It's almost time for that summertime reality show where singles living in a beachfront villa pair up in hopes of finding love. No, not Bachelor in Paradise. We're talking about CBS' new Bachelor Nation competitor, Love Island, which takes place in Fiji and offers a cash reward in addition to the prize of love at the end of the season. The show is based on the UK version of the same name, but it has a brand new host in Love Island's Arielle Vandenberg — and she's basically the opposite of the Bachelor-verse's Chris Harrison.
To start, Vandenberg comes from the acting and comedy world (Harrison, on the other hand, has mostly hosted things and played himself on shows like Sabrina, The Teenage Witch). You may know the new Love Island host from shows like Greek (where she played Lisa Lawson) or Meet The Browns (she played London). She also had a small role on How I Met Your Mother (she played a woman Ted met on St. Patrick's Day in season 3) and in the films The Ugly Truth and Epic Movie. In addition to acting, she has experience hosting thanks to her former Snapchat show Snap Hangs, where she spoke with other stars about their lives.
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Her sense of humor is evident in one Love Island promo where she sits nearby as a couple makes out and assures them that, no, she's supposed to be there, she's the host! The kissing goes on until Vandenberg decides she's had enough. "Okay, we get it!" she jokes. She seems to fit the show's tone perfectly, which executive producer David Eilenberg described in a CBS video as, "Warmhearted, fun, and funny."
In that same video, Vandenberg described her role on the series as being a "love train conductor." (Chris Harrison would never.) "I pop in unexpectedly. I'm the bearer of good news and bad news. I could also bring your soulmate to the villa," she said of her hosting duties. Her background in comedy and acting means that Vandenberg will probably be a little more comical and loose in front of the cameras than what Bachelor fans are used to getting from life-long TV host Harrison.
In real life, also known as anywhere that cameras aren't following a gaggle of sexy singles around a beach villa in Fiji, Vandenberg also has a ton of her own ventures. On Instagram, as simply @Arielle, Vandeberg could very easily be mistaken for a breezy, Southern California influencer. Here she is, with her partner, in the aftermath of Coachella:
But scroll a bit further and you'll find comedy videos, lovingly poking fun at the influencer game. She recently started posting more highly produced versions of these on YouTube, including this one, in which Vandenberg half-jokingly teaches you how to make almond milk:
CBS has made quite the choice for its "love train conductor" — and there's no chance anyone will be confusing Vandenberg's hosting antics with anything going in Paradise. The beautiful thing about reality TV in modern America is that there's room for both hosts. They're doing their own things on their own dating shows, and, let's be real, we're gonna watch both.