IN a time when celebrities are more sanitised than ever, it’s refreshing to speak to a star who isn’t afraid to say what she thinks – even if it offends.
It’s that unfiltered, straight-talking, no-nonsense attitude that helped Olivia Attwood, 34, win over the nation on Love Island in 2017, and propel her to the top of TV commissioners’ most-wanted list.
“I don’t take myself too seriously,” she admits.
“Sometimes, the problem online is that the nuance is lost. I’m writing something, cackling away because it’s like, ‘wink wink’, but then it reads differently. Then it’s all: ‘She attacked someone’. And it was just a little joke.
“Guests leave my podcast saying: ‘I’m worried about X and Y’, and it’s nothing controversial. There’s a culture of trying to please everyone by saying nothing. But the only person you’re selling short is yourself.
“It’d be very easy for me to change the way I approach things, and zip it. But should I change everything and be boring because a handful of trolls have got in a twist? I don’t think so,” she laughs.
“I’m happy to be Marmite. It works. I’ve given them something to talk about. It’s much easier for me to be myself, plus it’s so much more fun.”
‘The Kardashians’ bodies are not created in the gym’
True to form, Olivia has never shied away from discussing the work she’s had done, either – two boob jobs, chin liposuction, plus regular tweakments of Botox and fillers.
Does she think other celebrities should be equally open?
“This is such a difficult conversation, because I don’t want to tell people that they owe us their medical records. However, I think when people monetise things, like they’re on Ozempic but selling a weight-loss plan, or they’ve done something to their skin and are pushing a face cream, it’s disingenuous.
“I like openness. I always say that if you look at me and something looks too good, then it’s probably not natural.”
As for the Kardashians, who recently hit the headlines for Kris’ reported facelift, and Kylie Jenner revealing details of her breast augmentation on social media, Olivia has mixed feelings.
“I’m all for honesty, but it feels like it’s a bit fashionable now to be an open book. I wish we’d had that energy from them years ago,” she says.
“Kylie came out and said about her boobs, and I was like: ‘I’ve been talking about my breasts for the past 10 years.’ I like the Kardashians, this is not me bashing them, but it’s too little, too late for me.
“We know Kylie’s breasts are fake. We knew she had lip fillers when she was selling those lip kits. What about talking about lipo and BBLs [Brazilian bum lifts]? Their bodies are not created in the gym.”
Olivia is back discussing surgery on the second series of her ITV documentary, The Price Of Perfection.
During the show, she follows different people’s nip/tuck journeys, from TOWIE star Charlie King’s nose job, to The Traitors’ Amanda Lovett’s facelift.
“It is full-on and we’ve got to make a decision about how much gruesome stuff we leave in,” she says.
“I knew going into the shows that I was fine with blood, and I’ve watched a lot of surgeries online. I find it more interesting than disgusting. But it’s the smell as they cauterise the flesh, which is basically burning it to stop it bleeding.”
In fact, despite having a self-confessed “pancake bum”, watching a BBL in Turkey put Olivia off wanting the surgery.
“I would definitely have a facelift in the future, as they can look amazing,” she says.
“I’ll have my breasts done again, because they’re only guaranteed for 10 years and, if I have kids, I’ll have to redo them. BBL is the only one I wouldn’t do, because the risk is too much. It’s one of the surgeries that has the highest revision rate.
“Watching surgeries makes you appreciate what you’re putting your body through. I’ve minimised breast augmentation [in the past], but when you actually see it happening, it sobers you up to the reality of surgery. I think that it’s probably given me a bit of a reality check. I love cosmetic intervention and I think it can be life-changing. But surgery is surgery. It’s not like getting your nails done or whatever. It’s still a big risk and I don’t think we should trivialise that.”
When leaving Love Island, contestants are often offered free boob jobs or surgery, but Olivia says she has been scrupulous about never accepting free treatments.
“I know I’m lucky to have the ability to fund my own procedures. But I learned really quickly coming out of Love Island that even if it’s a hair colour or make-up, when you take something for free, you put yourself into a strange power dynamic. You are recommending that person [or product] and you can’t really retract that.
“I know first-hand people who have had a free boob job and it’s gone tits-up, quite literally, and they can’t publicly tell that story.”
‘Being a woman is hard enough, I don’t need a man sticking his nose in’
Money is a topic Olivia is keen to discuss, joking that she pays a “hot-girl tax” when she has work done.
“That’s tongue-in-cheek,” she says. “I’m not implying if you don’t have work done, then you’re not hot.
“But we do have a female tax in general. Colouring your hair, waxing, nails, make-up. . . That s**t is expensive, and I don’t think men realise that. Being a woman costs a lot.”
Olivia married professional footballer Bradley Dack, 31, two years ago in a lavish London ceremony.
Does the Gillingham midfielder ever complain about her spending too much on her appearance?
“No, he knows! We don’t have those conversations. Actually, I moan when I see him buying another set of golf clubs. I’m like: ‘What a waste of money!’ So, I’m a complete hypocrite,” she laughs.
“But he does pull me back to reality. If I say: ‘F***, I look old today,’ he’ll be quick to say: ‘Please!’
“Also, it’s boring. For me, it would be very easy to become so obsessed with the way I look. But Brad will say: ‘There are so many more things interesting about you, Liv, than whether you’ve got a wrinkle.’ I love that he does that, because it reminds me not to get sucked in.”
Would he ever tell her to stop getting work done?
Olivia shakes her head.
“No, how I want to look is an individual journey. I don’t do things for him. If I don’t feel sexy, everything will have a knock-on effect. Although, if he said it from a wellness point of view, of course I’d listen. But I wouldn’t have married someone [who wanted to get] that involved. Being a woman is hard enough, I don’t need a man sticking his nose in. He can worry about football and I can make the call on what I need to look good.”
As well as deciding how she looks for herself, financial independence is another priority for Olivia.
“I went to an affluent private school, and I remember a close friend whose dad left their mum for his secretary. Suddenly, the big house and the cars were gone, and there’s a 50-year-old woman who doesn’t know how to pay a bill and can’t access their bank account. Watching the rug be pulled out from under people in real time was horrendous.
“Women should absolutely be able to stay at home if they want to. I applaud women who are fulfilled by that. But financial freedom is something that we should always prioritise, because you can’t say you’re in an equal relationship if you don’t have the power to leave when you want to.”
‘Get the man, get the handbag, but don’t quit your job’
She recounts the story of one woman who told her that she’d found messages on her footballer boyfriend’s phone that proved he was cheating.
“I said: ‘You have to go,’ and she said: ‘Where? It’s not my house, it’s not my car. Everything is in his name.’ You do not want to be in that spot.
“And I know it’s easier said than done. I speak from such a privileged position and I love my job, but I want young women to be educated. Yes, get the man, get the handbag, but don’t quit your job. Brad and I have separate bank accounts and a joint one for bills. Everything is very transparent. He knows what I earn, I know what he earns. We know where the money goes. You need to make sure you are aligned with money and want to spend it on the same things.
“Women don’t like talking about finances. I don’t think we should be afraid. Don’t let men mansplain us out of finances. I educated myself a lot in the last two years about money, tax structure and investment.”
Olivia and Bradley have also been discussing when to start a family.
“I don’t get annoyed with people asking me,” she says.
“I feel like I’ve entered into this relationship with the public where everything is for sale! I had my wedding on telly. I’m very open on social media, so I think it’s natural that people will be curious.
“In general, should we be constantly asking women about children? No, but I put myself in a different box. It’s like these celebrities that sell their whole relationship, then they break up and ask for privacy. No, absolutely not. We are invested,” she laughs.
“I’m very comfortable with the narrative I’ve created, and I’m proud to be a voice for women in the same position. I know I want a family, I’m in my early 30s and fertility doesn’t last forever. But my life is really full right now and I’m enjoying smashing work. Having a baby would change things, and that’s something a lot of ambitious women are afraid to talk about. Whether we like it or not, having a baby will affect me in a different way to Brad.
“And I don’t half-arse anything in my life – I’m not going to half-arse being a parent, so I’ll do it when I’m ready. If it happened, I’d embrace it, but it would be hard to pause right now, as things are going so well.”
She’s absolutely right.
There’s another series of Olivia Attwood’s Bad Boyfriends on the way, along with the fourth series of Getting Filthy Rich.
Her podcast, Olivia Attwood’s So Wrong It’s Right, is growing, and she also has her weekly Kiss radio show with Pete Wicks, plus her role as an ambassador for Maybelline.
Then there’s the subject of Love Island.
With rumours that presenter Maya Jama is preparing to step down, surely Olivia is a natural successor?
“I don’t know if that’s true,” she says.
“Poor Maya is probably thinking: ‘Why is she out there auditioning for my role?!’ I have no information about Maya stepping down. For all I know, she’ll stay for the next 10 years. I think she’s f**king great, but if and when she didn’t want to do it, I’d throw my hat in the ring.
“Love Island is the best thing I ever did. That show changed my life. I was lost and it redirected me. No one should have any expectation a reality show can do that. But for me, it worked out well.”
- Follow Olivia on Instagram @olivia_attwood and stream The Price Of Perfection on ITVX.
IN THE MAKE-UP CHAIR with Olivia
What are your skincare heroes?
My favourite face cream is SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2.
Any beauty hacks?
Put roll-on deodorant on your top lip – it stops make-up sweating off.
What do you splurge on?
Botox.
Any make-up bag essentials?
Nars Face Primer, Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Foundation and a YSL mascara.
Best budget buy?
Maybelline Grippy Serum Primer.
Who is your celebrity beauty icon?
Jennifer Aniston looks fantastic.
Describe your beauty evolution.
I’m still wearing the same amount of make-up, just in the right places now! I choose more natural hues and my lashes aren’t as big.
