How to watch Love Island UK season 11 in the US? Season premiere saw an unusual coupling ceremony

Love Island UK returned to screens on Monday at 9 pm GMT on ITV and featured attractive singles looking to find love. According to a press release, the show is set to take place in Majorca and will be aired on ITV1, ITV2, ITVX, STV, and STV Player.

The British show aired its first episode on Monday, June 3, 2024, and not everything followed its usual format. While there was a first coupling ceremony, unlike in previous seasons, viewers were not involved in the decision-making. In season 11, contestants decided who to pair with after ranking each other as having the least to most "relationship vibes."

Love Island UK will be streaming in real-time, exclusively in the UK, but fans in America can watch the show using a virtual private network (VPN) or on Hulu.

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Love Island UK season 11 saw a unique coupling ceremony and a celebrity bombshell

In the premiere episode, which aired on Monday, the show steered away from its usual format of the public deciding who would be coupled up together. Maya Jama had the contestants rank one another based on having the most and least "relationship vibes." She then revealed that they would be coupled up based on the ratings. The men and the women voted separately and were paired with people who had the same position as them on the scale.

After the process, the couples were Jess and Ronnie, Patsy and Ayo, Mimii and Munveer, Nicole and Sean, Samantha and Sam, and Harriet and Ciaran. While Mimii and Munveer were ranked as having the "most relationship vibes," Harriet and Ciaran were considered as having the least "relationship vibes."

The coupling twist was not the only first for the show, as for the first time, the ITV show had a celebrity bombshell who joined the cast at the end of episode 1.

Joey Essex, a television personality, is set to be the first-ever celebrity bombshell in the show's long-running history. He has appeared in The Only Way is Essex, Splash!, and I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here. The reality star spoke to The Sun before making his way to Majorca and said he felt like the whole journey, including the application process, was a "military operation."

"I got on the plane to Ibiza. I made sure I wore my mask when I went out for dinner and then we got the boat over to Majorca to a villa hidden in the mountains in the middle of nowhere," Jesse stated.

He added that he was "extremely single" and hoped to walk out of the villa with the love of his life. He said that it was difficult for him to meet women outside since they judged him based on his persona. The Love Island UK celebrity said he hopes being on the reality dating show will allow people to see the "real" him.

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Streaming platforms explored for US audiences

The popular British show exclusively airs in real-time in the United Kingdom, however, it will be available to stream for its global audiences on Hulu. The episodes will be available on the streaming platform a week after they originally air.

Hulu offers multiple subscription plans and packages containing add-ons that Love Island fans can choose from. Its basic plan starts at $7.99 a month, which contains advertisements. Fans can opt for the No Ads plan, which costs $17.99. The streaming platform also has several Live TV plans with or without ads, which start at $75.99.

Those who wish to watch the episodes as they air can use a VPN to watch Love Island UK. Recommended VPNs include ExpressVPN or NordVPN, which cost $13 per month and have a 30-day money-back guarantee.

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Love Island UK will air episodes every weeknight on ITV2.