Who is Marcel Somerville? Love Island: All Stars 2025 contestant
A finalist in the 2017 season, Marcel is back and coming face-to-face with his ex, Gabby Allen.
Love Island All Stars has returned for a second season, throwing a bunch of former Islanders into the South African villa and giving them a second shot at finding love.
The spin-off series returned on Monday night (13th January) and introduced viewers to the first 12 contestants on the official line-up – and, while there were some welcome reunions among the contestants, there were also some pretty tense ones.
One particularly awkward reunion was between Marcel Somerville and Gabby Dawn Allen, who first met in the villa way back in 2017 but went through an acrimonious split.
Read on to find out more about Marcel, what he’s been up to since Love Island, what happened between him and Gabby, and why he’s decided to make his return.
Marcel Somerville Key Facts: Age, job and Instagram
Age: 39
Job: Former Blazin' Squad Member, performer and DJ
Originally from: London
Instagram: @marcel_rockyb
Who is Marcel Somerville?
Marcel Somerville is a professional musician who appeared on Love Island during 2017.
Part of the show’s original line-up, he initially coupled up with Olivia Attwood, but when she found romance elsewhere, coupled up with Montana Brown.
On day 14, he coupled up with Gabby Allen, who had arrived as a bombshell, and the couple remained together throughout the rest of the show’s run.
The pair eventually made it to the finale, placing fourth.
How old is Marcel Somerville?
Marcel recently turned 39.
This makes him not only the oldest Islander on this year's season of All Stars, but also the oldest contestant ever on the series.
What season of Love Island was Marcel on?
Marcel participated on season 3 of Love Island, which ran from 5th June to 24th July 2017.
Other islanders that year included Olivia Attwood, Chris Hughes, Georgia Harrison, Mike Thalassitis, Jamie Jewitt and Camilla Thurlow.
He entered the villa on day one of the season, and remained on the show all the way through to the finale, placing fourth.
Amber Davies and Kem Cetinay were crowned the winner of that year’s season.
What happened between Marcel Somerville and Gabby Allen?
Gabby and Marcel remained together after their stint on the show for nearly a year, but split in 2018 after cheating accusations.
Gabby confirmed they had gone their separate ways in a statement on Instagram, saying: "Thank you to everyone for your kind messages, love and support. It's been a tough couple of days, I think I might still be in a bit of shock! But I'm sure in time I will be OK.
"I have the best family and friends around me. I'm a lucky girl."
Marcel later confirmed via his publicist that he had cheated on Gabby while the pair were on holiday in Mexico, after they’d had an argument.
The statement read: "Sadly the rumours are true, Gabby and Marcel have split up. Marcel can't really defend his actions as he knows he did wrong and will regret it forever.
"Marcel is upset that he broke the heart of someone he loves and someone that he shared so many special moments with, but with all the good times there are difficult times, and sadly Marcel and Gabby had been in a bad place at this stage.
"Gabby was a special part of Marcel's life, and he hopes one day she can find it in herself to forgive him."
Now they’re both set to return to where it all began for them.
What has Marcel Somerville done since Love Island 2017?
After appearing on Love Island, Marcel released his own self-help book, Dr Marcel's Little Book of Big Love: Your Guide to Finding Love, the Island Way.
He’s continued to be a presence on TV, appearing on Celebrity Ghost Hunt, The Story of Reality TV, Celebrity Come Dine With Me and The Challenge UK.
He's also been touring the world as a DJ and performer, releasing new music and briefly reuniting with his Blazin' Squad bandmates to mark the 22nd anniversary of their smash hit, Crossroads.
In 2021, he had a podcast with former Love Islander Jamie Jewitt and Dancing On Ice star, Jake Quickenden, called It’s Not All Dad, following the trio’s experience as parents.
Is Marcel Somerville married?
Marcel is currently in the divorce process with Rebecca Vieira.
The couple got together in 2019, have a son, Roman, who was born in January 2021, and tied the knot in 2022.
However, their marriage broke down across 2024 when Rebecca was accused of being unfaithful to Marcel.
Rebecca later confirmed the reports and issued a public apology online, writing: "I’ve made a huge mistake, I’ve embarrassed not only my husband but myself and both our families.
"My actions were foolish and have hurt so many people around us but most importantly my husband.
"I want to publicly apologise to my Marcel, just as loudly as the rest of the noise.
"I love you beyond measure, with no doubts, with no question, you are my beginning and my end my forever love. I love you."
In March, Marcel posted a statement on Instagram, which read in part: "I don’t need to explain to the world how my heart is broken, because you already know, so what I’m going to do is take some time to heal and give myself some much needed peace.
"I’m going to choose me because a healed, mentally strong me is the best thing I can do for Roman. He’s my No1 Priority Forever.
"And every action I take from now will only be to maintain that peace and ensure Roman is happy.
"Any choices or decisions I make about me and Rebecca will be done in private and away from the circus that’s been created which I was about to feed into before I caught myself."
The pair did try to work through their marital issues, but they have now gone their separate ways.
Why is Marcel returning for Love Island All Stars?
Speaking on why he decided to return to Love Island, Marcel says it’s kind of been fate guiding him back to the show.
"I thought that I’d completed love and found my happily ever after – but the universe had a different plan," he said.
“Somehow every time my life's at a crossroads, I've got the opportunity to do Love Island. So I thought, why not?"
Love Island All Stars airs Sundays to Fridays at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.
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Authors
Tilly Pearce is a freelance TV journalist whose coverage ranges from reality shows like Love Is Blind to sci-fi shows like Fallout. She is an NCTJ Gold Standard accredited journalist, who has previously worked as Deputy TV Editor (maternity cover) at Digital Spy, and Deputy TV & Showbiz Editor at Daily Express US.
Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.