There are many perks that come with winning Love Island in addition to the obvious of finding a significant other.
The popular dating show first burst onto the scene in the U.K. in 2015, where singles moved into a luxury villa in Spain and vied for the chance to meet The One. The last couple standing earned a £50,000 prize. A U.S. spinoff, meanwhile, hands out a $100,000 sum to the winning couple. Suffice it to say, it can be difficult to suss out who is truly there for the romance or who has their eye on the cold, hard cash.
“When I was on my show, I knew from day one who was in there for what. And when the show finished, everyone was like, ‘Ekin, you were right.’ So I’m usually good at reading people,” Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu exclusively told Us Weekly in June 2024. “That was one of my talents on the show and I generally didn’t think I was gonna win.”
She added, “The audience is also so clever. You can tell who’s faking it. You can tell who’s actually in love. You can tell who’s insecure. … People say, ‘You are on holiday.’ We are not on holiday, guys! You’re working. It’s a TV show. We know it’s a TV show. It’s what we signed up for.”
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Ekin-Su won Love Island UK season 8 with then-boyfriend Davide Sanclimenti, where they opted to split the prize pot. Shortly after the August 2022 finale, Ekin-Su and Davide planned to use the money to pay for a joint vacation for their respective moms. They ultimately called off their on-off relationship for good in January 2024.
Keep scrolling to see how other Love Island UK and Love Island USA alums spent their winnings:
Elizabeth Weber and Zac Mirabelli — USA Season 1
“With the prize money, we may take a trip to Europe,” Elizabeth exclusively told Us in August 2019. “I’ve never been, and I really want to go. Nothing’s set in stone, but then we may move out to L.A. eventually.”
It is not known whether Elizabeth and Zac got to enjoy their European adventure — they announced their breakup several months after leaving the villa.
Caleb Corprew— USA Season 2
Fresh off the pandemic-set season 2 filmed in Las Vegas, Caleb planned to save his half of the fund. (He won with then-girlfriend Justine Ndiba, who later proved victorious during 2023’s Love Island Games alongside U.K. season 4 alum Jack Fowler.)
“I’m probably just gonna be saving mine, nothing fancy,” Caleb said on the “After the Island” podcast in October 2020. “Oh, [I might] buy my mom a nice pair of shoes!”
Timmy Pandolfi — USA Season 4
Timmy joked on a January 2023 episode of the “Excuse My Friend” podcast that he and now-ex Zeta Morrison got paid “real money [and] not Monopoly money.”
Timmy, like Caleb, decided to save a bulk of the prize, though he did decide to splurge on a trip to visit Zeta’s native England.
“Me and Z went on a trip to London, mid-way after the show,” Timmy explained, adding that he also bought “a couple new items and accessories” to help set up his own podcast.
Marco Donatelli and Hannah Wright — USA Season 5
The season 5 favorites agreed to donate a portion of their earnings.
“We wanna definitely give back to the kids who live in the area where I’m from. I’m from Palm Springs, but there’s [also] Desert Hot Springs is where I work,” Hannah told Collider in September 2023. “There’s some tough areas, [and] I feel like the kids could benefit from shoes, extra supplies, stuff like that.”
Marco felt the same about helping locals in his native Youngstown, Ohio.
“[It’s] a place where not a lot has been able to be fortunate enough to give back and donate to that area. I grew up in a hard area and I just know that there’s a lot I can give back to,” he explained to the outlet. “[We’ll] definitely invest for our future. I think that’s the most important thing. But on a spending basis, I don’t think we’re gonna spend a dime. I think we’re gonna donate and invest for our future.”
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Kordell Beckham and Serena Page — USA Season 6
“I’m gonna be investing and putting it towards the business and my career,” Kordell told Us in July 2024. “But as far as spending, I’m not gonna spend it on anything unless she wants a little something. [Serena] might get a little something.”
Serena also planned to save her half but did need to “hook [her] girl” JaNa Craig up after betting that her fellow islander and her boyfriend, Kenny Rodriguez, would have been crowned the champions.
“I thought she was gonna win simply because I was just very unsure about how America was feeling about me and Kordell because we haven’t had the easiest journey,” Serena told Us. “Past [Love Island] winners, they may not have gone through everything we’ve gone through. It has been a lot — a little dramatic, a little crazy. I’m like, who knows? They’re either gonna love it or hate it, and I was just like, ‘Maybe they hate that s–t. I don’t know. I know some people did, but it is fine because the majority don’t.”
Cara de la Hoyde — UK Season 2
After Cara and now-husband Nathan Massey won season 2, they revealed during the finale how they planned to use their portions of the prize to give back to their loved ones.
“I can’t wait to get home and now I can buy my mum a house and give her the deposit for it,” Cara gushed to then-host Caroline Flack.
Nathan, meanwhile, planned to treat his dad to a “golfing trip.”
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Amber Davies — UK Season 3
“I bought myself a Chanel bag,” Amber quipped to The Sun in August 2017 after winning with now-ex Kem Cetinay. “I thought to myself, ‘Well I did win the show.’ So I treated myself to a celebratory Chanel bag. Just one handbag isn’t going to hurt, is it?”
Dani Dyer — UK Season 4
Dani, whose dad is British actor Danny Dyer, won season 4 with then-boyfriend Jack Fincham. To celebrate, Dani commemorated the outing with a gold Cartier bangle.
“What did we do with the money? I actually don’t know,” she joked during a November 2024 episode of the “Chloe vs. The World” podcast. “I just worked in a pub. Well, I was a dental nurse and then, for some reason, I was like, ‘I don’t know what I wanted to do.’ Then I worked in a pub and [after I won] was like, ‘I can buy whatever I want now.’”
Greg O’Shea — UK Season 5
After Irish bombshell Greg split the prize fund with Amber Gill, he decided against blowing the money on gadgets or trips.
“It’s so boring, I saved it,” Greg said during a September 2019 of his RTÉ 2fm radio show. “I actually kept it in an English bank account and waited for the conversion rate to improve before bringing it across. I’m a boring old fart like that.”
Finley Tapp and Paige Turley — UK Season 6
“We haven’t had a chance to do much with it. We’ve got an Xbox that’s keeping us entertained,” Finley told the U.K.’s Metro in May 2021. “[Also,] a camera for some photos but that’s as exciting as it gets.”
Finley and Paige, who won the first winter version of the British dating show, also moved in together when the show wrapped. They confirmed their breakup in June 2023.
Liam Reardon — UK Season 7
Liam initially wanted his half of the money, which he split with girlfriend Millie Court, to go toward a “property business,” which did not happen.
“It was spent on Deliveroo, taxi, McDonald’s. I can’t really say where it went too much,” Liam recalled on a June 2023 episode of the “Chloe vs. The World” podcast. “Two years down the line and I still haven’t set up no property.”
Davide Sanclimenti — UK Season 8
“I’m going to buy a trip for my mum. We are thinking we will go to New York with me and Ekin and our mums,” Davide said on the CapitalXTRA radio show in August 2022.
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Kai Fagan and Sanam Harrinanan — UK Season 9
Kai and Sanam, who got engaged one year after appearing on Love Island, wanted to use their money to give back.
“I am going to be soppy but 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,” Sanam said during an appearance on the official “Morning After” recap podcast in March 2023. “[Kai and I] have actually spoken about … [how] we come from jobs where we both work with children and I actually want to be able to do something for those children.”
Kai and Sanam work as a gym teacher and a social worker, respectively.
Jess Harding — UK Season 10
While Jess and Sammy Root’s villa romance was not built to last, they had agreed to use the money to “treat their loved ones to something nice” and travel together.
“I feel like we want to go to Far East Asia,” Jess told OK! magazine after the finale. “We definitely want to do that. We’re not in a rush to get a house. We’re both 22. We’re both young and we want to see the world, that’s something I have always wanted to do.”
Jess also planned to continue growing her Candy Aesthetics business.
Molly Smith — UK All-Stars
“I’m not even thinking about what to do with [that] at the moment, I’ve put it to the side. I’m just going to really try to focus on work and things at the minute,” Molly, who won All-Stars with boyfriend Tom Clare, told the Daily Star in April 2024. “I’m not thinking of what to spend it on or anything like that.”
Mimii Tafara — UK Season 11
Mimii revealed on an October 2024 episode of the “Chloe vs. The World” podcast that she tried to be “sensible” with the money — after purchasing a few non-essentials.
“Girl, I’m so scared of losing [it],” she quipped to host and season 7 alum Chloe Burrows. “I’ve done my shopping; I’ve done my enjoyment. I’m gonna wait because I want to get a new car and I’m moving out, too, so I need to be able to [afford that.]”
Mimii won alongside Josh Oyinsan, but they broke up within two months of leaving the villa.
Love Island UK is able to stream on Hulu, with the U.S. version streaming on Peacock.
