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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
Entertainment
Caroline Barry

Love Island in talks to sign Nottingham beautician Sophie Draper for new cast - reports

As Love Island returns to our screens in the coming weeks, speculation has begun about who will make up this year's group of singletons. It has been reported that one potential villa resident could be a beautician with a very famous footballer ex-boyfriend.

ITV2 bosses are said to be interested in signing Sophie Draper, 22, for the latest series of the award-winning TV show and have already met up with the beautician ahead of selecting this summer's singletons. Sophie owns beauticians in West Bridgeford called Sophie Draper Beauty.

Sophie was in a relationship with Aston Villa right-back Matty Cash, 24, for four years before their surprise split last year. Sophie has a strong following on social media of just under 20,000 followers.

Read more: The 5 best hair salons in Nottingham according to Google reviews

The Love Island bosses think her new single status makes her the 'perfect fit' for the popular dating series. A TV insider revealed to The Sun that Sophie is a beautiful girl who is 'driven and determined to succeed.'

The source commented that: "She has her own beauty salon and already leads a jet-set lifestyle, which she likes showing off on Instagram, so she wouldn’t be fazed by being on TV."

They added that Sophie's famous ex Matty would be 'pretty shocked' to see her looking for love on the show but said that the Premiership footballer had moved on after their split very quickly. Shortly after their split, the Aston Villa player had a brief fling with Love Island star Kady McDermott.

The pair went public with their relationship at Wimbleton in July 2021. However, The romance was short-lived as it was all over by November of the same year.

If Sophie does join the cast at the villa, she should have no problem with living the life of an influencer if she finds fame thanks to the show. The salon owner shares snippets of her luxurious lifestyle including sun-soaked holidays with her thousands of followers on Instagram.

Her posts have recently included pictures from holidays to places such as Dubai - a popular holiday destination with reality TV stars and posed in beautiful venues like Dash Restaurant and Bar in Liverpool.

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