Who Is Joey Essex From Love Island? Explained

This season of ITV’s Love Island has seen the introduction of Joey Essex, a celebrity who may not be familiar to US viewers. So, if you’re scratching your head, wondering who Joey Essex from Love Island is, I’ll explain.

Who Is Joey Essex From Love Island? Explained

Joey Essex, currently on Love Island, is a TV personality who first appeared on a British “reality” TV show called The Only Way Is Essex. His charisma, confidence, humor, and willingness to do some very silly things (fart lighting included) endeared him to the audience, and he stayed with the show for ten seasons and over 100 episodes.

It also propelled him to fame, which, in turn, led to appearances on other reality TV shows, such as I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, The Jump, Celebrity SAS, and more. Including the current Love Island run, he’s been on eighteen reality TV shows. He’s also guest-starred on over 20 other TV shows.

ITV describes him as “reality royalty,” which may seem like a stretch, but he’s one of many celebrities who have to remain in the limelight to stay relevant. He does have his own clothing line and range of hair products, but his stock-in-trade is appearing on TV in shows like Love Island.

Is Joey Essex His Real Name?

Yes, Joey Essex is his real name. It sounds as if it’s made up and that he changed it for the show he first appeared on. But, no, that is his actual name. You can assume that helped him get on The Only Way Is Essex.  

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What Is The Only Way Is Essex?

The Only Way is Essex, sometimes known as TOWIE, is a British reality TV show that, at 30 seasons, has been running longer than Love Island. Like Love Island, it’s made by ITV, but it’s more than a little odd.

It’s a strange reality TV/drama hybrid. While its cast aren’t exactly actors, they’re put in specific situations and left to improvise. You could argue that a lot of reality TV is staged and heavily edited, but this show takes things further.

ITV calls it “Part soap opera, part reality show,” and it makes for very strange watching. The cast is usually from Essex, but the situations they’re put into are constructed by the showrunners, which gives them control over that episode’s story.

So, the answer to who Joey Essex is on Love Island is that he’s a reality TV star who came to fame in The Only Way Is Essex and has appeared on many other reality TV shows since.

Love Island is streaming on Hulu.