Love Island 2023 is about to crown a new winning couple, with Ella Thomas and Tyrique Hyde, Jess Harding and Sammy Root, Molly Marsh and Zach Noble and Whitney Adebayo and Lochan Nowacki competing in the final.
32 islanders have entered the famous villa for the summer 2023 series, and on Monday night, two of those will be crowned champions. The final four couples were confirmed during a tense penultimate episode which saw Mitchel Taylor and Ella Barnes dumped from the island.
Maya is now set to enter the Spanish villa for the final time this summer to crown the winning couple, who will have £50k up for grabs during the live final.
The bubble of love tends to last all the way to the final as, despite always being offered the chance to steal the pot of gold for themselves, no one has – yet.
But whatever became of their winning cashola?
You might have forgotten the names of the winners over the years, but £50,000 will have gone a long way towards supporting contestants after the show, especially after the majority of said couples split.
From splashing out on trips abroad, a wedding and simply using it buy "hundreds of trainers", let's take a look at how the winners chose to splurge… and whether they regret splitting the prize.
Jessica Hayes and Max Morley (2015)
Less than 24 hours after Jessica Hayes and Max Morley were crowned the first ever winners of Love Island in 2015, it came to light that the pair weren't yet "madly in love" but "have a laugh together".
They did, however, choose to split the £50,000 prize and Jess later confessed to regretting it.
The couple, who lived in different parts of the country, split two months after their win and never disclosed what they spent their winnings on
Jess was pretty harsh towards her ex in an interview later with the Daily Star.
She said: "You think you fancy someone but with Max, looking back at it now, it makes me cringe.
"I would never, ever go near him again.”
And she also admitted she wishes she'd kept the whole £50,000 to herself.
She gave some cold advice for future contestants: "Don’t fall in love and just take the fifty grand."
Jess is now a mum to two year old son Presley, who she co-parents with ex fiance Dan Lawry, while Max became a dad to son Brooklyn six months ago.
His son was born eight weeks premature and spent more than 100 days in hospital before finally heading home.
Cara De La Hoyde and Nathan Massey (2016)
Things are probably a lot different with Season 2 winners Cara De La Hoyde and Nathan Massey, who went on to marry outside of the show.
The pair now have two kids together, Freddie, four, and Delilah, who turns two in July, and despite a brief blip in their relationship in 2017, seemingly never regretted their choice to split the cash.
Cara told fans after they won: "We will not let you down. We're going to get married and we're going to have babies."
And they both promised that the money would be used to help their parents to afford a house.
Cara said: "I can't wait to get home and now I can buy my mum a house and give her the deposit for it."
Nathan added he'd be treating his dad to a “golfing trip”.
Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies (2017)
Things were always fiery between Kem Cetinay and West End star Amber Davies, and that seems to have been reflected in their spending spree post-show.
Speaking to The Sun, Amber 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.
"Just one handbag isn’t going to hurt is it?"
She said of Kem: "Kem has bought hundreds of trainers, trainers and trainers and trainers. I leave that to him.
"He has spoiled me rotten too though. I feel so lucky."
You probably already know, but the couple split up six months after leaving the villa.
Jack Fincham and Dani Dyer (2018)
Hopes were pinned on a fairytale future for Jack Fincham and Dani Dyer, but alas, once again it wasn't to be despite the couple moving into a flat together.
In their defence, the pair were both quite sensible with their cash.
Dani, now a mum of three to twins Summer and Star and son Santiago, put her share into a savings account to get a mortgage.
She added that she saved "most of it" but "a lot of it goes on your bills and stuff".
Dani is currently dating West Ham footballer Jarrod Bowen.
On the other hand, Jack has been more private about what he spent his money on.
The former stationery salesman has turned his back on the celebrity lifestyle and is working on a building site after he was forced to liquidate his business.
Amber Gill and Greg O’Shea (2019)
Oh, Amber Gill and Greg O'Shea.
It kind of leaves a bitter taste in your mouth when you remember how Greg reportedly dumped Amber over the phone one month after they were crowned winners in a shock final show.
Legions of Molly-Mae and Tommy Fury supporters were surprised when the couple – who are still together, have baby daughter Bambi and recently got engaged – finished behind Amber and Greg, especially when the pair split five weeks later.
While things aren't thought to be particularly amicable between the pair – Amber has previously called Greg "pathetic" – they've not spoken out about regretting their decision to split the money.
Irish rugby player Greg said he decided to save his half of the £50k like a "boring old fart”.
He explained: "I just saved it. I actually kept it in an English bank account and waited for the conversion rate to improve before bringing it across."
Amber did the same, telling Closer: "I'll probably treat myself a little bit, but I'm going to invest and be careful with it."
To be honest, Amber wouldn't have had to rely on the money for long after she secured herself a seven-figure deal with clothing brand Misspap.
That probably pays the bills.
Paige Turley and Finley Tapp (2020)
Unfortunately Paige Turley and Finley Tapp weren't given much of an opportunity to spend their cash after lockdown hit them straight after the villa.
Finley, who split from Paige in June 2023, told Metro: "We haven’t had the chance to really spend any of it.
"Just cooking bits, food… That’s about it, really."
He added: "We haven’t had a chance to do much with it. We’ve got an Xbox that’s keeping us entertained.
"A camera for some photos but that’s as exciting as it gets.
"I certainly do want to buy a few bits. That’s the thing, as well…
"You’re looking at some clothes online and you’re thinking, 'That looks really nice', but you think, 'I can’t spend my money on that, where would I wear it? Just in the back garden?'"
Millie Court and Liam Reardon (2021)
Millie Court and Liam Reardon turned their success into more success after winning Love Island in 2021.
Despite splitting shortly after buying a £1m Elizabethan mansion in Essex, the couple are now rumoured to be back on.
After they were crowned winners last year, they confessed to going on a massive shopping spree and showed of a £1,500 haul of luxury items.
Millie splashed out on a designer Jacquemus Le Chiquito moyen bag worth £620, as well as a pair of trainers, which cost £280.
Liam bought a new hiking wardrobe including trousers, jumpers and shirts from Berghaus.
Naturally, you know, the first thing you'd do after a summer of sun in Mallorca.
Millie continues to rake in the cash thanks to her partnership with online clothing brand, ASOS.
She has already dropped two lines since leaving the villa, with her latest set full of must-have £25 dress and summer co-ords.
Davide Sanclimenti and Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu (2022)
Despite being one of the most-loved couples on the show, things didn't work out for Davide and Ekin-Su with the pair splitting 10 months after their win.
The couple achieved a lot together, however, with them both signing successful clothing brand deals, having their own reality TV show and moving in to a £5k-a- month flat.
After winning the show, Davide revealed what he wanted to do with his £25k earnings.
He said: “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.”
Kai Fagan and Sanam Harrinanan (2023)
Love Island winners Kai Fagan and Sanam Harrinanan melted hearts across the country during their time in the villa, with them ultimately being crowned series champs.
They later revealed the selfless ways they planned to spend their £50k prize money, as they both want to go back to their career roots and help children.
Speaking on The Morning After podcast, the couple shared that after jetting off on holiday to the Amalfi Coast and Santorini, they will put the remainder of the money to good use.
Sanam told the listeners that along with investing in projects to help children, they would also be giving some of the money to her mum, who is on her own after her dad passed away.
The former social worker added that although she's not very "business minded" she definitely wants to find some ways to invest the money to help children.
Love Island returns to ITV2 and ITV Hub tonight (Monday 6 June) at 9pm.
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