Fabulous sat down with Ella, who took part in the 2023 series of Love Island and finished in third place alongside her boyfriend Tyrique Hyde, to hear all about her crazy summer.
Not only this, but the award-winning model, from Glasgow, Scotland, told us all about the beauty buys she can’t live without, including the hair hack she swears by.
Ella told Fabulous: “Love Island can be very intense. I made sure to stay true to myself and my values by just being myself.
“With me, I show how I feel, I can’t hide anything. That’s something that just comes naturally to me.
“In the villa, I formed a lot of close friendships. I was close friends with a lot of the girls. There was a good group of us that were really close friends.
“We used to have such nice moments in the dressing room together, we used to enjoy getting ready together, singing songs, all those cute little moments.
“My first impression of Tyrique – just looking at him, I was like ‘he’s good looking’.
“He definitely gave off pretty boy vibes and I thought he might be a bit of a heartbreaker, but I quickly got to know his personality and could see that he was funny and had a big heart.
“My favourite romantic moment from the show was when Ty told me he loves me.
“He did a cute little surprise and got the bean bags, and tried to make my chocolate strawberries. It was the thought that counts. But yeah, that was a really special moment for me.”
Ella also opened up on the hilarious moments viewers didn’t get to see, as she claimed: “A funny, off-camera moment that viewers didn’t get to see, was when we were bored, we would just sit and play games.
“We played odds on all the time and had each other doing the silliest dares, the most random stuff. There were so many funny moments that you guys wouldn’t have got to see.
“[We would] go into the bedroom where all the boys are and start doing a mad dance, start moonwalking.
“One time, someone dared Jess to eat five slices of bread. But she didn’t do it.
“Everyone surprised me in the villa. Everyone had such a big personality.
“It felt like every single person in there had such a distinct personality and we were all really different from each other. Going in, I didn’t expect there to be so many people with such big personalities.”
“I wouldn’t change anything about my Love Island experience. Everything happens for a reason.”
Ella also revealed the fashion trends she loved wearing in the villa, as well as the make-up she couldn’t live without.
She explained: “A fashion trend that I loved wearing in the villa was Y2K, early 2000s styles, like whenever I would wear low-rise trousers with a cute top.
“And some of the nice, classy holiday dresses that you don’t really get to wear in the UK.
“My favourite beauty product have got to be the Dyson hair dryer – that was a life saver.
“I like switching it from curly hair to straight hair sometimes so I need a good blow dryer.
“Also, my curling mousse, curling gels, leave-in conditioners – all of that.
“The make-up products that I used all the time in the villa were cream blush and concealer. You know during the day when you just want a little bit of make-up but not too much. They were my go-tos.”
The stunning model also revealed the hair hack you must try, as well as the tips she swears by for looking and feeling confident.
She added: “My hair secret is before wash day, do a nice little oil treatment and a hair mask and just let that soak in before you do your wash.
“My top tips to looking and feeling confident are looking after yourself, if you feel good about yourself, you look better too. Also, just loving yourself and knowing that there’s only one you.”
Since leaving the villa, Ella explained that she and Tyrique are set to take a huge next step in their relationship, as the pair are in the process of finding their first home together.
Not only that, but Ella told Fabulous: “Life since leaving the villa has been very exciting, it’s been full on, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind, but I enjoyed it. It’s been exciting.
“I’ve got a very exciting project coming up – my Pretty Little Thing edit is launching very soon and I can’t wait for everyone to see the collection.”