“Love Island” Stars Are Coupling Up On Brand Deals, But Beware Of Mixing Business With Pleasure

The seventh season of ‘Love Island USA’ recently wrapped, bringing a new wave of opportunities to its contestants.

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The hit show ‘Love Island USA’ recently wrapped up its seventh season, reportedly amassing over 18 billion minutes streamed by audiences as new episodes aired almost daily. After hitting the beach and our screens, contestants are continuing to ride the wave of popularity, with many now cashing in on podcast appearances, content creation, and brand partnerships. For those who found their match on the island, there is an added layer of complexity to these opportunities.

It’s easy to see why mixing business with pleasure is highly appealing, as it gives couples the chance to work together on modeling shoots, promotional materials, and other income-producing projects while keeping their relationships top of mind. Season seven’s breakout couple, Olandria Carthen and Nicolas Vansteenberghe (dubbed “Nicolandria”), are a great example. Nic, who has modeled with the swimwear brand Kulani Kinis since 2021, recently launched his own curated line with the brand, “Kulani Kinis x Nic.” Appearing alongside him in the campaign is his girlfriend and fan-favorite counterpart, Olandria. Since departing the villa in July, the couple has also collaborated with Agua de Kefir and NYX Professional Makeup, demonstrating their powerful draw as a duo.

Nicolandria are not the only “Love Island” alums to leverage their relationship—Serena Page and Kordell Beckham from season six have coupled up with Savage X Fenty and Spotify, and other TV pairings are making similar business moves.

Still, the reality is that working as a couple creates unique financial implications for these stars, who will need a professional team and sound legal guidance to make sure the deals don’t make their love go sour. Unmarried couples will have to negotiate separate contracts that fully set forth their entitlements to income, royalties, IP, and other streams of income from joint work. These implications are amplified once it comes time to tie the knot, as married couples also need specific contracts, but their assets could be considered shared even if only one person receives all of the income for work that they do together. The complexity of marital assets and streams of income accentuate the need for a prenuptial agreement that not only protects assets and premarital income, but uniquely accounts for how the individuals and their respective brands will continue to work with and rely on each other.

As reality TV show contestants can become celebrities in their own right, they should approach their prenuptial agreements as such. A well-crafted prenup can allow these stars to proactively protect any new streams of revenue that may arise during their marriage, whether it be income from a novel brand deal or the TikTok creator program. Subsequently, prenups can protect any premarital and postmarital businesses, especially prevalent as more creators opt to launch their own retail brands. Unlike the average prenup, influencers must pay special attention to their IP and royalties, ideally documenting any division up front.

While we all root for our “ships” to last, studies found only 10% of “Love Island USA” couples have gone the distance, with the stats for other reality pairings not surpassing 33%. Without experienced legal counsel, and a prenup in cases where the couples wed, these dynamic duos may risk losing large percentages of their amassed wealth if the relationship goes south or they eventually divorce. In community property states like California, their spouse may even be entitled to half of their empire.

Shows like ‘Love Island” can catapult ordinary individuals into multimillion-dollar trademarks. The sudden fame can be life-changing, but the loss of that fame can have just as much of an impact if proper legal protections are not in place. It is crucial to not put all your eggs in one basket, or in this case, bank account. Before jumping all in, consider grabbing your matrimonial attorney, talent manager, and financial advisory team for a chat.