Is Limerick man en route to Love Island? Speculation rife as sports star goes off the radar

RUMOUR has it one Limerick man is on his way to the Love Island villa.

The hit reality TV show, Love Island, returned to our screens on Monday night and there is much talk and speculation locally that boxer Lee Reeves is on his way to Mallorca to join the other islanders.

PICTURE: Leon Farrell via Lee Reeves' Instagram

"Apparently he could be entering Love Island as a bombshell. I've heard from some people he has flown over already," one local told Limerick Live. "He has been keeping a low profile and nobody close to him is saying much," another said.

A number of people close to the Roxboro native are indeed remaining tight-lipped on the boxer's whereabouts.  Attempts by Limerick Live to contact Lee on his phone this Saturday proved fruitless. And the professional boxer posted a rather intriguing story on his Instagram stories in recent days.

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“PSA: Soon I’m going to be off my phone. Got a lot of stuff going on that will eventually be told. All positive I hope! It may be for a week or may be a month so have patience and don’t unfollow me cause I will be back,” commented the boxer with a laughing emoji.

He added: “I just got some stuff that needs all my focus and energy now and a phone will be a distraction. I love you all very much. Future posts if there’s any, will be by #TeamReeves.”

The Limerick man would certainly tick a lot of boxes in terms of what producers of the ITV show look for in contestants. The chiselled athlete - who also models with Assets Model Agency - would be following in the footsteps of fellow Limerick man Greg O'Shea, who also joined the show later in the 2019 series and went on to be named the winner of the series with his then partner Amber Gill.

And Lee wouldn't be the first professional boxer to go looking for love in the villa. Tommy Fury, who is the brother of former world champion Tyson, finished second on the same series of the reality show in 2019 with girlfriend Molly-Mae Hague.

Meanwhile, earlier this June, Lee revealed he wants to follow in the footsteps of boxer Katie Taylor and become a world champion to honour the memory of his mother, Cathy, who died eight years ago.

After his mother’s passing, Lee helped raise his three siblings and used exercise as a way to cope. 

In March, Lee, who volunteers with Limerick Treaty Suicide Prevention (LTSP) risked his own life to save a young woman who entered a river in the city.

Just last week the Irish Mirror reported that Lee revealed he turned down offers from reality TV shows to pursue his true calling, boxing.