Advertisement

MAFS' Al Perkins forced to follow strict Love Island rules: 'Vital'

There’s no doubt Channel Nine is hoping Married At First Sight fan favourite Al Perkins will give Love Island a huge boost in the ratings when he enters the villa as an intruder this week.

But before the 26-year-old flew out to Mallorca, Spain to pre-record the show in July, he had to agree to some very strict rules from the network.

MAFS' Al Perkins on Love Island.
MAFS' Al Perkins had to follow a number of strict rules before filming Love Island. Photos: Channel Nine

A source tells Yahoo Lifestyle that “the number one rule Channel Nine said was vital Al followed” was that he couldn’t tell any of his MAFS co-stars he was a part of the dating show.

“Instead, he told them all in a group chat he was going to Malaysia to visit family and would be offline for a while,” the insider said. “This caused tensions with Brent [Vitiello] who later found out he was overseas filming in a news article and couldn't believe Al had lied to them all.”

RELATED:

Last week Al confirmed to Yahoo Lifestyle that he had told “every single one” of his friends he was going on a family holiday just one day before he jetted off to film Love Island.

“I said goodbye and they were like, ‘Is everything okay? What’s wrong with your family? Why such a rush? Are they sick?’ and it kept getting worse and worse,” he detailed.

“Eventually it did get leaked and they all understood. It’s part of the NDAs and things you sign that you’ve got to be pretty tight-lipped, and I’m pretty good at keeping secrets.”

MAFS' Al Perkins and Brent Vitiello.
Al had to lie to his close friend Brent Vitiello about going on Love Island. Photo: Instagram/al.perkinss

Social media rules

Another strict rule Al had to agree to prior to filming Love Island had to do with his Instagram account, where he boasts a whopping 276,000 followers.

The source claims: “Al had to agree to hand over his social media accounts, and run all commercial partnerships and brand deals by Nine until Love Island has finished airing.

“This means all his Instagram posts from August to December have to be approved in advance and things like his Nova podcast have been delayed by months.”

It was announced back in September that Al had teamed up with Taku Chimwaza for their new podcast Back To Reality, however, they are yet to release an episode.

‘One of the best experiences of my life’

Al recently spoke with Yahoo Lifestyle about his upcoming Love Island appearance and confessed that he didn’t immediately say yes when he got the call to do the show.

“I’m not going to lie, it did take a bit of thinking before making my decision,” he shared. “I was open to going on another reality TV show, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready just yet coming straight off MAFS. The hype was still big and there was still so much going on in my life, that’s why I had to take a few moments to make my decision before going on Love Island.

SHOP:

“I was thinking, maybe I should go on next year’s season when everything’s a bit quieter? But I ended up making the decision of going on this season and I can't believe I even second-guessed myself. It was one of the best experiences of my life.”

He added that he’s excited for viewers to see a more grown-up version of himself than the one they saw on MAFS earlier this year.

“I do think I've got a bit more emotional intelligence coming off MAFS,” he said. “I think I know how to talk to girls a bit better and I guess I'm a bit more confident as well. I think I have matured quite a bit.”

Never miss a thing. Sign up to Yahoo Lifestyle’s daily newsletter.

Or if you have a story idea, email us at lifestyle.tips@yahooinc.com.