Love Island star Samantha Kenny is constantly rejecting footballers.
Samantha, 27, first appeared on the ITV dating show just last year alongside the likes of Ayo Odukoya, Grace Jackson, Joey Essex and winners Josh Oyinsan and Mimii Ngulube. Despite entering on day one, Samantha was sent home from the island on day 16 after she failed to couple up with another singleton.
But since leaving the villa, the Liverpudlian has revealed that her direct messages on social media are often bombarded with previous islanders, as well as footballers. She, however, has no time for them, as "they're all 12." Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Samantha admitted that she's found dating hard after appearing on the show.
"Only ex-Islanders, no-one major," she said of people sliding into her messages before adding: "There's loads of footballers, loads of footy players, they're always in there. But they have a conversation with themselves, I tend to stay away from them because they're always like 12.
"They come with the drama and I don't think I'm cut out to be a WAG to be honest." Samantha also revealed that she's had people in relationships and married mens sliding into her messages. "I'm not that kind of girl, that could never be me," she commented. The influencer who boasts over 400,000 followers on Instagram alone said dating is now "ten times harder."
"No-one excites me," she said, adding: "I don't know what's up with me. I went in there like 'I want a Cockney boy', and then I was like 'Actually, do I?' now, I don't know what I want. No-one excites me, no-one thrills me, I don't think I've properly fancied someone since I come off the show."
Samantha admits that being in the villa allows singletons to develop feelings more quickly due to having no distractions and being around people 24/7. "But it's also a bit like a pressure cooker," she laughed before saying: "You get to know them so quickly. I would get stage fright, I wouldn't know what to ask and then I'd end up asking about The Only Way Is Essex, I'd end up bringing up Gemma Collins.
"I didn't know what to say to anyone, I was in a relationship for over three years, I forgot to date." Despite being in her late 20s, Samantha recently made the decision to undergo breast enhancement surgery, having an implant and uplift in Manchester. She said: "I've always been a body confident person but I feel like I've lost a lot of weight.
"It was purely for the fact I wanted to make myself a bit more confident, coming off a show like Love Island, it's all about how you look in a bikini. I felt I might as well get it done while I'm young." "It was my skin," she said before explaining she had her breasts done to the same size, a 280CC as "everything needed a little lift," due to her skin.
When asked whether social media or being on Love Island has played a part in her body confidence journey, the chatty Scouser revealed: "I definitely think social media does – being a young girl and coming off a show, when I was in the villa, I put a kilo on – all you do in there, I was that bored, I'd eat.
"You're bound to get nasty comments, we all do, coming off the show. It was like 'Do I need to change it then?' – I didn't get them done for anyone else, other than myself and it's made me feel so much better." Samantha revealed that the comments from trolls don't just affect her, but also those closest to her.
Her mum has had to block people on social media due to negative comments underneath Samantha's posts on Instagram. "When you come off a show, you get so many comments, especially Love Island, you're sat in a bikini all day, every inch of your body is out. Of course people are going to say things, that's fine, everyone's entitled to their own opinions but I think to come online and say a comment on a young girls body, of course, it's going to get in your head. I'm a thick-skinned girl but it did get to me at one point."
Samantha admits she's happy for people to comment on her, if they stick it to their group chat with friends, rather than heading to her comments section. "What I don't know, can't harm me," she said. While many people jet abroad for surgery, Samantha admits this isn't a decision she was willing to make and "doesn't judge" anybody seeking cheaper treatment in countries such as Turkey.
"The way my recovery was, it was a little bit more intense than just the regular breast augmentation, I just don't know how these girls go to Turkey," she commented before continuing: "Getting on a flight after it? There's not a chance on Earth, I'm so glad I stayed in the UK. I had my mum on standby, I was in my own bed for the whole of it, I was in and out the same day. My whole process was amazing."
Samantha is often offered free cosmetic surgery in Turkey but she says she would "never" take the offers. "I definitely think social media has a big influence on where people go," she said before saying that since sharing her own journey on social media, her own surgeon has been inundated with bookings.
The star was on a photoshoot in Paris when she noticed her breasts were drooping while wearing a deep V-neck dress. "I was like 'No sorry, they need lifting,' so I got them done. I did want to wait until I'd had kids but I just thought 'No,'" she revealed.
