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Love Island 2020 villa's shock link to apartheid revealed


The villa is situated in a wealthy Cape Town suburb where people of colour were forced to leave their homes in the Sixties under the apartheid regime so that white people could move in. Thousands of farmers, labourers, flower sellers and fruit growers are booted off their land in Constantia to make way for large mansions. Constantia was first created in 1685 by former Cape of Good Hope governor Simon van der Stel who was granted a three square mile area of land by the Dutch East India Company, on which he started a vineyard.

Around 220 slaves worked in the area where the villa stands over a period of 150 years until the emancipation in 1834.

Up until 1961, the area was populated mostly by people of colour until the farms were zoned a White Group Area under the Group Areas Act put in place by the apartheid regime.

Vineyards and farms sold off huge areas of their land to property developers to build superhomes for rich white clients.

Then, in the late Sixties, non-white residents were forcibly removed from area to government-build townships in the Cape Flats.

READ MORE: Love Island 2020: Winner already revealed thanks to famous ties?

Love Island 2020

Love Island 2020 villa link to apartheid revealed (Image: GETTY / ITV)

south africa apartheid

Black South Africans protest apartheid by getting in train designated for white people only (Image: GETTY)

While to this day the Cape Flats has ongoing issues of deprivation and a very high crime rate, Constantia by contrast has become one of the most affluent and prestigious areas of Cape Town.

While the Cape Flats is often patrolled by the army to keep order, Constantia is heavily guarded by private security companies and CCTV cameras.

Constantia has previously been the home of Princess Diana’s brother Charles Spencer and Margaret Thatcher’s son Mark Thatcher.

Love Island insiders have laughed off suggestions that they have had to boost security after the recent shooting of a gang boss revealing the murder hit happened over 10 miles away.

Constantia Cape Town

Constantia, Cape Town (Image: GETTY)

The insider said: “What happens each day and night in the Cape Flats is very different to what happens here in Constantia. One is a war zone and the other is incredibly safe. 

“It is scaremongering to try and compare the two and contestants could not be safer.” 

The villa itself, which is five times the size of the Love Island villa in Mallorca, had been listed for £5.3million ahead of the Winter Series.

Its owner is reportedly pocketing £400,000 for four months of rent, which includes the time taken to build the villa, the time during the show and the time taken to restore it back to how it was.

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Love Island Cape Town villa

Love Island Cape Town villa (Image: ITV)

Love Island villa swimming pool

Love Island villa swimming pool (Image: Daily Star)

The owner bought the villa – named The Cottage – along with a sister property next door in 2011, long after apartheid was over and there is no suggestion he benefitted in any way from the eviction of people in the Sixties. 

ITV declined to comment on the location of their Love Island 2020 villa.

The Love Island set was constructed out of wood and will be taken down again at the end and put into storage for use next year if the winter show’s ratings are a success.

A team of 30 British carpenters spent eight weeks extending the four-bedroomed villa ready for filming and a landscaper installed fake lawns and plastic plants outside.

There is a 25-metre heated pool next to the three-storey villa as well as a jacuzzi.

Spread over 14,531 square feet, the property boasts five bathrooms, floor to ceiling glass walls and doors and looks out over the beautiful countryside.

It is situated on the slopes of the Vlakkenberg mountain and is totally secluded as it is surrounded by other huge private properties. 

The estate is monitored by CCTV, electric fences and armed guards with a rapid reaction force of armed security patrollers.

Love Island villa South Africa

Love Island villa, South Africa (Image: Daily Star)

A Love Island insider said: “The contestants have all been here stayed at different places in Cape Town this week and have had photo shoots done and are ready to enter Love Island.

“It is a military operation keeping them all apart so that they don’t bump into each other until they all meet on Sunday. 

“The villa is ready to go with all the cameras and microphones in place and there are no hiding places with even cameras in the shower rooms, which have clear glass doors.



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