Less than 10 years ago Olivia Bowen was making £18,000 per year as a sales executive and living in a council flat, making ends meet with the help of her credit cards and overdraft.
Now, the mother-of-one has a multi-million pound property portfolio under her belt and is making a name for herself in the interior design world.
I’m pleased to report, however, that Olivia hasn’t lost any of her down-to-earth charm that made Love Island viewers fall in love with her.
Even she seems surprised at just how successful she has become in the spate of a few years.
I’ve been invited into Olivia’s family home – one of the six properties she now owns with husband Alex – which is a gorgeous sprawling house in rural Essex that she helped build from the ground up as the perfect family spot for herself, husband Alex, their two-year-old son Abel and pet pooch Winnie.
Love Island’s Olivia Bowen has shared her incredible journey from renting a council flat to building a multi-million pound property portfolio (pictured in her Essex home)
I’ve been invited into Olivia’s family home – one of the six properties she now owns with husband Alex – a gorgeous house in rural Essex that she helped build from the ground up
Olivia and Alex met on season two of Love Island in 2016 – where they finished as runners-up – and have transformed their financial fortunes by investing in property
She has only just made the move, having spent 10 months completing the build and renovating after she bought the plot in Essex for £250,000 in June 2023.
The process was sped up, however, by the fact she had already been through this before – having learnt learnt from the mistakes she made on her first renovation.
She learnt the ropes in 2020, when Alex, 33, and Olivia, 31, purchased her dream house in 2020 for just over £1 million.
Having driven past the house most days in childhood, Olivia always knew she wanted to live there one day, so when the house came on sale she wasted no time snapping it up… then the pandemic struck.
‘It was such a big job and we didn’t know where to start’, Olivia admits of her first renovating project.
‘It was too much house for me and Alex… so when Covid hit, I was like, “right, I’m going to learn some proper knowledge, then maybe I’ll be able to do this justice.”‘
Olivia then enrolled in an interiors design course and found herself falling in love with all things decoration.
‘I’ve always been a creative person,’ she explains. I used to channel it into fashion, but now it’s really starting to channel into interior.
‘I just love it and it keeps me calm having something to pour my creativity into.’
Olivia used her interior design knowledge to help her with her current home, which boasts a ‘country chic’ theme (pictured in her living room with pet pooch Winnie)
She said of her design influence: ‘You can find little trinkets on holiday or little things in charity shops – I love going to antique shops now – that’s really showing that I’m in my thirties!’
The kitchen is designed with cream and wooden tones boasting an elegant but minimal style
As with every project, things didn’t always go to plan but Olivia used every setback as a learning curve.
‘I still wish I’d done things differently. You make a design choice in that moment but look how much we all change during our lifetime so it is difficult to like all the choices that you make.
‘You have to look at the longevity in it, but it’s normal for us to be like, “Oh, don’t like that colour anymore,” you can make mistakes. That’s what it’s all about. You learn as you go.
‘You just have to hope they’re not expensive mistakes like if it’s like the wrong paint choice rather than that wall actually should be over there!’
Olivia used her newfound knowledge to help her with her current home, which boasts a ‘country chic’ theme.
‘This house feels a lot more me as a person,’ she explains, adding. ‘I love different tones of wood and textures.’
On her inspiration behind the design, she explains: ‘It’s mostly from travel. Wherever I go I pick up ideas from hotels or bars. I always find something when I’m abroad.
‘For instance our downstairs toilet, that’s like our little Mediterranean place, and my office, which isn’t yet finished, that has a lot of French influence.
‘So it is really just about picking things from different places and making them your own.
‘This time round, I’ve also learned to take my time more with it, because the last home I felt like I had to get processed so quickly because it was such a state.
‘Now the nitty gritty, the painting, the accessorising that’s all coming into play and it’s a nice thing to take your time over.
‘You can find little trinkets on holiday or little things in charity shops – I love going to antique shops now – that’s really showing that I’m in my thirties!’
Olivia is also in partnership with Glade, using their range of candles and air fresheners throughout her home.
The outdoor entertaining space she hails as a ‘a little Italian haven’, featuring cream-coloured worktops and a large outdoor oven set with rustic blue and red design on terracotta tiles
The couple are particularly fond of their son Abel’s room, which they call the ocean room – and Olivia revealed she hopes to have another child and is excited to design a new nursery
As well as designing her homes, Olivia rents them out and is passionate about being an ethical landlord.
Olivia and Alex currently rent out two properties in Wolverhampton, have just purchased two places in Lancashire that they plan to either flip or put out as buy to let and they’ve also purchased a property in Spain.
‘There are some landlords can be absolutely horrendous but we’ve said we’ll never put our rent up’, she explains.
‘I was in a lot of rented property before Love Island and I struggled with a lot of them.
‘So we’ll always keep it this way. Even though the cost of living like keeps rising, landlords like to put the rent up, but we are never changing it – flat rate.
‘If you’re in a position to be able to help houses look nicer, be better, and house people that can’t afford to have a deposit or pay high rent then that’s what you should do.
‘We want to have a positive impact as landlords, not a negative one.’
As she explains: ‘I’m just trying to channel all my energy and savings make sure I’m doing something that I love, but that will also secure my family’s future.’
While they share the responsibility as landlords, when it comes to the renovations, it’s Olivia who makes the brunt of the decisions.
‘If I’m ever wondering whether to go for option A or Option B I’ll go to him and then say which one’s better? He’ll say B and I’ll be like “no, A”, she laughs. ‘It makes me realise what one I want.
‘It’s nice because we both have similar tastes, so he’s quite happy for me to have free rein.’
As well as designing her homes, Olivia rents them out and is passionate about being an ethical landlord (pictured: the master bedroom at Olivia and Alex’s home)
Each room boasts unique features with influences from around the world (pictured in her master bedroom, which also boasts a dressing room and en-suite bathroom)
So can it be hard living and working together?
Olivia has found the key to a successful relationship is taking space when they need it – very different to how things were when they first met.
The nation watched Olivia and Alex’s love story in real time when they starred on season two of Love Island – finishing as runners-up after spending the summer of 2016 in the famous villa.
Unlike most Love Island couples they have stood the test of time, tying the knot two years later and welcoming son Abel in 2022.
‘I think the secret is to have your own life,’ Olivia explains. ‘You need to be there for each other and support each other, but also have your own stuff, because that’s what you’re going to get enjoyment out of.
‘You can’t rely on someone else to make you happy. You need to make sure you’re making yourself happy. Then if you’re happy, you’ll make the other person happy.
‘We’ve had hard times, it’s been difficult at times , but we just enjoy each other’s company. We’re friends.’
And there’s no better place to enjoy each other’s company than in their current home.
Each room boasts unique features with influences from around the world.
There’s a visible Mediterranean-style touch to their new pad, having travelled all the way to Lake Como to purchase the right items for their outdoor area.
The kitchen is designed with cream and wooden tones boasting an elegant but minimal style.
The outdoor entertaining space she hails as a ‘a little Italian haven’, featuring cream-coloured worktops and a large outdoor oven set with rustic blue and red design on terracotta tiles which serve as a rustic splashback.
It appears to be a sweet nod to their time on Love Island, as the outside kitchen looked just like the al fresco foodie area of the famous villa.
The couple are particularly fond of their son Abel’s room, which they call the ocean room.
The space features ocean artwork spanning throughout one whole wall with designs of various creatures that live in ocean’s waters.
So with their son’s room being the most fun to design, could we look forward to Olivia and Alex decorating another nursery anytime soon?
‘We do want another child,’ Olivia confirms with a large grin. ‘It’s just a matter of when. If it happened now, we’d be happy, but we’re just letting it happen as it happens.
‘It’s hard, though, because you get into the swing of it and then it’s like, “right, let’s add another one! Let’s blow it all up!” But actually we would love to have a family of four.
‘So if we’re lucky enough to conceive again, then yeah, it would be amazing.’
While they share the responsibility as landlords, when it comes to the renovations, it’s Olivia who makes the brunt of the decisions (pictured: the upstairs bathroom)
It’s clear to see that Olivia is more than happy focusing on her family and her passion for interior design (pictured, the en-suite bathroom)
Yet while Olivia insists she won’t let her ‘inner control freak’ take over when it comes to her family planning, she admits she already has ideas for her next child’s bedroom.
‘I’m going to take inspiration from the Nineties bedroom that I had!’
Laughing as she recalls her wild taste, she continues: ‘It had teddy bear wallpaper in the middle, then flowers at the top! But all those Nineties trends are coming back in fashion.’
Indeed, trends are circular and we’ve witnessed the resurgence of many Nineties and Noughties fads.
One thing that appears to show no sign of coming back, however, is the wild nature of the original Love Island series.
When Olivia appeared on the show, viewers were given a no holds barred access to villa life, witnessing romps in the shared bedroom and busts ups in the smoking area.
While Olivia was far tamer than some of her co-stars, she admits she had her ‘silly moments’.
‘I was a kid!’ she laughs, ‘I’ve changed now and experienced life – I’d like to see Love Island with 30-plus old contestants!’
As it stands, Olivia rarely watches the series anymore.
‘It’s different when you’ve been on a show and you watch it because you experience it in one way and then it’s on TV in a different way.
‘Things are a lot more controlled on the show now, but that’s how it has to be… and also when you get older, you just watch it differently.’
For now though, Olivia has no desire to return to reality TV – although she admits she’d be tempted by Celebrity MasterChef!
Yet it’s clear to see that Olivia is more than happy focusing on her family and her passion for interior design.
She has no desire to chase fame and is simply living in the moment – a move that I think would definitely benefit any future Love Island stars.
Olivia is pictured with husband Alex and their two-year-old son Abel in their kitchen
And so what’s the advice she would give any future contestants?
‘Stay true to yourself’, she stresses. ‘You can get very caught up in this reality TV and fame world.
‘You just have to stick to your guns and remember who you are as a person, what’s important to you, and what values you have. Don’t let anyone change you.’
Having met Olivia I can wholeheartedly agree.
While many out there may have an opinion on Love Island – and it’s certainly not without scandal – she is living proof that with a firm head on your shoulders and a sense of humility, appearing on the show can change your life for the better.