Love Island champion Amber Gill recently expressed relief at stepping back from the limelight following her stint on the popular reality TV series. Amber emerged victorious in season five of the show alongside her former partner, Greg O’Shea. During her time on the show, she mingled with other notable contestants such as Tommy Fury, Molly-Mae Hague, and Maura Higgins.
After the couple parted ways just five weeks after their triumph, Amber humorously dubbed herself the “first solo winner of Love Island.” Reflecting on her experiences before and after the show on her podcast Just Existing, Amber disclosed the overwhelming pressure she faced trying to engage her newfound two million social media followers with content creation, despite her lack of prior experience.
Expressing her sentiments, Amber shared, “[Before the show] I didn’t really post anything so it was throwing me very firmly into the deep end. It was getting to the point where I was getting like 900,000 likes on an Instagram photo which is insane and I was still thinking, ‘Why is it not a million? How come I only got 2000 comments and why not 3000?'” This led her to realize the need for a period of self-reflection and gratitude for her surroundings.
Amber also highlighted the immense pressure that comes with maintaining an online presence and ensuring constant correctness in actions. Since her Love Island journey, she has ventured into endeavors such as launching a clothing line with Misspap and co-authoring a book titled Until I Met You, inspired by a Black love story to address the lack of representation she felt growing up. Notably, the book was released in July 2022.
The 27-year-old from Newcastle is gearing up for the release of her second fictional novel, One Summer in Miami, where she delves into themes of celebrating and representing queer joy, sharing her significant life lessons, and emphasizing the value of therapy in her life journey.