Carl Woods Love Island: What Happened When Katie Price’s Ex Appeared on the Show?

Carl Woods appeared on Love Island in 2016, years before his high-profile relationship with Katie Price brought him greater attention in the celebrity press.

Unlike many familiar Love Island contestants, Woods did not spend weeks living in the villa. His involvement was considerably shorter: he appeared during the show’s second series as one of the men brought in for a speed-dating challenge.

The Essex car dealer hoped to impress the female Islanders and potentially earn a more permanent place on the programme, but things did not go to plan.

So, what actually happened during Carl Woods’ Love Island appearance, and how did he go from a short ITV2 stint to becoming one of Katie Price’s most widely discussed former partners?

When Was Carl Woods on Love Island?

Carl Woods appeared on series two of Love Island in 2016.

At the time, he was 27 and was described as a car salesman living in Hertfordshire. Radio Times’ profile of Woods ahead of his appearance also noted his enthusiasm for cars and fitness.

Carl Woods Love Island fact	Details
Love Island series	Series 2
Year	2016
Age when profiled	27
Occupation	Car salesman
Format	Speed-dating challenge
Became a full Islander?	No
Later TV appearance	Killer Camp
Later known for	Relationship with Katie Price

Rather than arriving as a conventional bombshell who immediately moved into the villa, Woods was among prospective contestants introduced through a dating challenge.

That meant his future on the programme depended on making enough of an impression to progress.

He ultimately failed to secure a permanent place.

What Happened to Carl Woods on Love Island?

Carl Woods’ time on the programme was brief.

He was introduced during a speed-dating challenge in which the female contestants had an opportunity to meet prospective new men.

However, Woods was not selected to stay in the villa.

Closer has characterised the appearance as short and memorable, with Woods failing to win over the women taking part.

Other reports looking back at his appearance have similarly noted that he did not progress beyond the speed-dating stage.

It means Carl Woods technically appeared on Love Island, but his experience was very different from contestants who spend days or weeks coupling up, facing public votes and taking part in recouplings.

Did Carl Woods Ever Enter the Love Island Villa?

No, Carl Woods did not become a full-time Islander.

His 2016 involvement came through the speed-dating segment, but none of the women chose him to progress further.

As a result, his Love Island appearance ended without him becoming part of the main villa line-up.

This is why viewers who watched the entire 2016 series may not remember Woods in the same way as some of that year’s main contestants.

His appearance was more of a brief attempt to join the programme than a conventional Love Island journey.

What Did Carl Woods Say Before Love Island?

Woods appeared confident about his chances before taking part.

One of the details that has repeatedly resurfaced in reports about his Love Island appearance was his claim that people compared his appearance with Hollywood actor Channing Tatum.

He described the comparison as an advantage ahead of meeting the Islanders.

Woods also described himself using words including “charming” and “confident”, while saying that he wanted to meet a woman who could laugh at herself and made an effort with her appearance.

Those comments have subsequently attracted renewed attention whenever his short Love Island history has resurfaced.

Who Was Carl Woods’ Celebrity Crush?

Another detail from Woods’ pre-Love Island profile later became particularly notable because of his relationship with Katie Price.

Woods identified Jodie Marsh as his celebrity crush before appearing on the dating programme.

Marsh and Price were involved in a long-running and highly publicised celebrity feud, making Woods’ answer an unusual piece of his reality-TV history once he later began dating Price.

At the time Woods made the comment, however, his relationship with Katie Price was still several years away.

How Did Carl Woods Become Famous After Love Island?

Love Island did not immediately turn Woods into a major reality television personality.

After his brief 2016 appearance, he later took part in ITV2’s Killer Camp, a reality competition with a horror-themed murder-mystery format. Reports state that Woods won the programme.

His public profile rose considerably further in 2020, when it emerged that he was dating Katie Price.

The couple were reportedly introduced through mutual friends and began dating that year.

Their relationship quickly became a regular subject of celebrity coverage.

Carl Woods and Katie Price’s Relationship

Katie Price and Carl Woods began their relationship in 2020 and later became engaged in 2021.

Their relationship continued for several years and included plans to start a family together.

Woods and Price underwent fertility treatment, footage of which was eventually shown in the Channel 4 programme Katie Price: Making Babies. The programme was recorded before their relationship ended but did not air until January 2025.

The couple ultimately separated in 2023.

Because of Price’s long-standing profile in British television and celebrity media, Woods’ earlier Love Island appearance subsequently attracted much more attention than it had when originally broadcast.

Was Carl Woods a Love Island Bombshell?

Carl Woods is sometimes described in reports as a former Love Island bombshell, but his appearance needs some context.

He was one of the men introduced during the show’s 2016 speed-dating challenge, rather than a contestant who entered the villa and remained there as part of the regular cast.

He therefore appeared on Love Island, but he did not progress to becoming a permanent Islander.

That distinction explains why his name may be missing from lists concentrating exclusively on contestants who officially lived in the villa for an extended period.

How Long Was Carl Woods on Love Island?

Woods’ Love Island experience was extremely short compared with those of the show’s main contestants.

His involvement effectively centred on the speed-dating challenge.

After failing to be chosen to continue, he left without experiencing the usual elements associated with a Love Island stint, such as:

• villa recouplings;
• public votes;
• Casa Amor;
• long-term villa relationships.

The brief nature of the appearance is one reason archive clips and reports about Carl Woods on Love Island have continued to surprise viewers who know him primarily through his later connection to Katie Price.

What Series of Love Island Was Carl Woods In?

Carl Woods appeared during Love Island series two in 2016.

That series aired on ITV2 and came during the early years of the revived version of the reality dating programme.

Woods was 27 when Radio Times introduced him as one of the prospective new men taking part.

His appearance pre-dated his relationship with Katie Price by approximately four years.

Did Carl Woods Find Love on Love Island?

No.

Woods did not form a relationship on the show because his appearance ended before he could join the villa as a regular contestant.

None of the women selected him following the speed-date process, bringing his attempt to enter the programme to an early end.

His best-known public relationship instead came years later when he began dating Katie Price.

Where Is Carl Woods’ Love Island Appearance in His TV Career?

Love Island remains an interesting part of Carl Woods’ television history precisely because it was so brief.

His 2016 appearance came before Killer Camp and several years before his relationship with Katie Price made him much more recognisable to the British public.

It also differs markedly from the trajectories of Love Island stars who become household names directly from spending weeks in the villa.

For Woods, the programme was an early TV appearance rather than the main source of his later celebrity profile.

Why Is Carl Woods and Love Island Trending Now?

Interest in Carl Woods and Love Island has resurfaced as viewers revisit the backgrounds of former contestants following the 2026 Love Island series.

Woods’ name stands out because many people know him primarily as Katie Price’s former fiancé, rather than remembering his extremely brief appearance on Love Island in 2016. Contemporary profiles confirm that he appeared during a speed-dating task but did not secure a permanent place in the villa.

There is also renewed interest in Katie Price’s relationship history. Price and Woods dated from 2020 before eventually splitting in 2023, while Price’s personal life has continued to generate headlines in 2026. Reports earlier this year covered major changes in her romantic life, including the end of her relationship with JJ Slater and her subsequent marriage to businessman Lee Andrews.

That fresh attention has encouraged readers to look back at the people previously linked to Price and Woods’ unusual reality-TV history is once again attracting curiosity.

The timing also coincides with continued online discussion around Love Island 2026, where current contestants and former Islanders are generating renewed searches across entertainment sites.

For some fans, the surprising part is discovering that Woods was connected with Love Island at all. His appearance lasted only one episode and ended before he became a full-time Islander, making it an easily forgotten piece of reality-TV history that regularly resurfaces when his name returns to the celebrity headlines.