Love Island final: Why Maura and Curtis are the real 2019 winners

While the winners have split £50,000, the prize fund is merely pocket money compared to the amount our finalists could net in the long term.

Love Island may be a big earner for ITV, reportedly bringing the channel an eye-watering £136 million in advertising and merchandise, but its Islanders are also all set to earn a pretty penny.

Last year’s Dani Dyer is reportedly now worth £1.7 million thanks to sponsorship deals and clothing ranges, while series two finalists Alex Bowen and Olivia Buckland are thought to be worth £3 million in total.

RadioTimes.com spoke to founder and managing director of award-winning agency Belle PR, Charlotte Tobin, for her expert opinion on who’s going to be the highest-earning couple, with Tobin earmarking Maura and Curtis for success in the future.

“Maura has won the series in my eyes,” she explained. “She will have beauty and fashion brands desperate to work with her – she’d be the perfect face of a lingerie brand and she’ll be able to make big money from this.”

Clothing brand partnerships are huge earners, with Dyer’s partnership with In the Style reportedly worth £500,000.

Similarly, series three winner Amber Davies also netted £500,000 to front her own collection for Motel Rocks.

Maura’s Instagram following – which has rocketed from 40,000 to 1.3 million – will also play a substantial role in her post-villa earnings thanks to promotions and sponsored posts.

“She’ll be on two million followers in no time,” Tobin said. “She should be able to command £3,000 to £5,000 for an Instagram post.”

Maura’s straight-talking manner and no-nonsense demeanour, which saw her become so popular in the villa, may also translate into big bucks over the airwaves.

“Maura has given such fantastic advice on the show, she should have her own podcast series ‘Maura’s Mantra’ – it’d shoot straight to the top of the charts,” Tobin added.

While staying in a couple proves more lucrative for some Islanders, Tobin believes that whether Maura sticks with Curtis for the long haul is irrelevant.

“Maura is a star in her own right,” she said. “She’s one of the biggest stars of any Love Island series ever, let alone this one.”

Meanwhile, Curtis looks set to have the biggest media profile upon leaving the villa.

As well as signing up to play Dick Whittington in pantomime (maybe not the coolest move, but a sizeable earner nonetheless), Curtis will also appear as a dance coach alongside brother AJ in the long-awaited British edition of RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Tobin argues Curtis’s TV work may see him avoid the tried-and-tested route of personal appearances that many Islanders adopt after leaving the villa, but will pay off for the ballroom dancer in the long run as he could potentially land one of the biggest gigs on television.

“My prediction is that he’ll be a Strictly pro-dancer in 2020 – I think he’d be the perfect addition for the BBC show alongside his brother AJ,” she said. “He already has a strong dance career and following in Ireland, so this will only now amplify in the UK with big earning potential. I actually see a big future for him on TV.”

Molly-Mae and Ovie are also set to be high earners, according to Tobin – Molly-Mae in particular, having amassed 400,000 subscribers to her YouTube channel.

A hugely popular medium, YouTubers can earn thousands for posting regular videos; the poster girl for British YouTubers, Zoella, has a net worth of £2.5 million, according to Spear's Magazine.

Tobin believes that there is now potential for Molly-Mae to become a global star should she continue to be social-media savvy.

Love Island's Molly Mae — Molly Mae (ITV)

“I personally look after some huge YouTube stars and there is a lot of money to be made, but also huge international opportunities via the YouTube platform,” she said. “She built her own successful career on social media before the villa, she understands the process and organically rose in popularity before the show.

“Molly is super savvy and so commercial – she in my opinion could be the biggest earner and a big talent for years to come.”

Elsewhere, Ovie has had fashion brands fighting over him on social media, wth both BoohooMAN and ASOS arguing on Twitter over sponsorship deals for the basketball player.

He was also the subject of a (now rejected) petition to government, with one fan demanding that he should win the show solo.

“Despite being a late-entry Ovie has proved to be a total legend,” Tobin said. “He has a unique fashion sense, and is tall so would love to see him sign with a big model agency to support that side of his career, so he can have that running alongside the mainstream work.

“I’d love to see him on other TV shows, especially those with an activity element because I think such a great person should be successful in showbiz.”

Tobin argues that with sponsorship deals, clothing ranges and Instagram posts combined, Maura and Molly-Mae "could make half a million in a year, if they’re clever."

Meanwhile, the highest earning boys could also be set to earn a substantial amount.

“They could be earning at least a quarter of a million with PAs and social media combined, for sure,” she added.

Love Island returns to ITV2 in early 2020