Love Island and Barbie star Chris Taylor fears 'nobody will fancy him'
Chris Taylor got emotional as he admitted he still suffers with confidence issues and fears 'nobody will fancy' him as he prepares to brave Love Island's All Stars spin-off.
Despite starring in the smash hit Barbie movie and amassing close to one million followers on Instagram with his hilarious comedy skits and pranks, Chris describes himself as 'awkward and nervous'.
"Fitting in is always something I've struggled with for most of my life," said the star. "I feel like an outsider. So I do get emotional when I'm accepted within a group. I generally feel like I've got a weird different brain and I don't know if I'm annoying people. So when I feel like I'm part of something it's really nice."
Love Island star Chris Taylor is returning as an islander on the spin-off series All Stars (ITV)
It comes following his role in Barbie (2023), which starred Margot Robbie (left), pictured with Tom Ackerley (right) (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)When he last appeared on the show in 2019, Chris broke down in tears after being saved from being dumped, telling his fellow islanders at the time: "I've never fitted in anywhere." The star said the nerves are ramping up ahead of the All Stars launch on ITV on Monday: "I will go through the same journey as I do anytime I go into any new group of people.
"Confidence is a tricky thing isn't it? Where it comes from, how you get it, how you keep it, that sort of thing. I wouldn't say I'm any more confident, particularly talking to other girls I don't really date that much. I haven't had loads of practice and I'm quite awkward.
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"I'm a bit of a grower. I don't think anyone fancies me at first, it's more like later down the line when they've got to know me better. I'm not someone that is on the celebrity scene. I go to about two events a year just to make sure that people know I'm alive still. I'm not really in the fame game. I don't really know a lot about the people going in there. I think that will be good because I'll get to know them from day one."
Despite his nerves, Chris will walk into the All Stars villa knowing he's the only contestant to who can boast about starring in a hit Hollywood movie. The Leicester-born star nabbed a cameo in Greta Gerwig's 2023 box-office buster Barbie alongside legends Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling - after Margot personally asked for him.
The reality TV star landed a cameo in the acclaimed film, which was released last year (Getty Images)
Chris met his now ex-partner Maura Higgins when he first appeared on Love Island in 2019 (maurahiggins/Instagram)"I've not got a 'Ken swag' now though," joked the star. "I'm not one for letting cool things go my head. I'm quite grounded really. It's not really changed me. It was a great experience and I'm really lucky and happy it happened to me.
"I don't have personal contact with Margot Robbie. I saw her at the premiere and she gave me a hug and said, 'There were people that were cut from this film and you're still in it and I'm buzzing about that'. So that was very nice. I was speaking to her husband [Tom Ackerley] before the premiere and I wanted to know how I ended up in the film. There's a bit of a background story the first time I met Margot. He was just saying, she said 'Look we just have to get Chris in this film.' So that's nice. But no contact since. I think she's very busy. My schedule is slightly more intense than hers but neither of us have really found the time."
After failing to find love on his series of Love Island in 2019, Chris went on to couple up with bombshell Maura Higgins after the show. Fans were over the moon at the unlikely match, but the whirlwind romance came to a halt weeks after they went Instagram official with some cosy holiday snaps.
Speaking about how he'd feel if Maura was to make a sudden reappearance in the South African villa, Chris said: "We're on good terms. It was an amicable split. She's doing her thing and I'm doing mine. There wouldn't be any issues there. If she was in there we'd probably have a chat and it would be fine."
While things didn't work out with Maura, Chris admits there have been other contestants who have 'slid into his DMs' since. Dropping some clues, Chris said: "It wasn't out of nowhere and it was someone I'd chatted to before and we live near each other.
"It's someone who is rumoured to be on the show actually but obviously I don't know the line-up till I get in there. So there's a potential there. I don't know them well enough yet to know if I really like them. They say don't judge a book by its cover and I'm not judging. I want to go in there and see what happens. See what the vibe is."
At 33, Chris is one of the oldest contestants in the All Stars series and says he's not looking for an age gap romance. "I've dated someone who is 23 or 24 and at first it can be fine but at first you see the cracks over time, they might be a bit more emotionally immature. When I talk I use a lot of old references and if people don't know who the Thundercats are or they haven't used a fax machine then are we going to get on?"
While many of his fellow contestants have been busy preparing to appear in their swimwear on reality show each night, Chris says he's not been taking his regime too seriously. "I do six press ups every other Sunday and that's about it. No, I've been going to gym, walking, running, lifting heavy things. What else prep can a man do? I've had a haircut! There's so much more for girls to do. I'm kind of stuck with this face."
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However, he has taken the time to seek advice from his close pal and housemate Michael Griffiths, who also starred alongside him on the show. "The advice he gave me I can't say because it's too rude. The lads have been really supportive. I live with Michael still. People always say just 'be yourself' and that's all you can really do."
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Love Island: All Stars debuts on ITV, ITV2 and ITVX on Monday (January 15) at 9pm.
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