Love Island 2022 winners Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti have had a whirlwind journey since leaving the Spanish villa just over a fortnight ago. The couple, now officially boyfriend and girlfriend, achieved a landslide victory with 63.7 per cent of the public vote, which saw them claim the £50k prize.
Fans of the Turkish actress and Italian business owner, both 27, have been eagerly following their every move since they flew back to England after the ITV2 series came to a close - from public appearances to date nights in London. The fiery couple became known as the 'mum and dad' of the villa, but with Ekin-Su from Essex and Davide with a base up north in Manchester, many have been wondering how their relationship would play out.
The pair have been active on social media and open about how things are going in live interviews, revealing exciting plans on the way. Here, we take a look at their time so far since being crowned Love Island winners:
Awkward reunion clip
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While they left the villa as one of the strongest couples, it hasn't always been that way for Ekin-Su and Davide.
During the Love Island reunion special, aired last Sunday, Davide finally saw the clip of Ekin-Su and his pal Jay Younger crawling to the terrace to share a smooch behind his back.
Ekin-Su was captured desperately trying to shield the 'Italian Stalian's' eyes, as Jay was shown to be cringing with his head in his hands.
The slightly-red couple both laughed it off, and despite cringing, Davide took it in his stride.
Home tours
The pair have spent time in Davide's adopted UK home of Manchester before travelling to spend a few days together in the capital. They shared a clip of them on Davide's sofa, where Ekin-Su said she was enjoying the view from his swanky apartment.
Last Thursday, they then took the train back down south, with Davide captioning the video "En route to London with my queen" - his nickname for her - alongside a queen emoji.
"Good morning guys! We had a few busy days in Manchester but we are back, going to London," before he was interrupted by his beau and gave her a kiss. He continued: "We will try to post a bit more," before Ekin-Su interjected: "Sorry guys, we've been busy but we will be back."
After arriving in London, Ekin-Su took to her Instagram story to mock Davide as she secretly filmed him while he struggled to access his Spotify account. She then videoed him during a gym session, with the caption: "Come on you lifted heavier in the villa," and also shouted encouragement at the Italian while he lifted weights, saying "Come on Davide, you can do this. You can do this, bro."
As the couple prepared for date night, Davide filmed "behind the scenes" shots of Ekin-Su getting ready before showcasing their date night by toasting champagne glasses as he wrote "dinner with my lady".
Both shared a video on their stories of Ekin-Su showing Davide in "Landann", pointing out landmarks such as St Paul's Cathedral, which the Italian jokingly thought he was back in his hometown of Rome after seeing it.
Living arrangements
Appearing on Lorraine on Monday, Ekin-Su said again that the pair are both very busy and have spent time apart in their hometowns. She added: "Just all these projects lined up, and you know, Davide’s in Manchester, I’m here right now.
"It’s just all surreal. Like, I don’t even know what to say. That’s how excited and happy I am.”
Despite spending some time apart over the past two weeks at opposite ends of the country, the reality couple has come to an agreement on where to settle.
Ekin-Su revealed her plans to take the relationship to the next stage as she appeared on Lorraine without her other half on Monday, announcing they will move in together in a home in Essex.
She said: “We’ve decided that we are moving in together, it's official.
“We are thinking, because we are going to be quite busy with other things, end of September we’re thinking to possibly move to Essex where I’m from.
“Davide’s not been to Essex and I feel like it’s so nice because it’s near London, it’s easy to travel to, a bit of countryside, but then also a bit of that edginess to it as well. But I’m very, very excited for that.”
ITV2 show
Some ITV2 viewers saw it coming, but on Saturday it was officially announced that Ekin-Su and Davide are to present their own spin-off show where they will go on road trips to their home countries.
During Channel 4 ’s The Big Breakfast, the pair unveiled the upcoming project with ITV2 which will see them travel to Italy and Turkey to meet each other’s families and explore their cultures.
And on Monday, she revealed more details of the upcoming programme to presenter Christine Lampard saying: “We’re doing the Davide and Ekin-Su takes over Italy and Turkey.
“We love food, so it’s like a week in Turkey and then a week in Italy. So, in Turkey it will be like meeting the family, Davide meets my family, perhaps cooks traditional Turkish food for them and I rate them and see how it is and then we kind of tour Istanbul where I’m from, and I do a week in Italy.
“I meet his parents, his family, I cook maybe the best linguini of his life and hope his mum likes it.
“That’s the most important thing, but it’s two passionate cultures that come together and it’ll be just us being us.
“Maybe we might have some crazy moments again, naturally. People can be like, ‘Oh, here they go again’. But you know, it’s going to be fun.”
Baby plans
Ekin-Su teased that she would like to have two children with Davide in the future.
The soap star opened up about the relationship in a Q&A with her followers on Instagram on Monday evening.
Questions included one from a fan who mentioned the possibility of the couple having a family together, with them asking Ekin-Su: "How many kids do you want when you are older with Davide?"
The former islander responded: "I'd say 2." She included an emoji that was winking and had its tongue stuck out. The reply came alongside a photo of her and Davide kissing.
