Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti voted winners of Love Island | the island of love

Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti have been crowned the winners of Love Island 2022, winning the £50,000 prize after a public vote.

Cülcüloğlu, a 27-year-old Turkish actor from Essex, and Italian business owner Sanclimenti, also 27, arrived at the Love Island villa early in the series as bomb candidates and won over the viewers with their fiery yet passionate relationship.

Upon learning that they had won, Cülcüloğlu burst into tears as Sanclimenti gasped and said “I can’t believe it” before embracing their fellow finalists.

The pair beat Gemma Owen and Luca Bish in the bottom two, while Indiyah Polack and Dami Hope finished third and Tasha Ghouri and Andrew Le Page placed fourth.

And unlike previous years, ITV has given up the option for one of the winning couples to keep all the prize money.

Show presenter Laura Whitmore said: “After eight hot weeks and 36 incredible islanders looking for love, there are only four couples left. bed galore.

“The winning couple will split a whopping £50,000 and this year we’re not even asking them to choose between love and money.”

The show, which has often been at the center of controversy, drew 1,509 complaints from viewers to media regulator Ofcom, over alleged misogynistic behavior by male contestants towards female contestants.

Viewers took on the show’s “snog, get married, pie” challenge in which contestants revealed who they would kiss, marry, or smack in the face with a cream pie.

Ofcom has also received other complaints relating to alleged incidents of misogynistic behavior and bullying on the show. Last month, Women’s Aid, a domestic abuse charity, said it spoke to ITV about alleged “misogynistic and controlling behaviour” on Love Island.

ITV previously said: “We cannot stress enough the seriousness with which we treat the emotional well-being of all our islanders. Welfare is always our utmost concern and we have dedicated Wellness Producers and Psychological Support at all times, who regularly monitor and speak to all Islanders privately and off-camera.

“Prior to this series, the show’s contributors received video training and guidance covering inclusive language around disability, sexuality, race and ethnicity, behaviors and microaggressions.”

The current series of Love Island has been a ratings success, securing its biggest launch episode since 2019. ITV has announced that there will be two series of the show in 2023 – a winter series in South Africa and a summer series in Mallorca.