Since appearing on Love Island back in 2016, Olivia Bowen has proved to be one of the show’s most memorable contestants. From forging long-lasting friendships in the villa to meeting husband Alex Bowen on the show, Olivia’s success post-villa has continued to go from strength to strength.
“I can't believe it's been eight years. It's nearly been a decade and that's really scary,” she tells OK! . “I don't know whether I'm more shocked at the career I have or if I’m more shocked at the fact I have a husband and a child from Love Island.
“I can't quite work it out, but I feel very lucky to be in the position that we're in. You know, I owe it to Love Island for giving me that push in the right direction and just making me meet my husband which is crazy.”
And having celebrated her 30th birthday back in January with an iconic gothic-themed party to ‘mourn’ her twenties, Olivia is looking forward to what the next decade holds and hopes to be the “healthiest” version of herself yet as she focuses on her family and career.
“I really want to be the healthiest I've ever been. I want to pursue my career in interiors and just keep renovating different properties and extend my property investment. I want to have my head screwed on, and pay attention to my family and just be healthy really,” she explains.
With that in mind, it seems as though the big 3-0 is off to a great start as Olivia and Alex are currently in the process of building a new home for their family after moving out of their old Essex home at the end of last year – and the move in date is just around the corner.
“It's going really well. It was going a bit slow and I think we were getting really itchy feet, but now we're sort of getting to the moving day. We're looking to move in sort of mid-June,” she says.
“All of the tiles arrived yesterday for the bathrooms. Honestly, about a thousand tiles I was having to organise. 200 of them I had to clean myself and then hand over to the tiler, so it’s been all go really. It's been an experience, but really, really fun. It’s really nice to be able to design the inside completely.”
With her knack for interior design, which has seen her amass a whopping 745,000 followers on her dedicated home Instagram account, perhaps it’s no surprise that husband Alex has “trust” in Olivia’s designing skills as she puts her own stamp on their home.
“It’s mega stressful but I would say because I love designing and styling and planning, to me it’s stressful but I still really enjoy it, so it doesn't really cause many arguments. I think as well, Alex just kind of leaves me to it,” the former Love Island star adds.
“He kind of just trusts my vision and he knows that it's something that I'm really passionate about and that he says I'm good at, so it's nice to know that he's got his trust in me and just lets me go for it.”
Last year, Olivia bravely opened up to OK! about how her anxiety was affected by becoming a mum, though admits that it’s something she has become “accustomed to” and says that she has learned how to help deal with her anxiety.
“It is really up and down. I think I'm sort of accustomed to the fact that I will have anxiety my whole life and I just have to learn how to deal with it. A lot of the time I've put into practice just how I deal with it. For example, for some reason when I tidy a room or make a room look clean and tidy, it helps my mind sort of soothe,” she explains.
“I still do go to therapy but I feel like it's really healthy to talk about that and make people aware that it's fine to go and train your body in the gym, so why shouldn't you go and train your mind with a therapist?”
Looking forward to the rest of the year, doting mum Olivia is busy planning Abel’s second birthday and says that seeing her son’s personality begin to shine as being a “really rewarding” part of becoming a parent.
“We're actually planning a Toy Story themed birthday party because we absolutely love Toy Story. We're going to do fancy dress because I think it's more for the parents, I won't lie. I've even found Pizza Planet pizza boxes. I'm really excited,” she says.
“He's learning to talk now and it's just so amazing to see his little personality come out. I just love seeing his little face when he sees something new or learns a new word. It's really rewarding.”
You can follow Olivia on Instagram @oliviadbowen and @thebowenhome
