Exclusive Interview
‘Love Island’s Kaz Crossley on Montel McKenzie Romance & Her Triumphant Return to the Villa
Kaz Crossley is no stranger to reality television. In 2018, she shocked viewers and Islanders alike when she emerged with Josh Denzel after Casa Amor. No one was more shocked than his match, Georgia Steel. Despite this dramatic beginning, Kaz and Josh went on to earn third place in Love Island Series 4. Kaz and Josh continued to date until finally ending things in 2019.
Kaz later dated Theo Campbell, who had also been a contestant that season, for 11 months. After they broke up, both appeared on Ex on the Beach, where single contestants try to find love while also dealing with their exes.
But this wasn’t the last we’d see of Kaz (or Theo, for that matter). Kaz surprised everyone when she took a detour from dating shows and instead appeared on The Challenge: UK, which she won. That same year, she appeared on The Challenge: World Championship with former boyfriend Theo, and she won that, too.
Four reality TV appearances would be enough for many of us—we’d settle for just one chance to sleep in those gorgeous white beds on Love Island. However, Kaz had one more trick up her sleeve: Love Island: All Stars. She appeared on the latest season, alongside memorable contestants like Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, Gabby Allen, and Luca Bish.
Fresh off her flight back from South Africa, where she attended the finals, and still sporting that bronzed glow (can’t relate), Swooon caught up with Kaz to discuss all things Love Island, dating, heartbreak, and, yes, Taylor Swift.
Why did Kaz go back on Love Island?
The first time Kaz appeared in Love Island as a Casa Amor girlie, she was 23. Now the former makeup artist is 30 years old and made her way back to the villa.
“It is a massive choice,” she told Swooon. “The first time I was on the show, I just had the best experience, and I always looked back at it as such a happy memory. Once-in-a-lifetime opportunities never come around again, so when it came around again, I was single. Of course, seven years later, I am such a—not different—but I’ve grown into the person I am. I’m a woman now. So doing the show again was a no-brainer for me.”
Reaching 30 feels like a pivotal moment for many of us, Surprisingly, even TV personalities like Kaz, with 1.1 million followers on Instagram, feel this pressure.
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“It’s hard being this age—I’m 30 now—and especially on social media, you see people getting engaged and having children,” she sighed. “I’ve always wanted to have a family, so I think it was a matter of waiting for the right person and trusting the timing of it. I’ve always said women shouldn’t be ashamed of wanting to be with someone. There’s a lot of pressure of being independent and being by yourself, but it’s also okay to want someone and to want that companionship, too.”
How was Kaz’s second time on Love Island?
Her first time on the show, Kaz immediately paired up with Josh (sorry, Georgia), and the rest was “plain sailing,” as she described it. “I was just in my bubble with that person.”
This time around, Kaz encountered some rockier waters during her time in the villa. Initially paired with Curtis Pritchard through a fan vote, Kaz and the Series 5 contestant seemed to get along nicely, with him describing her as “looking absolute fire.” But it didn’t last, as Ekin-Su soon caught his eye.
Then came the blow-up with Ronnie Vint and Elma Pazar, which resulted in Kaz being relegated to the hot seat without a match. When asked about these early days in the villa, Kaz said, “It felt like I was giving, but I wasn’t being appreciated.”
Ultimately, she stayed strong throughout these challenges—as well as the literal challenges thrown at the Islanders. “Rejection didn’t affect me, especially in the villa, because I’ve done so much work on myself to know who I am and what I bring to the table,” Kaz noted. “So it wasn’t like I was getting rejected, it was like they were actually missing out.”
“I remember being on the show last time all those years ago and then coming out and having so much attention and people saying, ‘Wow, you’re so beautiful, you’re so amazing,’ but I didn’t feel like that myself. Whereas this time around, I have done so much work on myself, and I fully love myself now. So when I was in there, and I’d get rejected, I realized I must really love myself because I didn’t feel like I was being rejected. I just knew what I bring the table and who I was, so I didn’t let it affect me like that.”
But she’s not made out of steel. She suffers from insecurities just like the rest of us. “It was annoying,” she admitted. “I was thinking so many things, like, is it because I don’t have any hair?”
Kaz is referencing her struggle with alopecia, which she recently discussed publicly. She aimed to raise awareness for the condition by sharing selfies that showed her hair loss before shaving her hair off and donating it to Little Lady Locks, a UK charity that provides wigs to children with hair loss.
We asked her what advice she’d give to people struggling through perceived rejections like this. We might not be on a reality show for it, but we all have struggled through ghosted, Tinder matches turning us down, or a cute guy asking for our friend’s number rather than ours. “Tell yourself it’s not rejection, it’s not that you’re not good enough, you have to flip it and look at it from a different perspective,” she said.
It often seems like your success in Love Island, and after the show, is determined by your placement on the show, whether you’re there from day one, a Bombshell, or a Casa Amor siren urged to steal someone’s match. We asked Kaz how Casa Amor contestants are treated compared to others in the villa.
“It’s so much harder to be a Casa Amor girl,” she agreed. “It’s just hard being a Bombshell in general, but being a Casa Amor girl, you’re in there specifically to steal someone’s man.”
She continued, “Men and women in general get a different treatment. Look at the Ronnie situation. We kissed each other, and he was the one who kissed two girls in one night, but I got all the stick for it. As a woman in society, but especially in Love Island, you can literally see it clear as day.”
Are Kaz and Montel still together?
After those initial hurdles, Kaz found her perfect match in Montel McKenzie from Series 10 when he entered on Day 11.
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The pair were unfortunately kicked out on Day 16 when Luca Bish and Elma Pazar chose to save Tina Stinnes instead. Fans were keen on this burgeoning relationship, and we’re all desperate to know how it has been progressing since. Kaz assured us it’s going well, and they’re learning how to navigate long-distance. Kaz is located in Manchester, and Montel is in London. The pair enjoy exploring Manchester together and going for runs.
She explained how she had been excited to return for the filming of the finale, only to find she and Montel relegated to separate Women’s and Men’s villas for the week. After much pleading, the pair were allowed a chaperoned date in the communal area of her villa. (Not much chance of funny business there.)
Speaking of getting intimate… Kaz shared a photo on her social media of a huge bag of Love Island-branded condoms. We asked, as tactfully as we could, whether these condoms were actually being put to good use in the villa. “Definitely,” she laughed. “They’re there for a reason. Come on, you put these people in a villa, they’re all over each other, you’ve got the Hideaway, at least they’re making sure people are being safe.”
What’s next for Kaz?
She’ll continue to run Combat Collective, which is dedicated to opening up the Muay Thai space for women. She regularly organizes retreats and events around Muay Thai, fitness, and self-empowerment.
“Muay Thai is the best thing that happened to me, and it changed my life,” Kaz explained. “When I discovered it, I was at a point in my life where, like I said before, I didn’t love myself, and I wasn’t kind to myself, and that really reflected in the relationships I was staying in. You do just feel very powerful and overcome so much in the sport, and you reflect that in your daily life and think you can overcome anything.”
She plans to keep exploring her budding romance with Montel, although she’s determined to never put her partner before herself again. “I was always making sure I was the person they wanted me to be, not the person I was. Now I always ask myself: Is this decision for me?”
In Kaz’s own words, “I’m just in my unapologetic era.”
Love Island All Stars, Season 2, Streaming Now, Peacock
