Why “Turkish delight and Italian stallion” are worthy winners of Love Island 2022

Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti were crowned winners in last night’s Love Island finale, with social media erupting in joy at the news that the show’s most entertaining and deserving couple had won. Over 3.4 million viewers tuned in live to see the outcome of the eighth series of ITV’s hit reality television show – up 100,000 from last year. A further 1.2million have already watched the final on Catch Up. Most fans, concerned with other islanders’ repeated efforts to try and vote out Ekin-Su and Davide as “the least compatible couple”, made the conscious decision, “not on my watch” and voted in their droves to regularly save the duo. The series, which has been running since the start of June, saw Ekin-Su and Davide pair up early on, and support for the couple has never dipped. With the public firmly behind, them, the sultry pair were declared Love Island’s new King and Queen, sharing the £50K prize money after securing a whopping 63.69% of the public vote on Monday night. Gemma Owen, daughter of former Liverpool striker Michael Owen, and Luca Bish were runners up with 14.47% of the vote. The remaining two couples vying to win the title, Indiyah and Dami, and Tasha and Andrew, received 11.77% and 10.07% of the vote respectively. Among the many people rooting for the ‘Turkish delight and Italian stallion’ were ‘Stranger Things’ actor Noah Schnapp and ‘Barbie’ actress Margot Robbie. In an interview with The Sun, Robbie also shared her opinion on this year’s Love Island: “Paige has probably been my favourite — but for pure entertainment I think Davide and Ekin-Su have made the season.”

Stranger Things actor Noah Schnapps among the celebrities happy to see Ekin-Su and Davide win this year's Love Island 

  Ex-islanders like Coco, Jay, Summer, Chyna have also been cheering on “Ekin-de” – the nickname given to the couple by fans. It would be the understatement of the century to say these two Mediterranean bombshells were just another fan-favourite – they hands’ down carried the entire show this season! The Turkish actress from Essex went on the show with a game plan and, as I rightly predicted back in June, whether fans loved or hated her, Turkish bombshell Ekin-Su brought the spice to Love Island. Ekin-Su’s relationship with Davide brought the pair to the forefront of the show.  Twitter and Instagram carry the proof: for weeks people were crossing their fingers, praying, and stressing out for Ekin-de to win. On Monday night, YouTuber Murad Merali, who has 300,000 subscribers to his channel, even hosted a gathering where they watched the show live with ex-islanders and fans, screaming their heads off as if it were the World Cup, as Ekin-de were announced winners.

Absolute scenes at my event. Ekin Su and Davide won. The best winners of Love Island ever. Ekin Su, came through 🔥 #loveisland pic.twitter.com/zRTWjBEZNu

— Murad Merali (@MuradMerali) August 2, 2022

Ekin Su. A legend. The moment. She brought back love island into its peak. Carried this season and brought countless legendary scenes. One of thee best love island contestants to ever enter the villa. Ekin Su will come through! And she did. #loveisland pic.twitter.com/GGHKjSPFmZ

— Murad Merali (@MuradMerali) July 31, 2022

Last year’s Love Island winners Millie Court and Liam Reardon, show host Laura Whitmore, Robbie, Schnapp, Vicky Pattison and many more fans and celebrities took to social media to congratulate Ekin-de. Davide and Ekin-Su, both 27 years old, have absolutely blown up Twitter with each episode, trending as the most talked about pair. It would be fair to say that many viewers were only tuning in to third-wheel the couple’s ‘enemies to lovers arc’ journey. The unrivalled entertainers, who won the hearts of the people with their fiery nature and antics, were even branded “mom and dad” by some fans, fondly claiming them as their “parents” for their hilarious chemistry of a loved-up, bickering married couple. With Ekin-Su’s boundless energy and Davide’s legendary one-liners, the couple’s highlights are countless. One of the most memorable scenes was surely Ekin-Su crawling on the terrace floor with Jay, and Davide calling her a “liar actress”. Since then, they’ve taken viewers on an emotional ride, rekindling their romance on a beautiful vineyard date, to give us some of the most authentic moments of a blossoming love the show has ever offered during its eight seasons. One of the most heart-warming scenes was during the family reunion, where Ekin-Su and Davide’s families gave their approval to the couple. There was initially some apprehension from both families and social media handlers due to on-screen drama. However, after witnessing the sincerity of their deepening romance, all conflict was resolved, cementing the relationship and public support even further. Davide asking Ekin-Su to officially be his girlfriend in a romantic gesture, coupled with his homemade tiramisu, and an epic final date where the first “I love yous” were exchanged, as Alfie Boe serenaded the pair, brought everyone to tears, and sealed the deal with two thirds of viewers choosing Ekin-de as this year’s worthy winners. Ekin-Su now goes down as the second British Turkish contestant to win Love Island after Turkish Cypriot Kem Çetinay won the third series in 2017. Her star will surely continue to burn bigger and brighter.   All Love Island photos © ITV