Love Island Australia season 1

Format

Love Island places a group of contestants, called Islanders, in a villa in Mallorca, Spain, under constant video surveillance. To remain in the villa, each Islander must be coupled with another, whether for love, friendship, or money; the winning couple receives a combined $50,000.

On the first day, Islanders couple up based on first impressions, but throughout the series they must "re-couple," choosing to stay together or swap partners. Any Islander left single after a coupling is eliminated. Public votes via the Love Island app determine which couples face elimination, and during the final week the public votes for the winning couple.

Islanders

The Islanders for the first series were announced by Nine on 21 May 2018, a week before the premiere. Several former Islanders later appeared on other shows: Justin Lacko on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! season 5 in 2019; Kory Grant on True Love Or True Lies? season two; Erin Barnett on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! season 6 in 2020; Grant Crapp on The Challenge: Australia and The Challenge: World Championship in 2022; and Teddy Briggs on The Amazing Race Australia season 7 in 2023.

Coupling and elimination history

Kim arrived after the first coupling and was allowed to steal a boy on Day 2, choosing Josh and leaving Tayla single. Australia voted for the girl they hoped would find true love; Françoise was immune as a new islander, and Kim received the fewest votes and was dumped, leaving John James single. On Day 10, Françoise stole Elias, leaving Cassidy single.

Dom arrived after a recoupling and stole Cassidy on Day 17, leaving Josh single. Australia then voted for the boy they believed would leave with a girlfriend; Dom was immune, Elias received the fewest votes and was dumped, leaving Françoise single. Jaxon and Justin had the next fewest votes; Eden and Erin, as the couple with the most votes, chose to dump Justin, leaving Millie single. Amelia and Shelby arrived on Day 22 and each stole a boy: Amelia chose Josh, Shelby chose Jaxon. A full recoupling followed, leaving Cassidy and Mac single; Australia voted to save one, dumping Cassidy.

On Day 30, the girls collectively dumped Jaxon, leaving Shelby single. Kory and Mark arrived on Day 31 and each stole a girl: Kory chose Millie, Mark chose Mac, leaving Teddy and Dom single. The Day 35 recoupling was the final one; from then, one of the final six couples was dumped each night until the finale.

Reception

Love Island Australia averaged about 200,000 linear viewers per episode in overnight OzTAM ratings, rising to an average of 511,000 when including 9Now streaming viewers. The series performed strongest among 16- to 39-year-olds but ranked low in total viewers. Its official YouTube channel generated over 150 million views, though 85% came from outside Australia and could not be monetised.