Nas & Eva
Photography & Words: Owen James Vincent
With Love Island coming back on our TV screens. ReVamp got to chat to lovebirds, Nas and Eva who were on the show last year just before the pandemic hit us.
We spoke to them about how they coped with being in a new relationship during lockdown, what they've learnt from being on the show and they gave us advice for the new Islanders who are about to go in to the villa.
Hello Nas and Eva. Thank you for talking to ReVamp Magazine. How have you both been since your season of Love Island?
Eva: We've been really good thank you. It's been a bit up and down with us because we came out of Love Island, it was all fun and then we went straight in to a lockdown, so we didn't get to see each other for three months.
Nas: Yeah it was quite weird because we were in each others pockets for a good ten days, even when we came out we were building a connection, we were going on dates and it was really nice, you know that Love Island whirlwind experience that everyone talks about. Literally then it just came to a hault! What was nice about our relationship was that it was organic as it could be as a sense cause that we were only together for ten days in the villa, there was no pressure to be forced as boyfriend and girlfriend or to move in together for example. So we just took it at our own pace which is something I really like.
Eva: It was tricky after the first lockdown but after that he secured me as his girlfriend and then we spent the second and third lockdown together.
What have you both learnt from being on the show?
N: Just be yourself! At the end of the day you can't please everyone. You come out to a massive social media following, as you've been on a reality TV show people have their opinions on you, people will say what they want about you. For me it was always a case of being true to yourself and never really worry about what people think about you. It's all about enjoying being in the moment with Eva and my family. Everyday I was in the villa I was grateful to wake up, be there and be part of the experience.
E: I think it's important to be yourself and that's what I've learnt because not really through my own experiences but from looking at things that have come out about other people. They've said something which they probably lied about and then their contradicting themselves another time and it completely contradicts what they said previously and people call them up on it because they've not been truthful with that and they've forgotten. If you're just completely yourself, no one can never catch you out because you said what you said and that's what you believe in.
How have you both made your relationship work after being on the show together?
E: I think personally it was good communication. In the villa you only get to know each other after a certain extent and you don't really get to know each others everyday lives. For example I'm such a phone person, I'm such a caller and coming out of the villa I found out that Nas wasn't. It was bit of a bump in the road because I was texting Nas a lot and he wasn't really on the phone as much. We kept in communication after the first lockdown as we couldn't see each other for months and then by the end we could finish what we left off.
N: Before the lockdown period ended, it just felt like we were on pause. It was three months of FaceTime and like Eva said I was really bad with my phone. So to FaceTime someone, for me, it was a big thing for me and I had to learn. The second I saw her all the memories came flooding back and I knew she was the one. We always try to get in a date night like once a week and we are doing something fun.
Would you be up for doing another reality TV show?
N: It's a tricky one! I enjoyed Love Island. It was a mix response because some people don't get the edit they want or you are not in control of your own narrative at the end of the day. For example I could be funny for five minutes in the day and they could just show that but yeah I could do another reality TV show definitely.
E: For me I would like to give it another go because I had a bit of a rocky road with Love Island in the sense that I joined Casa Amor and as I was just getting comfortable there, I had to go to the main villa, and as I was just getting comfortable there I got kicked out. So I did find Love Island quite difficult because I felt like I couldn't get comfortable and I couldn't really show myself on there. So I would like to give reality TV another go. Even if it's Made in Chelsea or TOWIE because you know what people are saying about you! On Love Island you have no idea what's happening in the outside world.
A lot of Islanders have made podcasts. Is that something you both would be interested in doing?
N: It's funny you say that because we we're suppose to do a podcast. We had a couple of sponsors but we don't really know why we didn't do it?
E: It was because we we're busy with work, lockdown laziness, and we just kept on putting it off by saying we would do it after lockdown and then lockdown ended and we we're going out to eat. *laughs*
N: Now saying that, we wanted guests on our podcast and we wanted it to feel more personal than a Zoom and what I mean is I like the way we interact with people. It would off been nice to have Eva, Me and two guests in a room, having a laugh and bouncing banter of each other and get lost in the moment.
E: It's definitely something we would think about in the future.
What advice would you like to give to the new Islanders who are about to start their adventure?
E: I could give a lot of advice! For me personally just enjoy it! Not just going in to the villa but everything before hand. Personally, for me I was stressed out about the whole thing, it's so overwhelming and for probably two months prior to going in; I was going to the gym everyday, making sure I was eating well, I was trying to get my body in check where really I wish I enjoyed the process more. By the time I went in to the villa, I wasn't that happy because I've been working out and just not eating as much. So just enjoy every second, be yourself and just enjoy the experience. Don't worry about people thinking about you on the outside! Don't go in there thinking you'll get loads of followers, you could be in there for 2 seconds and you come out with no new followers. So just enjoy it!
N: I second that as well! I was in there for thirty days and you know it can be tough and quite tricky, you don't know whats round the corner, you can't speak to your family or friends. Just remember that over a hundred thousand people applied and you are one of those lucky thirty to be in there. So just enjoy the experience! One more thing, don't go in there thinking you'll be rich and famous when you come out of it. The Love Island crew tell you don't expect everything. I think one of the reasons I got on the show was because when they interviewed me on why I want to go on the show? I said it was a free holiday and I would rather be in sunny South Africa than rainy England.
Lastly is there any upcoming projects you’ve got lined up that you want to tell your readers?
E: With the world opening up, we've got a few things lined up but we can't say yet. So watch this space!