Montel and Leah on a date.

Love Island: everything to know about bombshell Montel McKenzie

The semi-professional footballer has joined the Love Island villa

TV & Film Editor
June 21, 2023

Love Island is finally welcoming some much-needed bombshells to the villa, and we couldn't be more excited to meet the newcomers – and find out who they would like to crack on with!

One of the two new boys is Montel McKenzie, a semi-pro footballer and account manager from East London. The 25-year-old wants to go on Love Island to find something he wants to date as he is too busy with work and football, so let's find out more about the dashing bachelor here…

Montel McKenzie - age, job and more

Montel, 25, has already revealed who he is interested in, saying: "My top three right now would be Catherine, Leah and Ella. Ella for me is generally my type, Catherine carries herself well and seems like a classy girl. Leah seems very chilled and that’s the kind of person I am... I am used to people coming up to me - I’m lucky I guess! I don’t usually approach girls and win them over." Watch out Tyrique!

He added that he didn't mind treading on some toes, saying: "I’m not really worried about that if I really want the girl. I’m not going to cause a problem over someone I am not interested in. I’ll definitely speak to Ella despite her being coupled up with Tyrique."

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The bombshell also criticised how Mitch is handling himself on the show, saying: "Mitch has got it completely wrong. It’s his sneakiness for me - he makes little comments about people and that’s not how I would go about things… Me and Tyrique are from similar places, so I think we might behave similarly. I like his attitude and I would probably say the same things as him in certain situations."

Mal Nicol – age, job and more

Montel will be joined by 25-year-old Mal, a Scottish-born picture researcher who lives in London. So why is she taking part in the show? "Since I moved to London, having the balance of seeing friends, work and gym, it’s really difficult to date at the same time," she explained.

"It’s quite exhausting to date in the real world. When you strip it back to no distractions or social situations your pure focus is on people. I'm intrigued to find a connection."

Mal revealed that she has her eye on Sammy, saying: "I do actually like Sammy. I think he’s quite funny and his personality is coming out more - there is something about him I fancy. I fancy Zach as well, Zach but I wouldn’t go in too strong on him as I feel like he’ll get a bit big for his boots because he’s had a lot of female attention. I think I’d play it cool with him. Scott seems lovely - I think he’s got really nice eyes. But I do usually go for a rugby boy not a footballer."

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She also thinks she'll get on well with the girls, saying: "I think they are all very different. Jess says it how it is and has good banter and I like her humour. I like Molly’s energy - it seems very contagious and very positive. I think I would vibe with them. Obviously Ella is from Glasgow so we have that in common."

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