Entertainment
The U.K. reality TV sensation Love Island is coming to the U.S. with a brand new American cast and a brand new American host. While Caroline Flack handles hosting duties for the British version, Arielle Vandenberg is the Love Island host here in the U.S. Like Flack, Vandenberg's résumé contains acting and modeling gigs, so you've probably seen her before — especially if you were a fan of the dearly-departed Vine app. But now Vandenberg will be leading the charge when it comes to the Love Island group of singles getting steamy, mixing it up, and maybe even finding love.
When CBS announced that Vandenberg would be hosting the U.S. version of Love Island, she quickly made it known that she was the right person for the job. "As a huge fan of the show, I can't tell you how excited I am to be hosting Love Island this summer. I'm here for it all... the love, the relationships, the re-coupling... bring it on," Vandenberg said in the press announcement. "I feel so honored to be at the head of the table watching it all go down!"
But besides her love of the scandalous reality show, she has a proven track record of being a great performer. She also has the requisite good looks for Love Island while never being afraid to show her silly side. Plus, she knows a thing or two about love with her own relationship past. So here's how Vandenberg's past experiences have made her the ideal host of Love Island when it premieres on July 9.
Movies & TV
Vandenberg has appeared in small roles in movies like Epic Movie, The Ugly Truth, and Dog Days. She has had recurring roles in the TV shows Meet the Browns and Greek. And she's also appeared briefly in TV shows like Numb3rs, Bones, CSI, and How I Met Your Mother — where she played one of Ted and Barney's "hot and sexy dates" for St. Patrick's Day.
Music Videos
She appeared in the Arctic Monkeys' "R U Mine?" music video in 2013. GQ Australia reported that Vandenberg dated the band's frontman Alex Turner from 2011 to 2014, so she already had a close connection to the band.
Dancing
While she doesn't dance professionally, Vandenberg told the UGG Life blog that she spent her early years dancing. "I danced my whole life — literally from like age 0 until 18, I was in a ballet or jazz or hip hop class. After high school, I stopped and now I just dance for pleasure," she said. But you can still check out her moves on her social media, like when she did her own take on Lil Dicky and Chris Brown's "Freaky Friday" music video.
Commercials
Besides film and TV shows, Vandenberg is a pretty regular face on commercials. As iSpot.tv noted, she has appeared in spots for Old Navy with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, State Farm, Jose Cuervo (where she showed off her dance moves), Best Buy, Garnier with Tina Fey, and Progressive with none other than soap star Susan Lucci.
She's Hung Out With Contestants From That *Other* Reality Show
CBS may be looking to create its own Bachelor-like sensation in the U.S. after the massive success of Love Island in the U.K. And Vandenberg showed how much she's committed to reality TV dating franchises when she interviewed the Bachelor Nation staple himself, Nick Viall, on her The Only Child podcast.
She Dated Will Arnett
Will Arnett was famously married to Amy Poehler until their split in 2012. So with him back on the market, Arnett and Vandenberg began dating in January 2015. Yet, this pairing of funny people didn't last too long with Us Weekly reporting they were broken up by June of that year. "They're still friendly," a source told Us. "It was never really serious." She also has been linked to Olympic snowboarder Shaun White and Maroon 5's Adam Levine in the past.
She Was A Vine Star
Before Vine was discontinued, Vandenberg was a pro at creating hilarious and buzzy Vines, as the above compilation shows.
And Now She's Dating Her Vine Buddy
For her Vine videos, she often teamed up with her buddy Matt Cutshall. While they were best friends, that evolved into love since they announced they were dating in June 2017. And these friends-turned-lovers are still going strong in 2019.
Vandenberg clearly doesn't need any help with the love department. But she'll be assisting the contestants on Love Island with her funny and energetic personality as they deal with their own chaotic, nationally-televised love stories.
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