That’s… it?

Sophie Monk and Alex on love island

As we hurtle towards the finale of Love Island Australia 2025, the question on many fans’ minds remains: why exactly is the Australian version of the beloved reality show pre-recorded, rather than broadcast live?

One of the show’s executive producers, Alex Mavroidakis, answered this very question on Love Island Australia Officially Unpacked, the show’s official podcast, where its producers addressed Love Island Australia fans’ burning questions.

Responding to a question about why the show is recorded in advance, he essentially said the answer comes down to… the weather. “Love Island Australia is commissioned by Channel Nine for November and December,” he begins. “They want to shoot it in Europe, but it’s bloody freezing in Spain during those months, so we have to shoot it in the European summer. That’s the only way to make the show work.”

He added that Channel Nine only broadcasts Love Island Australia from Monday to Thursday, meaning that the islanders would be left twiddling their thumbs for the remaining three days of the week. Mavroidakis stressed that “it’s either this or nothing”, pointing out that many other versions of the show, including those filmed in Norway, Sweden, Spain and Greece, do the same thing.

Of course, the main issue with the pre-recorded episodes is that fans of the show can’t vote, to which Alex responded: “It’s a shame… but so many of those comments I’m reading come from the UK and the US who can’t vote anyway. Come on guys, seriously.”

But fortunately for passionate Love Island fans, the 2025 winner will be decided by the public. Viewers can back their favourite of the final three couples, Sharn and Ross, Yana and Kye or Jotham and Jaide via the Love Island website.
Alex Mavroidakis and Sophie Monk on set of Love Island Australia. Image: Nine.

Are Love Island Australia’s Superfans Real?

Many Love Island Australia fans are understandably bummed out that they’re unable to vote for their favourite islanders as the season progresses, due to the show not being live.

Instead, it’s the show’s controversial Superfans who call the shots, from who’s made vulnerable to who scores a date with a bombshell, and even who is sent home.

And while speculation abounds that these Superfans are fake, the producers have stressed on an earlier episode of the podcast that they’re the real deal.

“The Superfans are real,” Josie Steele, another of the show’s producers, said. “I wish they were fake sometimes, because it’s really hard managing them.”

“I’m gonna tell you right now, pinky swear. I’ll do this to my kids. The Superfans are real, and I don’t pinky swear lightly,” Alex said, adding that the reason that we don’t see any Love Island Australia Superfans is because they’ve all signed NDAs.