Would this hot bombshell swap the villa for the jungle?

Sophie Monk is back to host season seven of Love Island Australia!
Nine Network

Sophie Monk, host of Love Island Australia and former star of The Bachelorette, has been married for nearly four years, so the media personality knows a thing or two about love. And, while Sophie and husband Joshua Gross have a solid marriage, she admits that they still argue just as much as the rest of us – although perhaps not about what we’d expect!

“When Married at First Sight is airing, that’s the time we fight the most in our relationship,” Sophie, 45, tells TV WEEK. “I’ll take someone’s side and he’ll take someone else’s, and it’s on!”
Sophie and Joshua married in secret: no guests! (Credit: Instagram)
Her husband, who never watched reality TV before meeting Sophie, is now as hooked as she is. In fact, reality and true crime are the only TV genres they watch at home on the New South Wales Central Coast.

“He hated reality TV before me, and now he can’t watch anything else,” Sophie laughs.

“We watch everything together. If we’re apart, we’ll only watch crap TV that we don’t like – never ‘our’ shows.”

And, when it comes to filming Love Island – one of ‘their’ shows – Joshua comes along for the ride, travelling to the Spanish island of Majorca, where the series is shot, and other European countries before and after filming.

“We went to Amsterdam before Spain,” Sophie says. “But when I’m in Spain, I live and breathe the show. We’re normally filming till 1am and then I sit there and watch it afterwards – I invest in it!”

Sophie reveals that this seventh season of Love Island – teased to be about all things wicked, sinful and tempting – is “by far the toughest year yet”.
Sophie was the Bachelorette in 2017. (Credit: Nine)
“We’ve tested them to the limit,” she reveals. “It’s so entertaining to watch, but it also serves such a good purpose. When you push people to see what they do, it’s the ultimate test for every relationship.”

Such testing challenges include the controversial ‘Hotel Amor’, in which contestants can spend the night with someone outside their couple to check their connection. It makes a comeback this year – but with a twist, Sophie grins, admitting she could have used those lessons back in her single days.

“I wish I got to do some-thing like this or watch a show like this when I was single,” she says. “It’s amazing how fast we see the red flags!”
Sophie having fun with Hamish on Lego Masters. (Credit: Nine Network)
Although the villa is filled with temptation this season, Sophie teases that there are also plenty of strong women who won’t tolerate bad behaviour – and they are more than happy to put any misbehaving men in their place.

“The women are very strong this year,” she says, proudly. “They’re not putting up with much. I love watching strong women – it makes for fantastic TV.”

And, as she marks 25 years since she was launched to fame with all-female pop group Bardot, Sophie says she still looks back on those days fondly.
Sophie assures viewers Love Island’s latest season is its most sinful yet. (Credit: Nine Network)
“It doesn’t feel weird to look back,” she says. “It’s pretty cool. I love thinking about Bardot and listening to our albums every now and then.”

She once famously swore off the idea of ever entering the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! jungle. Has her stance on that softened?

“I’ve always said never,” Sophie admits. “Now I say never say never!”

Does that mean her next adventure might be as Queen of the Jungle?