Eyal Booker, one of the contestants in this year’s Love Island, will be looking for a girl to make his Israeli mother proud and will not stand for bullying, his brother has told the JC.
Tal Booker told the JC what his 22-year-old brother, who is the first Jewish contestant to appear in the show, might get up to.
Tal lives with Eyal and their older brother Ariel in St John's Wood, north west London, and was not surprised when his brother told him that he was appearing on the show.
“Eyal was always destined to be a star. He commands attention, and can charm anyone,” Tal said.
“It has been a long time coming. We have known about him going in for some time so it is great to finally be able to talk about it.”
Eyal, who grew up in Bushey, Hertfordshire, is a former JFS pupil who studied at Sylvia Young Theatre School and toured across the country with a band.
Tal said: “He has always loved perfoming. He was the model and the singer.
"We all left home together and have lived together for three years. We’ve learnt to cook, clean and fend for ourselves. It is great living together and we get on really well.”
Eyal also has a younger sister who is 13 and attends JFS.
Tal, who is a creative designer, said Eyal is the messiest of the siblings and is likely to struggle with tidying up in the Love Island villa, which he will have to share with the 11 other contestants. They also share a black golden Doodle, Benji, who Tal said was “very much Eyal’s baby". "He will miss him a lot.”
Tal is the only one of the three brothers with a partner and said Eyal, who is a model with more than 65,000 followers on Instagram, “likes blondes who are probably a little bit more on the natural side".
He continued: “He is not a one-night-stand kind of guy and is suited to being in relationships. He has a thing for girls who are understated and pretty. I think of all the contenstants, he will like Hayley the most."
His downsides are that he “will stay in a relationship for too long giving it his best shot".
“He falls in love easily,” said Tal.
Interviewed ahead of the show, Eyal said he was taking part because he was "looking for love".
He said: "I have had quite a few relationships in my time, none have ever lasted that long and now I’m at a point where I’d actually like to find one that can last."
He added he was "a bit nervous" but said: "My parents, my sister and my Gran might see something that they don’t necessarily want to see. Besides that, I’m excited."
The show's promo material described him as "our sexy, spiritual soul" and Tal agrees.
“He won’t be like the other guys on there, he is very confident, but he hates cockiness and is genuine and down to earth," Tal said.
“He won’t stand for bullying or bitchiness. He will be looking for someone with good family values and someone who is kind, generous and trustworthy like him.”
Eyal will be competing with other 'islanders' for a £50,000 prize.
The Love Island contestants live under the constant eye of the cameras, and have to couple up to avoid being eliminated.
In 2013, when Eyal was 18, he told the JC how he interrupted his performance schedule with his band EverYoung to observe Yom Kippur at Bushey Synagogue.
He said of the band's tour: “We walk into schools and gigs as nobodies, and then we leave with girls screaming and crying. It’s pretty crazy and a dream come true to see fans singing back your lyrics.
"I’m having the time of my life.”
While Jewish values and identity are important to Eyal, it is more important that he is happy according to Tal.
“Our mum is Israeli and that will come through on the show at some point, I am sure. Israel can often be controversial to mention, but Eyal is very connected to it.
“He loves Israel and Jewish values are very important to him so I am sure it will come up.”
His mum Michal was shocked when she discovered her youngest son was going into the show but has since come round to the idea.
“As long as he is happy and does what is right, she will be fine,” Tal said.
The new Love Island series starts on tonight at 9pm on ITV2.
