Love Island isn’t just about love, it turns out, as winners can also bag an impressive £50k cash prize if they’re able to win over the public’s hearts and minds.
Kai Fagan and Sanam Harrinanan, who recently appeared for the reunion special, became the latest couple to do just that when they were crowned the winners of the 2023 winter edition of the show.
The couple, who work as a teacher and a social worker respectively, have already revealed that they plan to spend their money wisely and ensure at least some of it goes to a good cause.
But what have other winners done with the cash? We take a look.
Jessica Hayes and Max Morley
Jessica Hayes went from beleaguered underdog of series one to the show’s eventual winner with new partner (and late arrival) Max Morley.
Jess decided to split the cash with her new beau which meant they both pocketed £25k to go home with.
Both stars have remained fervently tight-lipped when it came to where the money actually went, but it seems it wasn’t enough for Jess, who now says she wishes she’d pocketed the whole sum.
When asked about her Love Island in 2022 in an interview with The Mirror, Jess confessed that her biggest mistake was not stealing the money, and said, “I would have taken the money. 100% I should have taken all that money.”
Cara De La Hoyde and Nathan Massey
Cara De La Hoyde and Nathan Massey won the second series of the show and are one of the biggest Love Island success stories in its’ history.
They’re still together – after getting engaged in the villa where they met – and have since had two children, son Freddie and daughter Delilah.
The pair both saw eye to eye when it came to spending their cash and shared that they both planned to help out their parents.
Cara said that she planned to use the cash to “buy my mum and house and give her the deposit for it” and Nathan said he would be taking his Dad on a very lavish golf trip.
Amber Davies and Kem Cetinay
Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies were very candid when it came to how they spent their cash.
Amber admitted that she had gone on a designer shopping spree and spent a huge chunk of the money on a Chanel bag.
She said, “I bought myself a Chanel bag. I thought to myself, 'well I did win the show' so I treated myself to a celebratory Chanel bag.”
At the time, she added that her then boyfriend Kem – who she split with a few months later – had bought “hundreds of trainers, trainers and trainers and trainers.”
The reality star also hinted that Kem had used some of his cash to “spoil” her but wouldn’t divulge any details.
Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham
Danny Dyer’s daughter, the appropriately named Dani Dyer, won the show in 2018 with pen salesman Jack Fincham.
She was praised by fans for being very down to earth and the way she spent (or rather, didn’t) certainly cemented that image.
Dani revealed that she had sensibly saved all her winnings: “I put it into savings because I want to get a mortgage. This is what I did.”
However, ex boyfriend Jack wasn’t quite as responsible and revealed that he struggled with spending money without a “structure” and eventually all the cash ran out.
The star said, “there was no structure. I had all this time and money on my hands… without that structure I fell to bits. I think there should be more guidance from them (ITV bosses).”
Amber Gill and Greg O’Shea
2019 winner Greg O’Shea revealed that he had followed in Dani Dyer’s footsteps and also been careful to save his 25k winnings.
Greg joked that he was a bit of a “boring old fart” and even waited “for the conversion rate to improve” before moving his winnings from an English savings account to one in his native Ireland.
His ex Amber Gill – their relationship lasted just a few weeks on the outside – similarly said that she was planning to “invest and be careful with it” but did hint that she wanted to “treat myself a little bit” too.
Paige Turley and Finley Tapp
Paige Turley and Finley Tapp won their 25k each just weeks before the UK was plunged into the first coronavirus lockdown, which they say scuppered their plans to treat themselves to a luxury shopping spree.
At the time, Finley said (from quarantine) that all they had bought was an Xbox and a nice camera.
However, he hinted that as soon as restrictions were lifted the couple, who are still dating and have since moved in together, planned to treat themselves to some nice clothes.
Millie Court and Liam Reardon
Millie Court and Liam Reardon both agreed that the best way to spend their prize money was to spoil their families.
After winning, Millie said: “I want to give back to them (my parents) and do something for them” while Liam added that he hoped to do more to “look after” his family back home in Wales with his cash.
The couple also revealed later on that they had used the cash to put a deposit on a flat they once shared in Essex – however, they’ve since split up and moved out.
Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti
2022 winners Ekin-Su Culculoglu and Davide Sanclimenti have decided to blow at least half of their winnings on a super sweet gesture for their mothers.
In August – not long after pocketing the cash – Davide told Capital Radio that he was planning to “buy a trip for my mum. We are thinking we will go to New York with me and Ekin and our mums.”
The pair ended up jetting off to New York for fashion week in September 2022, but their mums were nowhere to be seen, so it looks like the adventure is still in the works.
Kai Fagan and Sanam Harrinanan
Kai Fagan and Sanam Harrinanan were the unexpected victors of the 2023 series, after his head was turned by her when she arrived as a bombshell in the Casa Amor villa.
The pair have revealed the very selfless way in which they intend to spend their cash.
Sanam shared that she’ll use some of the cash to support her mum, who is own her own after her Dad passed away.
She said, “I am going to give my mum some of course because it's just me and mum so I have got to support her as well” before adding that she intended to invest another chunk, while a third would go towards supporting causes that help children.
The star explained that as both she and Kai work with kids in their roles as social worker and teacher, they wanted to be “able to do something for those children.”
However, the pair also intend to treat themselves a little bit, as Kai said, “we have about a thousand dates planned. We said we want to go to the Amalfi coast and Santorini.”
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