Laura Whitmore, the host of the hit dating show Love Island, has announced she’s leaving the popular show after two years.
Whitmore took to Instagram to announced she struggled with “very difficult” elements of shooting the most recent season.
“Some news! I won’t be hosting the next series of Love Island. There are certain elements of the show I’ve found very difficult that cannot be changed some due to the format, including the flying back and forth to South Africa along with my new conflicting projects. I wish it was still possible but know you’ll be in safe hands. I was only planning to fill in for Caroline for a series and it turned into 3 series. I hope I did you proud Caroline.”
Whitmore’s tenure as host began as she was picked to replace former host Caroline Flack after an arrest on charges of assaulting a partner. Flack died by suicide in 2020 and Whitmore stayed on as host. An ITV2 spokesperson said Whitmore was “fantastic” and that the show was very grateful for her contributions, according to The Guardian.
“Laura has been a fantastic host across the last three series of the show. We are so grateful for everything she has brought to the programme but understand and respect her decision, and we look forward to working with her on upcoming ITV projects.”
In addition to her acting and hosting work, Whitmore is also an author, and her book No One Can Change Your Life Except For You is a Sunday Times bestseller. Her tenure on Love Island has not been without controversy. She was called out for making a remark about Tasha Ghouri regarding a snafu involving wine.
She appeared on a BBC show and mentioned that she loves rosé, saying “Tasha on Love Island this year she thought rose wine was red white and white wine mixed together which is apparently not how you make it.’
Her comment didn’t stand up to Helen McGinn, however, who corrected Whitmore by saying “Tasha’s not completely wrong.”
“In Champagne, you are allowed to mix red and white wine to make rosé, but only in Champagne in France.” The comment rubbed some people the wrong way, and many claimed it backfired.
Whitmore also recently revealed she would join the show 2:22 A Ghost Story in December. Love Island‘s most recent season reached more than 3.4 million viewers during the finale alone, and the season as a whole reached 250 million people. The show will return in 2023.