Peek at my streaming history, and you'll see a pattern forming: Love Island (UK, USA, Australia and Love Island Games), Love is Blind, Bachelor in Paradise, Too Hot to Handle, FBoy Island—the list goes on and on. If there are hot people humiliating themselves in search of love (and internet fame) in a tropical setting, I will be watching it go down. Through all the ~research on the cultural impacts of reality dating TV~ I've done this winter, I've noticed an interesting recurrence: gold drinkware.
Midway through episode one of Love Island: All Stars, I realized the real bombshell of the villa was the gold champagne flutes contestants sipped from while the drama went down. Fresh from a trip to the pods, I couldn't help but notice how remarkably similar these metallic cups looked to the gold wine glasses from the new season of Love is Blind. So now, as your resident reality TV aficionado, I'm declaring gold glasses the official drinkware of dating shows.
Thankfully, those of us looking to channel our inner reality TV star can find the Love Island gold champagne flutes on Amazon for under $25. Sold as a set of two, these stainless steel glasses are perfect for mimosas while you watch the latest ep with your Love Island squad, a romantic date-night toast with your partner, or a TikTok roast of your least favorite couple in the villa.
Why, you may ask, do Love Island: All Stars contestants drink from gold cups? For the same reason as the contestants on Love is Blind and other reality TV dating shows: to conceal what contestants are drinking—and, more importantly, how much. It's an open secret that Love Island participants aren't allowed more than two alcoholic drinks per night and that what's chugged during terrace chats and sexy challenges is actually water. Plus, keeping drink levels hidden from viewers makes it easier for producers to splice together dramatic clips without us realizing.
'Love Island: All Stars'-inspired decor
Eternal Beauty Set of 2 Gold Sequin Pillow Covers
Fopamtri Artificial Bird of Paradise Plant
Hananona Gold Bunny Figurines
Eagle-eyed All Stars fans were quick to find other Love Island villa decor on Amazon, too. While we can't all sleep in a luxury villa every night, we can add the Islanders' gold sequin pillows and throw blankets to our beds. Add a neon sign and a few fake plants, and you're practically in South Africa. So when the next season of Love Island, or any reality dating show for that matter, airs, I won't just be looking for love. I'll also be keeping an eye out for gold glasses and trendy decor.
