'I've Found My Own Lane': Love Island Star Jack Fowler on DJ Career, World Cup 2026 & Why He Won't Return to the Villa
Jack Fowler has come a long way from the Love Island villa. The 30-year-old, who first appeared on the show's fourth series in 2018 before going on to win the US edition, has quietly built one of the more credible post-Love Island careers going, not through brand deals or dating shows, but by spending two years in a bedroom with a pair of decks during lockdown and emerging as a touring DJ with 15 million Spotify streams and a European summer ahead of him.
Freebets.com, the home of World Cup Betting Sites, caught up with Fowler ahead of his European tour to talk music, his continued relationship with Love Island, England's World Cup chances and, naturally, as a lifetime Arsenal supporter, a certain Premier League title.
Life after Love Island
On the immediate aftermath of leaving the villa:
"I remember being on my season and obviously Jack [Fincham] and Dani ['Dyer] won it, but you kind of knew that was going to happen. So for me, I was thinking I was just a backup dancer. I didn't actually think I was getting much air time. And to be fair, that didn't really bother me, I was just happy to be there. So then to come out of the show with such love and recognition and the followers going crazy, it was like the closest thing I could ever say to just being thrown into a different world. There's nothing they could have said to prepare me."
On building his own career away from the show:
"When I come off such a big show it was mental, 2019, 2020, even today it's still crazy, some of the things I get to do. I'm always proud and grateful for the opportunity that Love Island gave me. But it's very important to have your own lane. Every six months there's a new season, so the bubble gets more saturated. Having my own career, something I built myself with my team, has really helped me."
On Love Island opening and closing doors:
"When you come off a show like that, so many doors open. Funny enough, some doors actually close too. I used to do fashion modelling and when you come off such a commercial brand, you can get stripped from that because they don't want that look. But so many more doors open than close. Since 2018, my life has completely changed."
Upcoming Plans
On his summer schedule and new music:
"I go on tour tomorrow morning, fly to Spain, come back, I've got some work on the Friday, then back out Saturday and Sunday, and my tour starts. I'll be touring Europe all throughout summer."
"I'm also producing my own music now. I'm releasing music this Friday. I'm on radio this Friday on Centre Force Radio. It's a busy time. All year is pretty busy, but summer is when it really kicks on."
On his streaming milestone:
"We just hit 15 million streams on Spotify alone, which is great. If you'd said that to me four or five years ago, I probably wouldn't have believed you. But for me now it's all about releasing music consistently, the right music, music that I love."
Does Love Island need to evolve to survive?
On how the show has already evolved:
"When I was on it there were only English people in there. I watched last night's episode and there's a girl from Barbados, an Irish guy. They're doing things which I think is the right move, bringing in different people. I wouldn't be surprised if they put in an American girl or a Spanish girl, just to give it a bit of a shift. Because like any show, if you keep the same format it gets boring, it gets repetitive. But the producers are smart. They know what they're doing. All Stars came in, then Love Island Games, which I was on, those shifts in format keep it entertaining."
On the difference between being in the villa and watching as a viewer:
"When you've been in there, there’s so much more to the show which the viewer cannot see. As a viewer you'd see an hour, but we lived 24 hours of it. Little things like, you don't see us have lunch and dinner. But during lunch and dinner I was doing the most grafting. When the cameras come off, your microphone is still on but no one's really listening, everyone just relaxes. So the girl I wanted to be with, she's relaxed and not playing up to the cameras. I'd go make her lunch and dinner, fix her plate, bring it over, put my arm around her. Sometimes the producers would tell me to stop, 'Jack, don't talk about anything relevant, just chat.' Those are the things that as a viewer you'd never see."
On whether the audience has a say in how the show runs:
"They always say the fifth producer is the public, the ones who watch it, social media, how people are reacting. So having great producers is amazing, but because the show is live, we as viewers have a say without even realising it. If someone's saying something controversial, producers keep them in because people are tweeting about it. It's a produced show, even though it's not scripted, but as viewers we have a say."
On what he'd like to see brought back:
"In 2018 there was a contestant who got dumped but they brought him back, no one thought that would happen. That was such a curveball. Maybe seeing that again would be quite interesting because when you've left you get people's perceptions, you understand things, you can watch the show a bit and maybe take things back into the villa to stir it up. I think that'd be pretty good to bring back."
Are you still close with any of your former cast members?
"I would say Josh and Wes. I was with Josh on the weekend and we just came back from Bali together as well, all three of us. The way I explain it is that when you leave school you have friends you stay close with, and then friends you might see down the line at a party and go, 'yeah, what's up?' That's what Love Island is like. I have my close people from the show and then I'll be out and about and see others and we catch up. But Josh and Wes are the close ones."
On the unique bond of the experience:
"It's a very unique experience that only a select few get to do. When you come off a show like that it's kind of like leaving school, you have your close friends and then you have friends who are cool but not your closest. When I go to an event or a red carpet I'll see my other Love Island friends, which is nice. But Josh and Wes are the tight ones."
Future TV work
Are there any other TV shows you’d like to do next?
"Something competitive, something that pushes me physically. SAS: Who Dares Wins would be great. With my background, having been paralysed, I think doing something like that would be a really meaningful thing to tick off. I don't know many other shows out there that are as physically demanding. I think that would be amazing."
"Strictly would be great, I don't mind a little two-step. Bake Off, I'm not any good at baking but I'd give it a go. I just love TV, man. I enjoy the buzz of it. I like being on camera, I like having good energy on camera. Celebs Go Dating kind of proved that because it was more about you as an individual, less about a whole group of islanders. That kind of format is great."
What about the Traitors?
"The Traitors would be a good one, that's such a popular show right now. Things that are a bit different to what people might expect me to be on would be great. I've done numerous dating shows so I feel like I've kind of completed that chapter. What else is there?"
World Cup 2026 Plans
"I'm hoping to actually get out there. I've got some work out in the US during that period, I'm meant to be DJing in Malibu in June, which is when it all kicks off. So it'd be great just to be around it. Even if I don't get to see a game, just being in that atmosphere would be brilliant."
On the World Cup as a commercial and personal opportunity:
"The World Cup is one of those few things where the whole world feels like it literally stands still. It's just weeks of everyone being engulfed by the same thing. Being in the US during that, near the tournament itself, from a career point of view and as a football fan it'd be great. The two o'clock kickoffs don't phase me. I'll be watching them."
On England's chances:
"I think a few boys should have been in the squad who weren't selected, but Tuchel knows what he's doing, we hope so. I think we've got creative players. I just want to see freedom on the pitch, I don't want England to be too rigid. That's why Palmer made such an impact at the Euros, he ran between the lines, didn't play as much as we'd have liked, but every time he came on he was electric. I think this is going to be a great tournament." For the latest England World Cup odds, see our dedicated page.
On the mental side of the England camp:
"I feel like there's always been a breakdown between the players once they're in the England camp, because you're playing against each other week in, week out. It's hard to just switch that mentality. It's a bit easier now than it was in the Beckham era, back then you had United players and Liverpool players who were best friends with their club teammates and then expected to be best friends in an England shirt. That's why we never won anything then, which is mental given the talent. What we need to do in that camp is really build that bond."
On who will win the tournament:
"France. I think they're the team to beat. Their entire front three would be in anyone's top five players in the world right now, Mbappe, Dembele, Olise. I think they are the team to beat."
On what an England win would mean:
"I think it'd just be bedlam. Sunday was mad enough and that was Arsenal, over million people in London for that parade. Imagine the whole country going nuts. When we got to the Euros semi-final I was at Boxpark in Shoreditch and it was mental. Thousands and thousands of people. People jumping on bus stops, someone with a boombox, news crews running through the crowd trying to get footage. That was just a semi-final. A World Cup win? I can't even imagine it."
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On Arsenal fans' reputation and the 22-year wait:
"What you're seeing from Arsenal fans right now is 22 years of built-up expectation. We've waited a long time. We class ourselves as a big club and to not have a Premier League title in 22 years while doing that, you take a lot of stick for it. For us to finally get it over the line, it was huge. There are people all over the world who don't even like football who know Arsenal won the league, because of how big the fan base is."
On what makes Arsenal the most talked-about club in the country:
"I think we do have the biggest fan base in the UK and people are now realising how much love Arsenal get. If you're hearing things like that from Gary Neville, you know you're doing something right, because he doesn't like Arsenal. You had Man United fans wanting City to win, Liverpool fans supporting anyone but us, West Ham fans having a go when they got relegated themselves. Spurs fans, shameless. Everyone wanted Arsenal to lose and we haven't. So you have to respect it. We haven't always played the best football, but we asked Arteta to find a way and he found a way."
On what's next for Arsenal:
"I think this is just the start. We had three years of finishing second and we finally done it. The Kroenkes were walking out the trophy to the boys at Palace, the backing is there. Big players are now going to want to come in. We always had a little problem attracting top talent because we were finishing fourth and just missing out. Now we've done it, and we were one penalty away from the Champions League final. That's just unlucky. That's a penalties issue, not a quality issue. From here on out I think we're going to have departures, big players coming in. With Pep gone, Klopp gone, Slot now too, Arteta and Arsenal are the team to be at. And you're in London. As a player, if you get asked to go to Newcastle or come to Arsenal in London, you're coming to London."
On his dream signing:
"It's a tough ask but apparently Mbappe isn't very happy at Madrid. I don't think we'd pay 500k a week but I think him up top would be something else. I love Trossard but I think he's a squad player, we need someone on the left or a proper striker. Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa would be unreal. The main thing is we just made 700 million in revenue. Time to put that to good use."
Jack's comments follow the Freebets.com Football End of Season Survey on most annoying fans and don't forget to check out the best World Cup Free Bets.
