Former Love Island contestant Diamanté Laiva said she has left the United Kingdom and relocated to Da Nang, Vietnam, praising the coastal city's low cost of living, beach access and modern health services.
In a TikTok video that the Daily Mail reported had been viewed about 89,000 times, the 22-year-old — who appeared as a Casa Amor bombshell during the 11th series of ITV's Love Island — said she moved to Vietnam three months ago with her boyfriend and now works remotely on two online businesses. She told viewers she pays roughly £180 a month for a furnished smart home with kitchen facilities and a “waterfall” shower and that the beach is just outside.
Diamanté described the move as a reaction to what she called the UK's negativity. “Leaving the UK forever has made me realise that you guys are actually the problem — why is the country so negative?” she said in the clip. She added that she had not felt uncomfortable since arriving in Vietnam and advised people seeking to emigrate to avoid overly popular destinations such as Dubai.
She also told followers she rarely cooks because of Southeast Asia's street-food culture and inexpensive restaurants, said healthcare in Vietnam is “amazing, modern and a lot more thorough than the U.K.,” and acknowledged a language barrier, saying she uses basic Vietnamese and relies on translation apps when needed.
Independent data cited in media reports supports a markedly lower cost of living in Vietnam compared with the U.K. William Russell, an international health insurer, has reported that living costs in parts of Southeast Asia can be nearly 60% lower than in the U.K. Forbes previously reported that 86% of expats in Vietnam rated the cost of living favourably, more than twice the global average.
Viewers responding to Diamanté's TikTok left numerous comments expressing envy or support, with some saying Vietnam had changed their lives and praising the country's scenery and culture.
Diamanté's relocation comes more than a year after her brief stint on Love Island, where she was not picked during a recoupling and was eliminated from the ITV2 show. Her time on the programme included several disputes with other cast members, and media reports have documented an ongoing public disagreement with fellow former contestant Olivia Hawkins. The Daily Mail and other outlets have reported that Diamanté alleged a confrontation at an influencer event and later blocked Olivia on social media.
In January, entertainment website Heatworld and tabloid outlets reported that Diamanté had taken legal steps to stop Olivia discussing her on the All Stars villa, including sending a cease-and-desist letter; those reports were first published in The Sun, which said the move followed online trolling related to their dispute. Neither Diamanté nor Olivia immediately responded to requests for comment through their representatives.
Diamanté's account of life in Da Nang lines up with broader migration patterns in recent years, in which some Britons have cited lower living costs, warmer climates and different lifestyle opportunities as reasons to move abroad. Analysts and expatriate surveys point to Southeast Asia as an increasingly popular destination for remote workers and retirees seeking lower residential costs and access to coastal cities.
Diamanté's comments reflect both personal experience and commonly reported advantages of living in Vietnam, including affordable housing, vibrant street-food scenes and expanding private healthcare offerings. She has not indicated plans to return to the U.K. and continues to post about her life and businesses from Da Nang on social platforms.