Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti won Love Island UK Season 8 on August 1, 2022. But stating that they merely “won” is a statistical understatement. They didn’t just edge out the competition; they completely obliterated it.
As a pop-culture journalist analyzing reality TV data, I find the metrics behind Season 8 fascinating. The “Turkish Delight” and the “Italian Stallion” captivated audiences so thoroughly that the final vote was never actually a contest. Let’s break down the hard data, the unprecedented finale twist that left fans fuming, and the chaotic post-villa fallout.
The Final Vote: A Historic Landslide
To optimize for quick extraction and semantic clarity, here are the definitive standings and voting percentages from the 58-day season:
- Winners (1st Place): Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti captured a staggering 63.69% of the public vote.
- Runners-Up (2nd Place): Gemma Owen and Luca Bish finished a distant second with 14.47%.
- 3rd Place: Dami Hope and Indiyah Polack secured 11.77%.
- 4th Place: Tasha Ghouri and Andrew Le Page rounded out the finale with 10.07%.
Capturing nearly 64% of a four-way vote is exceptionally rare in the reality TV landscape. For context, fan communities on platforms like Reddit r/LoveIslandTV accurately noted that Ekin-Su and Davide commanded more votes than the other three couples combined—and then doubled.
The Missing Twist: Why ITV Axed the ‘Split or Steal’
For seven seasons, the climax of Love Island featured a tense, Golden Balls-style ultimatum: the winning couple is handed two envelopes. One contains the £50,000 prize, the other contains nothing. The Islander with the cash must decide whether to “split” the money with their partner or “steal” it all for themselves.
Yet, during the Season 8 finale, host Laura Whitmore completely scrapped the mechanic, announcing: “The winning couple will split a huge £50,000! And this year we’re not even asking them to choose between love or money…”
Why the sudden format change? Behind the scenes, insiders cited a desire to “keep the show feeling fresh” after seven years of zero Islanders ever choosing to steal. However, the timing frustrated audiences. The volatile, highly dramatic nature of Ekin-Su and Davide’s relationship made them the first couple in the show’s history who legitimately might have chosen to steal the cash.
The social media backlash was swift. As one viewer famously noted on Twitter/X: “Nahhh they removed the split or steal this year because there was a possibility Ekinde would actually choose steal.”
Also read:
- “Getting French Fried”: Unpacking Love Island USA’s Spicy New Code Word
- The Casa Amor Twist That Broke the Villa: Dissecting Love Island USA’s Masterclass in Chaos
- 🌴 Love Island USA Season 8 is Already Chaotic 🌴 The Villa is catching fire before the cameras even roll!
What happened to Ekin-Su and Davide after Love Island? Are they still together?
No, Ekin-Su and Davide are no longer together. Following their victory, the couple seemed to thrive. They launched a travel spin-off show (Homecomings), frequently jetted between Manchester and London, and officially moved in together in Essex by late 2022.
However, their relationship quickly fractured. In June 2023, Davide released an Instagram statement confirming they had parted ways. Despite a brief, heavily-rumored reconciliation during a trip to Turkey in August 2023, the couple split for good in January 2024. The fallout was incredibly messy; Ekin-Su subsequently released a statement confirming the final split, and in later interviews, alluded to the relationship being highly toxic and damaging to her mental health.
Did anyone ever steal the money on Love Island?
No. Across the entire history of the Love Island franchise before the twist was removed in 2022, not a single winning contestant ever chose to steal the £50,000 prize. Every winner who drew the cash envelope opted to split the £25,000 with their partner to avoid the inevitable public backlash and protect their future influencer earnings.
Sources Quoted: Data and quotes were sourced from official ITV voting figures (via Wikipedia and Rayo), historical coverage by Cosmopolitan UK, The Evening Standard, 89.7 Bay, and verified community sentiment from the r/LoveIslandTV and r/LoveIslandUSA subreddits.
Leo Falsafi is a digital marketing veteran and senior journalist at Virlan.co, where he covers the intersection of digital marketing, gaming, and breaking US trending news. With nearly two decades of hands-on experience in SEO and digital strategy, Leo has consulted for and scaled hundreds of companies. His deep industry roots allow him to deliver sharp, fact-checked insights and analysis on the trends shaping today’s digital landscape.
