Diamanté Laiva went on Love Island to find love and left the villa without a partner.
Back in the real world, UK dating did not improve.
So she moved to Vietnam, where men approach her two to three times a day without her lifting a finger.
“UK dating is finished,” the 23-year-old told CreatorZine.
“Everyone’s glued to dating apps, nobody goes outside, nobody approaches anyone. Out of everywhere I’ve been, the UK is hands down the worst dating experience for me.”
She has deleted every dating app, including Raya.
“I genuinely don’t need them. I could never use one again. It feels like auditioning for a man.”
From Love Island to Ho Chi Minh
Laiva appeared as a Casa Amor bombshell on series 11 of Love Island but did not get coupled up.
She has previously spoken about how moving to Vietnam slashed her living costs to around £500 a month for a hotel flat.
The dating upgrade, she says, has been just as dramatic.
“Here, I get approached two to three times a day without trying,” she said.
“Dating is way easier. It feels a lot more traditional and intentional.”
One recent date made enough of an impression to become a storytime clip that picked up over 107,000 views: a man brought up having children on the first meeting.
‘I used to lower my standards a lot’
Laiva says British dating culture conditioned her to accept less. Her ex, she claims, would insist on splitting bills or expect her to cover everything.
In Vietnam, men pick up the tab without discussion.
“I used to feel awkward letting men cover the cost because in my last relationship I always paid for myself, sometimes even the whole thing,” she said.
“But now I’m really enjoying letting things be done for me. It’s nice to relax a bit and drop some independence.”
She attributes part of the problem to her age. “Because I started young, a lot of men think they can manipulate me or play games and that’s just not happening. I’d rather be single than be an idiot for someone.”
‘100 times happier’
The dating is one piece of a broader shift. Laiva has spoken previously about being “100 times happier” since leaving the UK.
“I didn’t leave my house in the UK simply because it was too cold and you have to spend £100 just to have a simple ordinary day out,” she said.
“People are so happy in Vietnam that it actually rubs off on you.”
She acknowledges the emotional weight of the decision.
“I’m sad about that because I was born and raised in the UK, so I consider it to be home. I should be able to love where I come from but so many things are happening these days that it is hard to keep that attachment.”
Her long-term plan remains open. She says she follows her instincts and is currently getting “a USA feeling,” though she has never visited and admits the size of the country makes it hard to know where to start.
Why it matters
“I left the UK and my life improved” is a content genre that shows no sign of slowing down, and Laiva’s version plugs into two reliable engines at once: the expat escape narrative and the UK dating is broken conversation.
Both generate enormous engagement because they confirm what a large, frustrated audience already suspects.
The Love Island angle adds a layer. If someone who went on a nationally televised dating show still could not make British romance work, it reinforces the idea that the problem is systemic rather than personal.
Whether Vietnam’s dating culture is genuinely better or simply benefits from novelty and a favourable exchange rate is a question Laiva may answer differently in a year.
For now, the content is working and the apps are staying deleted.
