‘Love Island USA’ executive dead at 40 after suffering ‘unexpected medical emergency’ mid-Season 8 production

“Love Island USA” executive producer James Barker died while filming Season 8 of the dating series in Fiji last week. He was 40.

“ITV America and Peacock will honor in Tuesday’s episode of ‘Love Island USA’ series Executive Producer James Barker, who passed away last week in Fiji after suffering an unexpected medical emergency,” the network confirmed to TMZ on Monday.

“James’ unimaginable loss has been deeply felt across not just the entire Love Island USA production, but throughout all of ITV and Peacock,” the network said in a statement.

“He was a beloved and greatly valued member of our collective family whose kindness, talent and dedication left an indelible mark on all of us and everyone who had the privilege of knowing and working with him,” the statement continued.

“We extend our heartfelt condolences to James’ partner, family, friends and colleagues.”

The network didn’t share the details surrounding Barker’s death.

Barker has worked on “Love Island” since 2021, when he was a supervising producer during Season 3, per his LinkedIn.

Since then, he worked his way up to being an executive producer, and also worked on the spin-off series “Love Island Games.”

The businessman worked alongside a team of editors and producers to create a quick 24 hours turnaround and push out six episodes of the show per week.

Additionally, Barker worked on the Hulu dating series “Are You My First?” and the competition series “Claim to Fame.”

This story is developing …