Love Island’s Paige Thorne has signed a six-figure fashion deal after revealing she was forced to quit her job as an NHS paramedic.
She didn’t make it to the hit-ITV2 dating show final alongside Adam Collard, but that hasn’t stopped her being snapped up for a bumper pay day.
The 24-year-old Islander has signed with global fashion brand Forever Unique in her first ever collaboration since leaving the villa.
Owned by Real Housewives of Cheshire star Seema Malhotra, the brand is said to have loved Paige since her first episode, saying she was a “perfect fit”.
Paige said: “This is a real pinch me moment, I can’t believe I have my very own collection with a brand I’ve loved for years!"
She added: “I love that Forever Unique offers wardrobe staples that last a lifetime. I wanted my collection to be a considered purchase, using high quality materials and taking me out of my comfort zone.”
The new party collection is said to be ‘inspired by Paige’s premium and girly aesthetic’ and will ‘showcase high-fashion, feminine shapes designed to elevate your look, with attention to detail being at the core’.
Seema said: “We are beyond excited to announce Paige as our latest celebrity signing! We were drawn to Paige immediately in the villa and love what she stands for as a strong, independent and driven female.
“She knows what she wants and that is at the core of our ethos as a brand. The new collection has been designed to make a statement and I can’t wait for you all to see it”.
Forever Unique is reported to have witnessed huge direct to consumer growth in the last two years.
They say their goal is to “explore new and innovative ways to engage a wider market, allowing consumers more sustainable ways to shop”.
The brand-new collection “celebrates female empowerment” and is “aimed for women who are proud to be unique and unapologetically themselves”.
Paige’s announcement comes after she revealed her devastation when she had to quit her £30K a year paramedic job to go on Love Island.
She said she “tried all the ways” to keep the job she loved.
But despite having the support of her boss, higher management thought it would reflect badly on the struggling NHS if she was allowed time off to go on a dating show.
In the end the only option the Welsh beauty had was to resign as she didn’t want to miss the “once in a lifetime” opportunity to enter the famous villa.
Speaking to Sharon Gaffka – who appeared on season seven of Love Island – on her Girls Know Nothing podcast, Paige said: “I tried all ways to keep my job and do Love Island at the same time.”
She explained: “When I did tell work I needed time off to go in [the villa] my manager was so supportive and she 100% backed me every step of the way.
“I tried taking annual leave, unpaid leave, a career break, I tried every single avenue possible to keep my job as well as do Love Island.
“But I think they were worried that if I went in and it’s like ‘Oh, the NHS is struggling this much and paramedics are struggling this much and you’ve let one have time off to go into Love Island’.
“It might have created more bad press and bad backlash that they just didn’t need, which I totally understand.
“So the only option I had was to resign, which I was devastated about.”
The Paige Thorne X Forever Unique collaboration launches in October, exclusively on www.foreverunique.com
