Ron Hall: who is Love Island 2023 contestant - what has he said about being partially sighted?

Love Island returns for its first winter series since 2020
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Love it or hate it,Love Island is back once again for a ninth series that will be hosted by Radio DJ and TV personality Maya Jama.

The contestants on the show will return to the South African villa in the first winter edition of the programme since the pandemic in 2020.

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The newest series will introduce a fresh batch of singletons to the villa this year, including a former body double for Emma Watson (The Bling Ring, Harry Potter) and an extra from the ITV sitcom Benidorm.

Amongst those entering the villa is 25-year-old financial advisor from Essex, Ron Hall - who is set to make Love Island history by becoming the first ever partially sighted contestant.

So who is Ron Hall and what has he said about being partially sighted?

Here is everything you need to know ahead of Hall’s Love Island debut.

Who is Ron Hall?

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Ron Hall is a 25-year-old finance worker who hails from Essex. His Instagram tag is @ronhall__ and he currently has a following of 9,660.

Hall has described himself as “genuine, caring and a nice person” and claims he is aiming to bring “fun and charisma” to this year’s show whilst having “good times” and making memories.

Ron Hall is just one of the new islanders ready to join the villa (Photo: ITV)Ron Hall is just one of the new islanders ready to join the villa (Photo: ITV)
Ron Hall is just one of the new islanders ready to join the villa (Photo: ITV)

Hall told ITV that he is hoping to find someone to settle down with after the show.

He said: “I think it’s the best show to find love on. I’m now 25 and I had in my head that I’d be with someone, settled and married by say 27…. it’s now coming awfully close to that.”

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Hall follows model Tasha Ghouri who became the first ever deaf contestant during the 2022 summer series.

What has Hall said about being partially sighted?

Speaking to ITV, Hall has said that being partially sighted has “added to my character” and that it has “not hindered me in any shape or form”. He also admitted that it’s also a “good conversation started”.

Speaking to multiple publications, Hall revealed that he became partially sighted after sustaining an injury during a football match when he was a child.

Hall said: “When I was about eight, I was playing football. I was in a match and the ball basically came over, I went down to head the ball, and he went up with his foot and basically knocked me out, detached my retina.

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“I went to hospital the next day, they said it was a detached retina and it should be fine. I had a lot of operations. I don’t know what happened with it all but it became very severe and the operations weren’t working. We didn’t pick it up quick enough.”

Hall revealed he had over 10 to 12 operations in the next two and a years.

Hall said: “By operation like six or seven, they were like, look you’re not going to get your sight back. So for me it was about making it look as normal as possible.”

Reflecting on the optimistic outlook he took after the injury, Hall said: “You just have to look at the positive side of things. Yes when you’re younger, I used to get called pirate and pop eye, but my Xbox name when I was a kid used to be Ron One Eye and we’d make jokes about it all the time.

“So for me, the fact that I was making jokes and me and my friends were making jokes, you become very comfortable with anyone who says anything and I’ve never been impacted by bullying.”

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