Matthew MacNabb joins Love Island as part of Casa Amor twist
Ulster University law graduate Matthew MacNabb is set to enter the Love Island villa, becoming the third legally-minded contestant in the current series to do so.
MacNaab, 26, from Belfast, Northern Ireland, is one of 12 new cast members joining the show this evening as part of its Casa Amor twist. For the newbies out there, this is a fan-favourite moment in the series where the contestants are split into two villas and six single guys and girls are brought in to try and rock relationships or build new ones in attempts to keep their place on the show.
A scan of MacNaab’s LinkedIn shows he graduated from the Northern Ireland institution in 2016 with a 3.4 grade point average (2.1 UK equivalent). He lists his activities and societies during his time at university as taking part in the law society and fitness centre.
Like many of the law grads before him (and there have been many), MacNaab isn’t working in the legal field. He co-founded a specialist marketing consultancy and returned to Ulster in 2018 to complete a masters in business administration. He has also worked in San Diego, California, for over a year and set-up his own “sustainable sports apparel brand”.
Speaking ahead of his appearance on the show, MacNaab said he chose to go on mainly for the adventure — “it seems like a really fun thing to do”.
“My family would describe me as very relaxed and laid back, positive and optimistic,” he said. “And my friends would describe me as very adventurous and very positive.”
MacNaab is the third legally-minded contestant in this series: St Mary’s University law grad Tyler Cruickshank entered the villa last week just days after Birkbeck law student Sharon Gaffka was booted out.
In series gone-by, we’ve seen Limerick University law grad and pro rugby player Greg O’Shea crowned the winner of Love Island 2019. He’s currently competing in the Tokyo Olympics and last year completed his law exam finals for admission to the Law Society of Ireland. “I don’t really want to be a solicitor right now in my life but I said I’d do the exams and I’ve done them,” he updated his Instagram followers in November 2020. “I’ve played in front of tens of thousands of people, I’ve been on TV shows in front of millions of people and this is easily the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do — these law exams.”
Elsewhere, Leeds Beckett law grad Lavena Back featured in the same series as O’Shea, and in the series before that, NQ solicitor Rosie Williams entered the villa.
You can catch Love Island, which is narrated by Edinburgh University law grad Iain Stirling, on weekdays at 9pm on ITV2.
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