out of love with it.
He spent time studying to be a helicopter pilot for the Australian Army before realising it was not for him. Instead he has drifted to music, performing under the name ‘Bravo 2 Real’.
Not afraid to speak his mind, Tak is a great talker and potentially could ruffle some feathers in the villa.
He has strong morals and will stick to them in the villa. This means at times he won’t be afraid to call the boys out, to their face or to the girls behind their back.
THE GIRLS
CLAUDIA BONIFAZIO
Age: 23
Medical secretary Adelaide, SA
Measuring 155cms or 5 ft 1, Claudia is your ultimate pocket rocket and is simply stunning. Born and bred in Adelaide, Claudia is of Sicilian background and lives with her family.
Claudia is in Love Island for No.1, and that is herself and her quest to find love.
She is no nonsense and takes no rubbish and will quite happily cut someone off - including girlfriends - if they treat her badly.
Drama, she says, follows her everywhere.
While she is over the men in Adelaide, she still has plenty of male friends.
She works as a medical secretary but on the side also acts. She would love to do more acting and with her strong, bubbly personality she has serious star quality.
The boys are going to go wild for Claudia the moment she walks into the villa.
STELLA HUTCHEON
Age: 24
Radio Media Coordinator Brisbane, QLD
Stella is Love Island Australia’s girl next door.
She is passionate about her work as a media coordinator in the radio industry in Brisbane. Stella started on the street promotional team at her radio station before being promoted.
Stella is naturally curly and she is going to embrace that in the villa.
She has already had her heart broken when she was 18 when she fell in love with a man from Colorado in the United States.
Stella doesn’t want a boy that’s too clingy, a man who is intelligent, funny and most importantly, nice.
She just graduated with a Bachelor of Arts where she majored in communications, film and television. She is ambitious and loves her career in radio and sees a real future in it.
HOLLY OAKES-FERGUSON
Age: 25
Customer service officer in the lottery industry Brisbane, QLD
When Holly walks in the room it’s impossible not to notice her. Loud, confident, funny and with an opinion, she will turn heads in the villa.
Holly moved with her family to the Sunshine Coast in Australia from the United Kingdom when she was 11. Her mother picked a place on the map of Australia and they packed up everything on a whim.
For her day job, Holly works as a customer service officer in the lottery industry, she loves a chat and has zero filter.
Holly loves being the centre of the attention, and some of her fellow Islanders might like that, and some may not.
She says she is a guys’ girl and has lots of male friends
JESSICA LOSURDO
Age: 26 Bank worker
Sydney, NSW
Hilariously funny with an infectious laugh, Jessica is a great find for our Love Island Australia cast.
Based in Western Sydney where she lives with her family, Jessica is of Italian and Philippines heritage.
She is a proud gamer and on weekends is more likely to be in front of the TV playing video games, not in a nightclub.
Smart and fiery, Jessica says how it is and is not afraid to speak her mind.
Our fabulous British Islander wants a man who can embrace everything about her, including her unbridled confidence.
LAYLA JOHN
Age: 20 Student/Dancer Melbourne, VIC
The youngest Islander in the villa, but she definitely won’t be the quietest.
Layla already has a start in show business, having attended high school at the Patrick School of Arts in Melbourne majoring in dance.
She hopes to make a career out of dancing.
Layla knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to express her opinions, and she will bring this to the villa. Some of the girls will love her, some may not.
At 20 she hasn’t really had a relationship, but she once fell for her best friend’s boyfriend and secretly dated him for a month.
With a dry sense of humour and straightforwardness, she could be the centre of the drama with both girls and the guys, which she wouldn’t mind.
Layla lives in the Melbourne suburb of Essendon with her parents. She had a part-time job the past year at one of Melbourne’s hottest bars.
PHOEBE SPILLER
Age: 24
Fashion Student Sydney, NSW
From growing up on a farm outside Ballarat in Victoria, Phoebe now calls Bondi in Sydney her home.
The relaxing and glamorous beach vibe is her thing, she works in a boutique in Bondi while studying fashion.
She hopes to make it in the fashion industry in some capacity, perhaps as a stylist.
Phoebe, in the past, has had a very particular type and isn’t afraid to admit it. She has dated lots of AFL football players. She believes Sydney footballers are nicer than Melbourne footballers.
Phoebe also likes fit men with blonde hair, if she had to pick a physical attribute.
She is however ready to change her dating habits in the villa and go for someone who is not a footballer. But with a couple of very good footballers in the cast, it will be interesting to see what happens.
Friendship wise Phoebe says she has more male friends than female friends.
