Love Islanders such as Kem Cetinay and Gabby Allen are claiming furlough cash for their businesses, despite raking in millions since leaving the show.
Also making the most of the Covid scheme are villa couple Olivia, 27, and Alex Bowen, 28, who are thought to have a combined wealth of £4.4million.
The companies ran by the four stars, who appeared on the show in 2017 and 2016, all appear on a list of employers using taxpayer money published by the Government.
Making claims: Love Island stars and millionaires Olivia and Alex Bowen (pictured) as well as Kem Cetinay and Gabby Allen are claiming furlough cash for their businesses
Any eligible business can claim for taxpayer money from the scheme to help pay staff wages while the pandemic and national lockdowns continue.
MailOnline has contacted representatives for Olivia and Alex, Gabby and Kem for a comment.
Alex and Olivia run their company, OAB Fashion Limited, which is registered for the retail sale of clothing in specialised stores on Companies House.
A spokesperson for the couple told The Sun that they had put ‘one member of staff’ on furlough who would have otherwise been let go.
Making use of the help: The stars’ companies appear on a list of employers using taxpayer cash published by the Government (Gabby Allen pictured in Dubai, she runs GDA Enterprises Ltd)
Their spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘This shouldn’t really be about about Alex and Olivia, but the individual who was still, because of the government advice, able to put food on their table when the company they worked for wasn’t in a financially viable position to pay them in the midst of an unforeseen pandemic.
‘This was the intention of the government when putting the furlough scheme into action, hundreds of thousands of UK companies have successfully and legitimately used the furlough scheme to protect the livelihoods of their staff and stay afloat, OAB Fashion is no exception to this’
The couple, who met on the 2016 series of the dating show, married in 2018 and secured a lucrative £25,000 magazine deal.
They are thought to be one of Love Island’s biggest success stories earning millions since leaving the villa and recently renovating their £1m Essex mansion.
Found success: Since leaving the villa, the stars have all made millions from brand deals and sponsored posts (Kem Cetinay is also claiming from the scheme for his firm Kemcet Limited)
Olivia has previously spoken about her whopping monthly earnings and last year revealed a ‘good month’ for her accounts is when she earns £50,000.
While chatting about her earnings on BBC Three TV show, Ovie [Soko]: Life After Reality TV, Olivia revealed: ‘A good month for me… one month has been £50,000. It’s a bit scary. It makes me feel a bit sick saying it out loud!’
While 2017 series star Gabby Allen’s company GDA Enterprises Ltd also appears on the furlough claims list.
The Sun reports her company is claiming government cash for ‘amusement and recreation activities’
Big bucks: Alex and Olivia are widely considered one of Love Island’s biggest successes and are thought to have made a combined £4.4m. They run their company, OAB Fashion Limited, which is registered for the retail sale of clothing in specialised stores on Companies House
The blonde beauty, who has been living in Dubai in recent months as her beau Brandon Myer’s business is based there, is thought to worth around £1.3m.
Gabby has worked on a number of projects since leaving the villa including Shape Up fitness which included live workouts and a book which was released in 2019.
She often shares shares ‘Ad’ posts on Instagram promoting other exercise brands as well as videos of her own workouts.
The TV personality recently took to social media to explain why she’d relocated to the reality star hot-spot of Dubai amid the pandemic.
She wrote back in January: ‘Hey guys, just to let you know, we made the decision to fly out to Dubai as my boyfriends business is based here & luckily allows us to travel.
Work, work, work: Gabby, who has been living in Dubai in recent months as her beau Brandon Myer’s business is based there, is thought to worth around £1.3m
‘It was a difficult decision for me’: The Love Island star recently explained that she and her beau flew out to the UAE after receiving ‘negative PCR tests’ and being ‘both fit to travel’
‘We were both fit to travel with negative PCR tests [for COVID-19]. I wanted to come on here and acknowledge this to my followers as it was a difficult decision for me. I really hope you can understand that it was an opportunity I had to take.’
Another Island alum claiming furlough cash is Kem Cetinay, 24, who runs Kemcet Limited, which is filed as ‘service activities’ on Companies House and reportedly had more than £500,000 in the bank in its last accounts.
He also appeared on the ITV show in 2017, winning the series, and has since gone on to earn an estimated £1.5million
The hairdresser from Essex became the first male ambassador for Primark, signed a lucrative deal with Boohoo and has worked with McDonald’s and Sainsbury’s.
Since winning the show, he has also been ever present on our screens and was a contestant and host on Dancing On Ice and a showbiz correspondent on Good Morning Britain and This Morning.
Big break: Kem won Love Island in 2017 with ex-girlfriend Amber Davies and has since gone on to earn an estimated £1.5million (pictured together on the show)
And the reality star can also earn up to £8,000 per Instagram post.
The four Love Island stars are not the only celebs who have claimed furlough cash during the pandemic.
Millionaire Cara Delevingne and her family are also claiming cash from the Covid scheme for their property business.
The model, 28, is a director of the family’s company, Harvey White Properties Ltd, alongside her father Charles, 71, and two sisters Poppy, 34, and Chloe, 35.
According to The Sun, the business, which has an impressive portfolio of real estate thought to be worth £45.5m, has been made to halve rents during the pandemic.
Cara’s father Charles confirmed to the publication he’s been claiming from the scheme. It is not known how many members of staff have been furloughed but the company is thought to employ five people.
Hollywood heavyweight Robert De Niro’s celebrity-loved Nobu London restaurant has also used taxpayer’ money to furlough staff during the pandemic – despite his £360million fortune.
Goodfellas star De Niro, 77, co-founded the high-end Nobu chain with celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa and film producer Meir Teper in 1994.
While Guy Ritchie and former Rugby ace Mike Tindall – who is married to the Queen’s granddaughter Zara Tindall – both also claimed furlough money for their firms.
Billionaire heiress Tamara Ecclestone and her husband Jay Rutland are also reported to have used the furlough scheme, according to the Daily Mail.
Helping hand: Cara Delevingne and her family are claiming cash from the furlough scheme for their property business Harvey White Properties Ltd (pictured in November 2020)
This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk
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