New ‘Love Island’ contestant is a Drexel grad and ‘Jalen Hurts doppelganger’

A new bombshell has entered the villa, and it’s not Jalen Hurts — but, uh, close enough!

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Ronnie Gunter, a lacrosse player and recent Drexel graduate best known for his viral resemblance to the Eagles quarterback, made his TV debut Monday night.

Sporting orange swim trunks and not much else, Gunter was one of 12 new men who entered the show on episode 18 of Love Island USA.

It’s all part of Casa Amor, the mid-season twist where OG contestants split off into two villas and are forced to explore new connections. Gunter, 25, was one of a dozen new men and six new women who’ve been introduced to the show in the last two nights.

He was also one of the men chosen to stay: Those 12 men were quickly cut to six within the same episode.

Proving Philly is the center of the universe — even on a remote Fijian island and even at Casa Amor, Gunter was quick to tell North Philly native Melanie Moreno that he went to Drexel.

In a prior episode, Moreno, 24, told her most consistent connection, Sincere Rhea — who’s from Cape May — that her dream first date for them would be to walk through Penn’s Landing.

But with Rhea away at the other villa with new arm candy and the OG women forced to explore connections with their own new crop of islanders, Gunter stood out.

He chose to kiss both Moreno and Jen Terry as part of a challenge and later won the women over by talking about family life and his cooking chops.

“I want my wife sipping red wine on the countertop while I’m cooking,” he said. “I love to chef. Y’all will never go hungry with me around.”

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While attending college in Philly, where he majored in sports studies, Gunter achieved virality for his likeness to Hurts.

Two years ago, in a TikTok reshared by accounts including ESPN, Gunter’s then-girlfriend (now-former Division I golfer and prominent sports broadcaster and social media personality Emma Carpenter) said he’d get mistaken for Hurts “everywhere we go.”

Gunter told The Inquirer at the time that the comparisons started coming around his sophomore year — along with stares and photo requests — but he welcomed the attention for the most part.

“I think it’s funny. And I mean, he’s not a bad guy to be compared to,” he said. “It’s an awesome comparison to be mistaken for that guy.”

Even Drexel’s Lacrosse program got in on the fun, posting on Instagram in 2023: “All we’re saying is that we’ve never seen @_ronniegunter and @jalenhurts together.”

Notably, Gunter’s comparisons to Hurts — and his graduation from Drexel — predated the popular look-alike contests that popped up nationwide months later. A different ringer won Philly’s grassroots quest for a Hurts double.

Born and raised in Minnesota before heading Northeast for school, Gunter lives in New York these days, where he works as a program director for the nonprofit Harlem Lacrosse.

So far, no one on Love Island has made any comments about Gunter’s resemblance to Hurts. But there’s a lot more island time to play out.

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