Love Island U.K.’s Davide Sanclimenti and Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu have split less than one year after they were crowned the winners of the reality dating show.
“@ekinsuofficial & I are no longer together,” Davide, 28, announced via his Instagram Story on Thursday, June 29. “I am grateful for the memories and opportunities we shared together and I wish her nothing but the best.”
The entrepreneur requested that fans “respect this decision during this difficult time” and noted that he “will continue to support Ekin in anyway [sic] possible.” Ekin-Su, 28, for her part, has yet to publicly address the breakup, which comes two days after the pair attended the premiere of Indiana Jones together.
The duo met as contestants on season 8 of the ITV series, which aired in the summer of 2022, and shared the £50,000 prize after receiving the most votes from viewers. After the cameras stopped rolling, the reality TV personalities continued dating.
In February, Davide shared a series of romantic Instagram snaps of the couple on a beach at sunset. “They told me that to make her fall in love; I had to make her laugh. But every time she laughs, I’m the one who falls in love 🌅❤️,” he captioned the post.
More recently, the Italian businessman hinted at the problems in his and Ekin-Su’s relationship.
“Me and Ekin-Su had our struggles due to our public positions and we still have them sometimes,” he told The Sun earlier this month. “If there’s something that I would change or would have done differently [with Ekin-Su in the villa], maybe I would have taken things a bit more slowly.”
Davide also gushed about the actress to the outlet, saying, “The best thing about dating Ekin Su is that we understand each other — not just because we are literally the same person. … She is my copy-paste.”
Although Davide and Ekin-Su’s love story didn’t last, two other season 8 couples are still going strong — Dami Hope and Indiyah Polack, and Tasha Ghouri and Andrew Le Page.
Dami, 27, and Indiyah, 24, for their parts, shared sweet snaps from their recent vacation to Mallorca, Spain, in a joint Instagram post on Tuesday, June 27.
“Lovers getaway 🛥️,” they captioned the carousel of photos.
Months prior, the lovebirds admitted during a joint interview with PWR Magazine in March that they fought a lot after leaving the reality show.
“When we first came out, we had arguments, and they weren’t about my character flaws or his character flaws, it’s just that we’re in a new environment and you’re still getting to know each other when you come out,” Indiyah told the outlet at the time. “But our love has grown, and we’ve learned to appreciate the different things about each other.”
Tasha, 24, and Andrew, 28, meanwhile, shared an exciting update about their relationship earlier this week.
“We the cool dog parents now 🐾 🐶🫶🏼,” Tasha captioned a Sunday, June 25, Instagram post introducing her followers to her and Andrew’s new rescue dog, Luna.
