Maya Jama has shared the moment she discovered one of Love Island's final couple was 'real' - and it nearly made her cry. The presenter was back in the South African villa on Monday (March 13) as she crowned the winners of the winter series after two months of coupling up, bombshells and head-turning.
The last episode of the second-ever winter edition of the ITV2 dating show saw the four remaining girls leave the villa for a luxurious spa day, before returning to share declarations of love with their partners. Decked out in tuxedos and elegant dresses, the contestants each gathered by the pool before standing to read to each other in front of a heart-shaped arch.
Later, as Maya, 28, appeared live from the villa, Sanam Harrinanan and Kai Fagan were crowned as the winners of the month series of Love Island. The couple, who met in the South African villa during the controversial Casa Amor twist, emerged victorious and beat fellow couples Lana Jenkins and Ron Hall, who landed up in second place, and Samie Elishi and Tom Clare, who finished in third position.
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Tanya Mahenga and Shaq Muhammad, meanwhile, placed fourth following a public vote. And it has since been revealed by ITV that Kai and Sanam were the clear winners as they walked away with a huge 44 per cent of the whole final public vote, ahead of Lana and Ron's second place of 30%.
Tom and Samie took 24% of the final votings figures but it was bad news for Shaq and Tanya as despite being the first couple to drop the 'L-bomb' before making their relationship official on their final date,as they claimed just 2% of the final vote.
In her first interview since the end of her first series as host, Maya was asked to sum up the winning couple. She said: "I love, love, love Kai and Sanam as a couple. They’re so sweet together, and you can tell they really love being in each other's company. When Sanam came in she felt like a perfect fit for Kai."
She added of the moment that left her emotional during the live final: "You can see just how much of a warm heart she has, I could barely look her in the eye after she accidentally said she was in love with Kai during the final - she almost set me off - but that’s when I knew there was something real. They bring out a genuine side in one another.
In their first interview since winning the ninth Love Island series, Kai and Sanam have said they didn't expect to win the competition after coupling up during the controversial Casa Amor twist. "It’s a bit of a shock. I don’t think either of us expected to even be in the final let alone win it" Kai, 24, said.
"When we got to the final, I think we were just happy to be there. We said the whole time along, it didn’t matter if we won it or not - positions weren't anything, we were happy to go at any time because we knew that we had met each other and were buzzing and happy and just looking forward to our time together next. To come away and win it, is just the cherry on top. We are both just absolutely buzzing and shocked."
Sanam, also 24, added: "Whether we were third, fourth, second, whatever we would have still been really happy. It’s just amazing to know there is a lot of love there for us."
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