It’s nearly been two years since he won the show.
And while it wasn’t meant to be for Kem and Amber (they broke up shortly after the show ended), it’s safe to say that he gained a lot from his time on Love Island, especially his BFF Chris.
But, would he do it all again? Well, no, to put it bluntly. We caught up with Kem yesterday as he launched his new line with Primark Man, and it’s safe to say that he’s got everything he wanted from the reality show.
“Nah, it wouldn’t be the same. You could do it ten times over and it wouldn’t be the same. The people in there, the timing. You got to remember, when I got in there I was just a barber so it’s all about mindset.
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“Because I’ve worked in TV for two years it wouldn’t feel as natural. I’d be used to it, I’d be too comfortable, I’d enjoy it too much,” he said.
Kem is a dab hand at TV at this stage, having worked on numerous shows over the past two years, but before he entered the villa, it was a completely different story.
“I went in there and I was so nervous and that’s what made it special. Everyday you go to bed, scared, because you just don’t know what’s happening tomorrow. You could leave, someone could come in and take your girl that you’re dating, you could get voted out, you don’t know what your parents are thinking.
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“There’s so many things running through your head that makes it special… and obviously I met Chris on there as well which was amazing, so I just couldn’t do it again.”
When talking to Kem, it was clear that he’s comfortable with where he is now. But we’ve always thought, when you come out of the villa and finally get your phone back, it must be mental to see your new found fame. Your Instagram followers explode. You’re trending on Twitter. The whole world is talking about you.
However, Kem didn’t really realise all of that on the first night because, well… his phone broke.
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“I didn’t log into Instagram the first night, my phone broke because I got too many texts. I was in there for ten weeks and everytime you say something your mates decide to message you [as if I’m] going to read it. So like, ‘aw your comment just well made me laugh’ and I’m thinking ‘mate I can’t read this’.
“So, I come out and all my friends have sent me hundreds of messages. My group chat, I think, was something like 15,000 messages so my phone just exploded. The first thing I did was turn it off and on, rang my mum.
“But yeah, the phone situation was really weird. My phone just went bust from too many messages.”
And as for the future, well in fairness Kem is killing it at the moment, and he doesn’t want to rush anything.
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“I’ve done a lot of really exciting stuff on TV this year like Dancing On Ice, doing This Morning at the moment,” he said.
“Honestly, forget going on Love Island, I’m doing stuff now that I never thought I would in a million years, like sometimes I sit and share the same sofa with Phil and Holly, it’s just surreal. Everytime my dad comes he brings them presents, like desserts, and that’s when it hits home, like, I work with them, it’s a very big deal, it’s huge.
“I just got to take it in sometimes, how amazing it is, so yeah, there’s loads of good stuff that’s happening and hopefully more to come.”
Kem’s new line in Primark Man will be released across the UK and Ireland in May.
