Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@ekinsuofficial
Topics: Celebrity, Love Island
Jess Hardiman
Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu has announced her split from Davide Sanclimenti.
The pair won the hearts of viewers as their romance blossomed during their time on Love Island 2022 - so much so that they managed to beat favourites Gemma Owen and Luca Bish to be crowned the winners in the final.
They called it quits last July, but later reunited - only to have now decided to go their 'separate ways'.
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Ekin-Su, 29, confirmed the news in a statement posted on Instagram, saying she would 'cherish' the memories she's made with Davide.
She wrote: "The last 18-months have been a rollercoaster of ups and downs, just like every relationship. Davide and I both wanted to make this work as we cared deeply for each other.
"Unfortunately I have recently made the decision to end our relationship and to go our separate ways..
"Breakups are never easy for any couple, and we hope that our privacy will be respected."
She continued: "I enjoyed our time together and will cherish the memories we made.
"Thank you for your continued support. It's been so lovely to have you follow our Love Island journeys together since the villa and we hope you'll continue to follow our careers as we go off in our own directions."
When the pair split last summer, Davide admitted things had been 'on the rocks' for some time.
He decided to clear up a number of rumours with a message on social media, saying that posting publicly about their breakup felt 'extremely difficult but necessary'.
"Despite the urge to keep it private, and contrary to what Chinese whispers are saying, I didn't blindside her as she was fully aware about my intention to post," he said.
“At first she even agreed to post at the same time, she did change her mind last minute though.
“I respected her decision not to post it at the same time as me, but since the relationship has been on the rocks for months and parting ways has been a long time coming, I ultimately decided to go ahead with it rather than keeping on dragging a situation that became unhealthy for both of us.
“This has been one of the hardest [thing] I ever did in my life and there’s no perfect way to navigate a breakup."
Davide also slammed the ‘stream of toxic criticism’ that has been circling, saying he found it ‘disheartening’.
He continued: “The constant creation of fake narratives on a person who was nothing but a genuine, caring and loving boyfriend for her and all he wanted was to enjoy and nurture the beautiful relationship they had.
“And instead we had to deal with ridiculous accusations and fake stories. This over time had a massive impact on my mental health and our relationship.”