‘It’s skating before dating’
Liberty Poole talks about the chances of a potential Dancing On Ice romance and life outside the villa
Liberty Poole went through a huge confidence journey in the Love Island villa this summer, and now she’s set to embark on her next battle as she braves the rink for the upcoming 14th season of ITV’s Dancing On Ice.
Despite the bumps, bruises and ungraceful landings, Liberty tells us she’s welcoming the gruelling training. “I’m trying my best to persevere. It’s a lot more technical than it looks,” she says.
Skating may be full of perils, but there’s one part of Liberty that’s at no risk of getting broken right now – her heart.
Given that her televised breakup with Jake
Cornish in
August proved to be a great source of pain for the 22-year-old, it’s no wonder she’s not looking for another romance, either on-screen or off.
“My love life is with myself and no one else,” she insists. “In terms of men, they’re non-existent. I haven’t got time for them, and I don’t want anything disappointing. I’d rather focus on myself.”
Here, Liberty opens up on finding love in friendship, learning to be a little less humble, and about a new beauty collaboration that will have her good to glow for Sunday nights on the ice…
Hi Liberty. We can’t wait to see you back on our screens in January. How’s training going? I’m really enjoying it, but it’s hard – I’m not really the most elegant person in the world. I’d like to think I have rhythm but my friends would say otherwise. I’ve already fallen over plenty of times – it’s bruise central over here!
Have you met your partner yet?
Not yet but it’s happening soon. I’m excited because then we can properly get down to business with the training. Apparently, your skating skills improve massively once you start dancing with your partner.
Would you be open to a romance on the show?
I think I have to concentrate on mastering the skill of ice-skating first before I can think about that. It’s skating before dating for me!
Are you dating anyone at the moment?
My love life is with myself right now. When you have self-love, you don’t look for love. It finds you.
What are you looking forward to most about Dancing On Ice?
I can’t wait for the Sunday night glam. I love tanning, glam and glitzy dresses. Big hair and make-up, I love all of that.
You’ve just announced a partnership with Skinny Tan, your first beauty collaboration. Will that be your tan of choice on the show?
Definitely. The coconut range is my favourite because it’s invisible and doesn’t transfer onto clothes or sheets. I’m a massive fake tan fan, and always have been, so it’s a perfect fit for me. I’ve had some disasters in the past so I’m happy to be using some great products.
Go on, you have to tell us about a disaster now…
There was one where I put fake tan on – a different brand, obviously – before a shift at Nando’s. Over the course of the shift I started to turn green, to the point where my colleagues noticed it and they said I looked like Fiona from Shrek.
‘When you have self-love, you don’t look for love. It finds you’
Well you always looked flawless on
Love Island.
To be fair, I was sort of learning about beauty the whole way through. Obviously a lot of the girls on the show had influencer backgrounds, and I was just a waitress and student. I was picking up tips all the time. Sometimes I asked the girls to do make-up tutorials with me on the night.
You said you’d always be a red lipstick girl, despite it not being Jake’s colour of choice. How important is it to have confidence in your look?
Sometimes, if a guy likes a certain look, you initially want to look that way because you want to impress them. But wear what you want, be you, then the right person will love you as you are – not a changed version of yourself.
Do you feel stronger in yourself these days?
When I had nasty comments about my looks in the past, I was easily knocked because I relied too much on other people’s opinions. I used to be scared to admit I felt I looked nice because I’m quite a humble person. I think now I’ve overcome those thoughts, I’m stronger.
Do you still keep in touch with the other Islanders?
We have a group WhatsApp chat but it’s mainly used to wish people a happy birthday, or talk about an event we’re all going to. I message people privately, like Kaz [Kamwi].
Which Islanders do you back to make it down the aisle?
I’m going to back my girl and say Kaz and Tyler [Cruickshank]. I love them both individually and as a couple. I will honestly say they are still just as strong as when they left. They’re so suited to each other, it’s mad. I can see all the finalists going a long way.