Love Island UK isn’t the only series to have had plenty of scandal (Picture: REX/ CBS/ RTLII)

Love Island might have provided endless drama since it re-launched in 2015, but international versions of the show are making ours look like an episode of the Antiques Roadshow.

We’ve seen countless Islanders enter villas looking for love, or in plenty of cases, 15 minutes of fame.

There might have been some lasting connections formed along the way too, but there’s also plenty of scandals that have surrounded the series.

In the UK version alone we’ve seen cheating, dumps by text and even a Miss GB stripped of her title (wrongfully, in our opinion).

And while we’ve had our fair share of drama, Love Island has spurned many other spin-offs in other countries with jaw-dropping action.

From Germany and Greece to Spain and Sweden, this year will also see new series’ coming out of Albania, Israel, Malta, New Zealand, Nigeria and Romania.

With a total of 23 other spin-offs, it’s no surprise that there’s also been controversies that have rocked the series around the world.

So before the new season of Winter Love Island starts, here are some of the most notable scandals that you might never have even heard of.

The winner of Love Island Australia was hiding a secret

Grant Crapp and Tayla Damir won the first season of Love Island Australia (Picture: ITV/Graeme Taylor/REX/Shutterstock)

The very first season of Love Island Australia went off without a hitch, and the country quickly fell in love with couple Grant Crapp and Tayla Damir.

Filmed in Mallorca in 2018, Tayla was eventually crowned the winner, and made the decision to split the $50,000 (£28,481) prize money with her new beau.

But just two weeks after the cameras stopped rolling it emerged that Grant wasn’t actually single.

Hours after the finale aired, Tayla was told that Grant was in a relationship, and living with his partner.

The ‘secret girlfriend’ scandal caused a stir, with Tayla revealing that she’d also discovered incriminating text messages on his phone.

As one of their fellow Islanders wrote on Instagram at the time: ‘Tayla should have walked away with the money…just sayin’.

In an interview Tayla said she had been told Grant had gone on the show ‘to promote his business and get famous’.

Two years after everything went down, Grant announced he was having a baby with said ‘secret girlfriend’, with their daughter being born in 2021.

Tayla also moved on with AFL player Nathan Broad, who she married late last year.

Love Island Germany’s love triangle

Elena Miras and Jan Sokolowsky broke up soon after filming wrapped (Picture: RTLII)

The inaugural season of the German spin-off also seemed like pretty smooth sailing until soon after the show wrapped up.

In 2017 Elena Miras and Ninja Warrior Germany contestant Jan Sokolowsky scooped the €50,000 (£43,000) prize but broke up less than a week later after flying home.

Soon after Elena started dating Mike Heiter, who had also been an Islander on their series.

Things looked pretty solid between the pair, who went on to host the German version of Just Tattoo of Us and had a daughter, Aylen.

However they split in 2020 and are now locked in a bitter custody battle, with the Switzerland Times reporting last week that he claimed he has barely been able to see his daughter in the past year.

Jan however went on to take part in a naked island-based dating show, Adam Seeks Eve.

Love Island USA’s cruelly axed an islander

Noah Purvis was sacked from Love Island USA after his past career as a porn star emerged (Picture: LA Pictures3)

Just two days into filming the second season of Love Island USA in Las Vegas, Noah Purvis was booted after producers discovered he was a porn star.  

According to Noah, he was ‘eliminated’ after it emerged that he had previously appeared in adult films.

Speaking to E! News after being kicked off, he said producers told him that by failing to disclose his past and using an ‘alias’ he was not allowed to stay.

‘And as soon as they said that, it clicked in my brain… that I had buried this thing that I had done, which is pornography,’ he said.

Issuing a statement CBS and ITV America said at the time he had ‘provided false information on his application, which violates his contestant agreement’.

In the weeks after Noah shared several statements on social media including one that read: ‘Your past doesn’t define who you are. You determine who, what, how and where you’ll end up. I am truly proud of who I am today and excited for what is next.’

Fans also expressed their disappointment at his dumping, with one person saying it was a ‘terrible look’ to discriminate against someone based on their work in the sex industry.

‘If the show kicked Noah out because of his porn past then Imma be p***ed. Even though I don’t know him and don’t really care about him. Sex work is still work,’ another added.

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While we’re hoping this season’s Winter Love Island UK contestants don’t get caught up in too much drama, there’s a chance they might make some waves when they arrive in South Africa next week.

Aside from getting to see new host Maya Jama in action, there will be plenty of singletons entering hoping to hit it off with another Islander.

Love Island starts on Monday 16th January at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.

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Spin-offs around the world have also generated plenty of headlines.