‘She is so arrogant and up herself. The situation is just weird’: Truth about Lucinda Strafford… and mystery man who’s REALLY picking up the tab for her lavish lifestyle and trips to St Tropez, Bali and Miami
Lucinda Strafford, now in her fourth run as a Love Island contestant, may be unlucky in love, but at least she’s found a rich source of work.
The jet-setting influencer is currently based at the Love Island All Stars villa just outside Cape Town, South Africa, where she made her typical explosive entrance last week.
While her fellow contestants gasped in surprise at her arrival, viewers were less surprised as Lucinda became a fixture on the show.
She first appeared on the seventh series of Love Island in 2021, followed by the Australian iteration two years later, and then the Love Island Games last October.
Secondly, she and partner Isaiah Campbell won the series, earning her half the $250,000 (£182,000) prize (though she revealed she was dating another contestant just a few weeks after the final).
But even a payout of that size may seem insufficient to fund Lucinda’s extraordinary lifestyle, which includes five-star hotels, designer clothes and trips to places oozing wealth.
It has been spotted in Saint-Tropez, Bali, the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Miami, and Colorado’s wildly popular Coachella desert festival.
Lucinda Strafford won half the $250,000 (£182,000) Love Island prize money as she and partner Isaiah Campbell won the series.
She’s partying with her billionaire friend and long-rumoured romance Huayi Huang, owner of online fashion firm Peppermayo
Each trip is duly posted on social media, leaving some of her more than two million followers on TikTok and Instagram questioning how the 26-year-old former stewardess is paying for her luxurious life.
Now the Daily Mail can reveal the answer lies with a billionaire friend and long-rumored love interest, Huayi Huang, the 38-year-old owner of Australian online fashion firm Peppermayo, who is footing the bill.
Those who know the couple tell me: ‘He funds her lavish lifestyle. ‘He is treated to expensive meals and accommodation in the UK and jets around the world with Huayi on Peppermayo-branded trips.’
Lucinda went on at least eight expensive trips with the Sydney-based label, including stays at the Miami Grand Prix and Coachella, where all expenses were paid, including five-star hotel rooms or villas, travel, food and drinks. It also appears that she bought a number of new clothes.
Rumors that Huang and Lucinda might be together began in March last year when they were photographed having a violent argument between sun loungers at a Mexican resort, but Lucinda insisted to reporters that the two were ‘just friends’.
Lucinda also shared videos of the couple at parties and getting hitched together on Snapchat.
In what appeared to be a veiled reference to Huang, Lucinda’s ex-boyfriend confirmed that he is currently dating someone outside the show.
The influencer isn’t shy about flaunting her jet-setting lifestyle online at a basketball match in the US
Lucinda went on at least eight expensive trips with Sydney-based label Peppermayo, including an all-expenses-paid Coachella (pictured)
Ex-boyfriend Zac Nunn (pictured with Lucinda), whom she met on Love Island Australia, claimed Lucinda now has a boyfriend outside the villa
Zac Nunn, whom he met on Love Island Australia, explained on his Snapchat Story that Lucinda had ‘found someone’ who would be happy for her to appear on dating shows despite being in a relationship, and said everyone in the villa should be aware that ‘that’s the deal’.
Lucinda certainly isn’t shy about showing off her lifestyle online. In a recent TikTok, Lucinda is seen grinning and dancing at a basketball game.
The headline reads: ‘If you’re on your 8th Peppermayo brand trip in 8 months, dance.’
In another, he takes fans on a tour of the Tower Penthouse suite at The Londoner hotel in Leicester Square, which usually costs at least £7,000 a night.
Lucinda is often seen posing with huge bouquets of roses worth hundreds of pounds waiting for her in her hotel rooms. He even traveled to some events by helicopter.
But a source close to the star finds the arrangement with Huayi ‘strange’, suggesting Lucinda could be a difficult friend.
The source said: ‘Lucinda is completely self-centered and only loves herself. If someone compliments her by saying, “Oh, you look really nice,” she will say, “Yes, I know I am beautiful.” ‘He’s really very arrogant and arrogant.’
The source continued: ‘The situation with Huayi was really strange. Everyone was talking about it, they didn’t care who knew who paid for it. Lucinda is always looking out for herself. He’s not a very nice person.
‘People felt a little sorry for Huayi in the end and wondered what this was all about for him. ‘Everyone knew he was financing his life before he returned to the Love Island villa.’
Meanwhile, he claims he ‘single-handedly’ bought his new home in his hometown of Brighton, complete with kitchen island and large garden.
She certainly made good money from her many appearances on Love Island.
An insider told me: ‘She may not need the money but Lucinda is returning to TV to maintain her relevance and producers are always happy to have her back when bringing the drama.’
She is reportedly being paid £3,500 a week to appear on the current Love Island All Stars show. This is on top of the £90,000 prize money he pocketed from the Games series last year.
