Cülcüloğlu, a Turkish actor from Essex, 27, and Italian business owner Sanclimenti, also 27, arrived in the Love Island villa early in the series as bombshell contestants and won over viewers with their fiery but passionate relationship. Upon hearing they had won, Cülcüloğlu broke down in tears, while Sanclimenti broke down and said “I can’t believe it” before hugging the other finalists. The pair beat Gemma Owen and Luca Bish into the bottom two, while Indiyah Polack and Dami Hope came third and Tasha Ghouri and Andrew Le Page fourth. And in a departure from previous years, ITV has withdrawn the option for one of the winning couples to keep all the prize money. Show host Laura Whitmore said: “After eight hot weeks and 36 amazing islanders looking for love, there are only four couples left. There have been dryers, bombs and plenty of bedroom space. “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, attracted 1,509 complaints from viewers to media regulator Ofcom about alleged misogynistic behavior by male contestants towards female contestants. Viewers took issue with the show’s ‘snog, mary, pie’ challenge in which contestants revealed who they would kiss, marry or hit in the face with a cream pie. Ofcom has also received other complaints relating to alleged incidents of misogynistic and bullying behavior on the show. Last month, domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid said it spoke to ITV about alleged “misogynistic and controlling behavior” on Love Island. ITV has previously said: “We cannot stress enough how seriously we take the emotional wellbeing of all our islanders. Welfare is always our biggest concern and we have dedicated welfare 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 cast members were offered video training and coaching that covered inclusive language about disability, sexuality, race and ethnicity, behaviors and microaggressions.” The current series of Love Island has been a hit, securing the biggest opening 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.