Love Island’s Chris Hughes admits he turned down huge reality show and reveals heartbreaking reason he’s single
HE'S one of Love Island's greatest ever contestants.
But Chris Hughes, 31, has revealed he turned down the chance to return to the villa for the upcoming All Stars series as well as the recently aired Games spin-off.
He became a household name in 2017 when his turbulent romance with Olivia Attwood played out in the sun-drenched Ibiza villa during the programme's golden era.
Since then he's gone on to become a respected horse racing pundit for ITV and has hosted the BBC's The Hundred cricket coverage.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun as part of a new campaign with Cornetto, Chris revealed his reasons for saying no to a villa comeback.
"It kind of didn't fit in with my schedule or anything like that," he said. "I do feel with like Love Island my first experience was so enjoyable, and I wouldn't want to go back on something which I had memories from. It's a kind of weird one to sum up, but I think I enjoyed my experience on there, you know, for what it was. It's something that can't be replicated again, in my opinion."
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Chris insists he never reached the negotiating table and doesn't know if bosses would have tried to lure him onto the programme with a bumper payday.
He said: "I haven't got to that stage, because I've politely declined.
"I actually don't know how it is because I guess people are established from doing TV stuff over the past few years or however long you've been doing TV. So I don't know where you know, what comes into that in terms of getting people to do the All Star version. But I imagine that would be quite interesting to know. For me, I haven't even got to that stage. That conversation never arose."
Chris has spent the year getting to know himself again following his split from professional golfer Annabel Dimmock last summer.
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He recently returned from a solo trip to New York and is now in Barbados with his agent and close friend.
Having had a string of high profile relationships stemming from Love Island, including with Little Mix's Jesy Nelson, Chris is in no rush to find someone.
"I'm very single, very single," he said. "I would never say I'm not looking for anything because I feel you can't ever control that. I'm one of those who if something happens, it happens. And I think you know, when you meet the right person, it's someone you want to spend more time with, but for the time being, I'm more than happy to just just be me, doing me, working, keeping my head down.
"And you know, the occasional date, I guess, here and there. When it feels right. But there's absolutely no one on the horizon.
"I'm happy in my own company. It doesn't add anything to my life at the moment. So I'm happy being me, I'm happy with the person I am and I enjoy my own company enough.
"I feel like people as well think you've got to be settled down by a certain age or you need to have children at a certain age and be married, you know. I'm not one of them that follows protocols. I am the protocol. You know, I follow my own protocol."
Before he jetted to the Caribbean, Chris flexed his acting chops for the first time since a cameo role in gangster flick Rise of the Footsoldier: Origins in 2020.
This time around it was in a bid to persuade director Edgar Wright and actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost to include a Cornetto in their next movie.
The trio are responsible for the much-loved Cornetto trilogy, consisting of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World's End - all of which feature the beloved ice cream.
However, they have stated it won't feature in their next flick, which is something Chris hopes to influence.
He spent a day at London’s Mount Pleasant Studio with up and coming acting talent to put his own stamp on some iconic movie scenes.
Chris said: "I love the trilogy. Hot Fuzz is an absolute favourite of mine and my family. So, for me, it was like if I could do anything to kind of say to a Edgar Wright, come on, get a Cornetto in the fourth one, I'm there.
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"For the fourth one, they've got to feature the Cornetto. Even if it's just for a brief snippet. I mean, fans of the trilogy will go 'there's the Cornetto', they'll be waiting for it.
"We'll wait and see. But you know what, it was great to work with Cornetto. It was a really fun campaign and a very clever one, props to them."
