itv2 moved first on Love Island season 13, revealing the first 12 Islanders ahead of the villa opening. The summer 2026 run is set to begin on Monday 1 June at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.
Lorenzo Alessi joins the first 12
Lorenzo Alessi, a 28-year-old business owner from Hertfordshire, is one of the first names heading into the villa. He arrives in a season that ITV has now started to shape before launch, with the cast reveal doing the practical work of turning a return date into an actual lineup.
Alessi’s own pre-villa pitch leans on strategy as much as attraction. He said he believes “all is fair in love and war” and described himself as a “self deprecating person,” which fits a contestant profile built around quick reads and social positioning rather than polished performance.
Reverse psychology and villa games
Alessi said he would encourage another Islander to go and speak to a girl he was also interested in. “Sometimes it ends up working, reverse psychology,” he said. That gives viewers an early read on how he expects to move inside a cast where first impressions can decide who gets time on screen and who gets left waiting by the fire pit.
He also said his type traditionally is a blonde and that he has a penchant for “a posh girl.” More unusually, he said he looks for a girl’s arms. “It’s really strange! Imagine like a Jessica Alba or an Angelina Jolie kind of arm and neck, I find that very elegant. Very niche, I know!” he said.
Just under 6,000 followers
At the time of reporting, Alessi had just under 6,000 followers on Instagram. That is the smallest pre-launch detail here, but it still gives a read on the kind of contestant the show is introducing before the first episode: not an already massive online figure, but someone whose audience can still grow quickly once the series starts.
The cast reveal matters because it gives the season a starting shape before viewers see the villa dynamics play out. For anyone planning to watch, the key change is simple: the new series arrives on Monday 1 June at 9pm, and the first 12 Islanders are already in play.
