Love Island's Toni Laites backed for huge US presenting role by former winner

Love Island winner Toni Laiteshas been tipped for a huge presenting role Stateside – with former champ Cara De La Hoyde backing her to front a huge show.

Cara, who won the ITV2 dating show in 2016alongside now-husband Nathan Massey, has shared her insider advice for life after the villa, urging Toni to grab every opportunity that comes her way – while warning that fame after the show can be short-lived.

While talking about Toni’s opportunities, Cara said: “I think take as much as you can get because you've got a short period, babe, so go get that money! I think she should go and do Aftersun for the American series. She'd be really good for that. I'm sure we'll see her back on TV anyway, she's great.”

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Toni, who stole the nation’s hearts when she won her series earlier this summer, has already been at the centre of rumours about new TV projects. And Cara insists that while Toni’s grounded upbringing will keep her level-headed, she should strike while the iron is hot and front Love Island USA: Aftersun.

“She’s obviously got a very nice grounded family, so I don’t think she would turn into a diva,” Cara explained. “You should take every opportunity that comes your way and do as much as you can because All Stars will roll around quickly and then the next main series is gonna roll around quickly too.”

Cara also weighed in on the much-anticipated Love Island: All Stars, which is set to return in early 2026. While she admitted she’s a fan of the format, she confessed she has concerns about whether there are enough big names left to keep audiences hooked.

“I love it, but I'm just worried about who they can bring back that people are going to be gagging to see, and who is actually gonna want to do it,” she said.

“Obviously you've got people like Ovie [Soko] and Maura [Higgins], but let's be realistic, they're not going to do it. They're doing big things in their career, they're doing amazing things.”

The mum-of-two added, speaking in conjunction with Slingo: “The thing is with a show like All Stars, there is a limit because you can’t just keep bringing people back. Even when you watch Drag Race, the All Stars at the beginning, you're like, ‘oh my God, Alaska's in it, this is amazing’, and then it gets to season 14, and it doesn’t have the same impact.”

Cara also opened up about the reality of leaving the villa in a couple, revealing that she and Nathan rushed into living together far too quickly.

“Me and Nathan, we basically moved in together after like two months – which is the most ridiculous thing to do,” she laughed. “We'd been together for 6 weeks, we thought we knew everything about each other. That was the worst decision we could have ever made because although you've been with this person, you haven't actually been in the real world with them.”

Despite her warning, Cara and Nathan went on to tie the knot in 2019 and share two children. But she admits not every couple will survive – and islanders should prepare for that.

“When people come out as couples now, you do your work as a couple, but you need to find as well what you want to do for yourself,” she explained. “In six months’ time, a year’s time, you might not be together, and if you end up basing your whole brand on being a couple and you have not actually carved anything out for yourself, it's a bit like, oh, what do I do now?”

Her advice? Be a little selfish. “If you're in a couple, you need to also be selfish, make your own brand and do your own thing and work out what you wanna do as well, and then do things as a couple,” she added.

Looking back almost a decade since she first stepped into the villa, Cara says she’s proud of her Love Island journey – and insists she’ll never slate the show.

“I love it. I'm proud that I've done it. I think it's great. I'm not one of these people that looks back and slates Love Island. You're all adults going into it, you all know what you're signing up for,” she said.

Cara added: “When people slate others for going in there to get followers, I think fair play to them. They're trying to make their life better, which in turn can make their family's life better, and I think, good luck to them. They're young, they're having a laugh.”

With her words of wisdom, Cara seems confident Toni is destined for bigger things – and fans could soon see her fronting the US spin-off. Watch this space.

Cara was speaking in conjunction with Slingo's AR Rooftop Chase .

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