She has raked in more than £1million since winning last year’s Love Island – but Amber Gill admits she finds her new-found fortune “scary”.
The 22-year-old former beautician is one of the biggest earners of the show thanks to brand endorsements and modelling contracts.
But while many of us would love to become a millionaire overnight, Amber is open about how things have changed for her.
“My life is totally different in every way possible,” the Geordie tells the Daily Star.
“Everything has been a change, from moving cities to going from being a beautician to going on TV and doing interviews.
“Earning a lot of money is nice and it’s great to have the freedom to do what you want, but it’s very scary and you have to be sensible and careful. It’s a big responsibility.”
The 22-year-old former beautician is one of the biggest earners of the show (Image: MissPap)
Amber has also become a target for social media trolls after gaining more than two million Instagram followers. But instead of getting upset, she prefers to laugh at them.
“I’ve planned to do an episode about trolling on the Reality Check podcast I do with (fellow Islanders) Anna Vakili and Yewande Biala as we’ve all had different experiences with it,” says Amber.
“What I do is see the funny side of it. I just think ‘wow, you took time out of your day to say that to me – I must be doing something right!’
“Sometimes I ignore them, but you do find them when looking for other messages – and when I come across trolling messages I screenshot them and send them to my friends and we laugh at it. It’s the best way for me to deal with it.”
Amber says she is watching the current winter series of Love Island (Image: NC)
Since leaving the villa, she has remained firm friends with Yewande and Anna, and they regularly meet up to record Reality Check, which is available to stream online or watch on Yahoo’s YouTube channel.
The podcast sees them asking their followers to send in problems, and the trio offer lighthearted advice and open up about personal experiences they’ve had relating to those issues.
“I know you’re meant to go on Love Island to find love, but one of the best things for me was that I found friendship with the girls,” says Amber.
“Being in the villa was like a girls’ holiday for us, and that was really fun. Working with them is great because we’ve been able to carry on the friendship outside.
Since leaving the villa, Amber has remained firm friends with Yewande and Anna (Image: NC)
“It’s hard to keep in touch with everybody but there’s certain people like the girls and Ovie Soko I still see.”
One person Amber no longer sees is former pal Ellie Brown, who appeared on the 2018 series.
In the villa, Amber was coupled up with firefighter Michael Griffiths – who is now working as a Dreamboys stripper – but he ditched her in Casa Amor for Joanna Chimonides.
Michael went on to date Ellie for a few months. “He can date who he wants,” says Amber. “I don’t really speak to Ellie any more.
“I know how my friends feel about the situation, but they are a bit protective over me. I’m just not bothered.”
Amber went on to win the show with Irish rugby player Greg O’Shea, but the pair split after just five weeks. “Relationships don’t last because Love Island is a total lifestyle change for everybody,” says Amber.
Amber has also become a target for social media trolls after gaining more than two million Instagram followers (Image: MissPap)
“So trying to make a relationship work with somebody else when you leave is a very hard thing to do.”
Amber is currently single, and says she plans to spend Valentine’s Day with a pal from Newcastle.
“Me and one of my best friends have a tradition where we do something together,” she says. “It doesn’t matter if I’m in a relationship or not, I always do something with her. Even if I have a boyfriend, he comes along.”
Amber says she is watching the current winter series of Love Island, and her favourite Islander is Shaughna Phillips.
She adds: “I feel like the producers have really brought in a lot of bombshells early on, there’s been one after the other and it’s nice to spice it up like that because you do get a bit comfortable in there.”
Love Island winners Greg O’Shea and Amber Gill (Image: NC)
And her advice to the current contestants is to “enjoy the experience”. “Take everything you see with a pinch of salt and enjoy the experience,” says Amber.
“What I find helps me is meditating quite a lot, every day if I can, and just making sure I schedule time to sit on the sofa and chill.
“I also like to be around people I was with before Love Island, my friends from home who treat me normally.”
And what does she think it takes to win the show? “You need to have a bit of confidence in yourself and back yourself 100%,” she says.
“Just be yourself and don’t try to change who you are.”
*Reality Check with Amber, Anna & Yewande is available to listen to now on streaming services.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
