In 2015, ITV Studios launched Love Island UK, a reboot of the previous celebrity version of the series which only ran for two seasons (2005-2006). The revitalized reality TV series was such a hit across the pond that it spawned a whopping 22 different franchises across the globe – including Australia, France, and the USA – as well as Love Island Games and Love Island UK All-Stars, which are both available on Peacock. Ultimately, a dating show, Love Island UK has inspired so many devoted viewers because of the Islanders; fans want to see them succeed in finding love. Young, attractive singles mix and match in “Recouplings” until they find the person they want to stick it out with (if anyone) – with the potential to win £50,000 if voted the most popular couple by the viewers watching.
Throughout each season, viewers grow attached to the Islanders, both in and out of couples. While some pairings make it through to the end and beyond, many don’t, which is why fans become so invested when a Love Island couple works. There are several Islanders not included here that are still in relationships, but these are the most iconic Love Island UK couples; the ones that caused a huge stir inside the villa and kept viewers glued to their screens. The following couples were good on paper and put all of their eggs in each other’s baskets, but let’s see if any of their heads got turned after the show. Here are the 10 best Love Island UK couples throughout all seasons, including the winter versions!
Love Island
Single hopefuls looking for love complete tasks, couple off and get voted out week by week. Packed full of drama.
- Release Date
- July 19, 2019
- Cast
- Matthew Hoffman , Iain Stirling
- Main Genre
- Reality
- Seasons
- 2
10 Whitney Adebayo & Lochan Nowacki
Season 10 (2023)
Whitney Adebayo came into the Love Island villa as a bombshell and boy, did she explode… into superstardom. One of the most beloved cast members from Love Island UK, Whitney first attempted to charm André, but ended up going on a date and pairing with Medhi. After a frustrating several weeks of back-and-forth, Medhi (who did not seem as interested in Whitney as she was in him) was ousted by a public vote, leaving Whitney free to meet Lochan Nowacki in Casa Amor.
In Lochan, Whitney found someone who appreciated her pizzazz and maturity, and matched her pace physically. Even though they never made it official inside the villa, the pair stayed strong for the remainder of the season, ending in a highly debated second place. About two weeks after filming the season, Lochan and Whitney went TikTok official as boyfriend and girlfriend, and remain so. Whitney finally found her gentleman, and we love it.
9 Jessie Wynter & Will Young
Season 9 (2023)
A farmer from Buckinghamshire, Will Young (aka, “Farmer Will”) was a goofball and an original cast member in Season 9 of Love Island UK. He had a rocky start, first being paired with Olivia (who was stolen by Tom), and then Lana (in a friendship couple). By that time, Love Island Australia alum Jessie Wynter had arrived in the villa as a bombshell, and she set her sights on Will. The two got on surprisingly well, which had viewers wondering if it was too good to be true. Then Casa Amor happened…
While Jessie remained loyal to Will during the Casa Amor shake-up, Will seemed to be feeling himself and started flirting with Casa girl Layla, even kissing her multiple times. A shock to everyone watching – Islanders and viewers alike – Will broke down in tears to Jessie and begged for forgiveness. Jessie and Will proved initial doubters wrong, overcame the Casa drama, and ended the season in fifth place. Before they left the villa, Jessie asked Will to be her boyfriend on their final date, and he said yes! They are still in love and living it up on the farm.
8 Jess Shears & Dom Lever
Season 3 (2017)
Dominic “Dom” Lever entered the villa on day one of Season 3 and got paired up with Montana, only to be stolen the following day by Jess Shears. They remained a budding couple for the next two Recouplings, but found themselves among the three least favorite couples, as voted on by the public on day 17. As a result, one boy from the bottom three and one girl from the bottom three would be dumped. Jess was dumped by the boys, and Dom was saved by the girls. Typically, when one half of a “real” couple is dumped (for whatever reason), their partner leaves with them, since there is no point in staying. This is not the case with Dom.
Jess and Dom’s relationship was apparently so strong by this point that Jess had told Dom she loved him as she left. Dom, however, decided that he owed it to himself to stick it out in the villa, especially since it was still quite early days. The lovelorn Dom didn’t last much longer and was ousted ten days later; he left realizing that he didn’t want anyone else but Jess. They rekindled their romance outside the villa, and got married in October 2018. Dom is now studying to be a firefighter, and they have two children together.
7 Cara De La Hoyde & Nathan Massey
Season 2 (2016)
Original Islanders of Season 2, Nathan Massey chose to pair up with Cara De La Hoyde on day one, and they remained a couple until they were crowned the winners of the season. While Nathan wasn’t the typical male Islander (i.e., not a personal trainer or footballer), Cara found his sarcastic sense of humor charming, and they hit it off right away. The earlier seasons, being a little less scripted and sanitized than the show currently is, were not afraid to show the after-hours canoodling of the Islanders once the lights went out. Nathan made waves in week one, and shocked viewers when he flat-out asked Cara for sexual favors. She declined, but that didn’t stop Nathan from humping her leg under the covers to relieve his pent-up sexual tension.
Sometimes Nathan’s sarcastic tone and temper turned against Cara, which viewers weren’t too happy with. But it was clear that Nathan and Cara were the strongest couple of the season, and when the jokesters took the time to be vulnerable to one another, the chemistry was undeniable. The Season 2 winners left the villa together but briefly broke up nine months after the show ended. They rekindled their relationship with the birth of their first child. In 2018, Nathan brought Cara back to the Love Island UK villa where they met to propose to her; the duo got married in 2019. The pair likely look back at their time on the show and laugh at their past X-rated antics along with the rest of us. The now happily married couple has two children.
6 Sanam Harriananan & Kai Fagan
Season 9 (2023)
Kai Fagan had a difficult run in the Love Island UK villa, until Casa Amor brought Sanam Harriananan into Kai’s life and heart. Kai was an original Islander in Season 9, initially getting coupled up with Tanyel, before being stolen by Anna-May. He landed in the bottom due to a public vote, but was saved by his fellow Islanders and then recoupled with Tanyel (again). After Tanyel left the villa, Kai was paired up with Samie and then Olivia, who was often more dramatic than the understated Kai could handle. Viewers grew frustrated with Kai’s flip-flopping and indecisiveness, but it turns out that that was just a symptom of him not being in the right couple.
Kai’s journey took a massive turn when he met Sanam in Casa Amor. Free of Olivia’s melodrama, Kai was able to crack on with Sanam and found a maturity viewers hadn’t seen until then. Sanam, a true class-act, brought only good vibes to the villa and didn’t involve herself in any theatrics. Sanam reminded viewers that singles do come to Love Island to find love, not just fame, which endeared the couple to fans. Unfortunately, because she was a Casa Amor bombshell, viewers only got a handful of weeks with Sanam before she and Kai were crowned the winners of Season 9! Sanam and Kai are still together and (not surprisingly) still gorgeous.
5 Tasha Ghouri & Andrew Le Page
Season 8 (2022)
Paired up from day dot, Tasha Ghouri and Andrew Le Page‘s up-and-down relationship inspired one of the most infamous quotes in Love Island UK history: “I licked her tit, or whatever.” But back to the beginning… Tasha, a dancer from Thirsk, got paired up by the public with Andrew, a real estate agent from Guernsey, and they maintained their solid bond through several Recouplings. Seeds of doubt were sown, though, when Tasha expressed to several bombshells that she wasn’t closed off, despite seeming the contrary. The cracks between Tasha and Andrew grew deeper and Casa Amor appeared to put a nail in their relationship’s coffin.
Egged on by the boys who didn’t trust Tasha’s affection for Andrew, he flirted and hooked up with Casa girl Coco, showing a “bad boy” side that fans hadn’t seen so far. Andrew followed through with bringing Coco back to the villa to find that Tasha had also connected with new Islander Billy. Both Tasha and Andrew questioned their decision to stray from each other, eventually finding their way back to one another. Andrew came clean about what he did with Coco in Casa Amor (see the previously mentioned quote), and Tasha eventually forgave him, asking him to be her boyfriend before ending the season in fourth. They are still together and capitalizing on their Love Island UK fame.
4 Indiyah Polack & Dami Hope
Season 8 (2022)
For the first few Recouplings of Season 8, Indiyah Polack and Dami Hope were with different people and only saw one another as friends. Late in week two, Dami confessed to Indiyah that he felt a spark with her, and she felt the same. While Indiyah quickly cut things off with her current partner in favor of pursuing things with Dami, Dami took his time deciding between partners. But his decision was made for him when Dami’s current partner, Amber, got the least amount of votes from the public and was dumped; Dami and Indiyah were free to pursue each other and Recoupled quickly.
Casa Amor strikes again. While apart, Indiyah got to know Deji, and Dami got to know (and kiss) Summer – and both partners chose to recouple with the new Islanders. As soon as the new couples were revealed, the sparks and barbs started flying between Indiyah and Dami, for whom hypocrisy reared its ugly head. When the dust settled, though, Dami and Indiyah couldn’t deny the affection they had for one another; they became official, said those three big words (I love you), and ended as the third place couple. Indiyah has since co-hosted Love Island Aftersun, and the couple is still together and as fierce as ever.
3 Millie Court & Liam Reardon
Season 7 (2021)
Both Liam Reardon and Millie Court began their Love Island UK experiences as bombshells, coming in as later additions to shake up the villa. Liam came in on day four, initially pairing up with Faye, but found his partner in Millie when she entered on day nine. Millie chose three guys to take on dates and connected with Liam the most. The two made a charming couple that viewers were rooting for, and they always chose each other despite several interesting bombshells. When Casa Amor split the couple into different villas with a fresh crop of singles, Liam’s eye wandered, and he found himself kissing Casa girl Lillie on multiple occasions (NOT in challenges).
Millie worried the entire time Liam was in Casa, with her pals ensuring her that Liam would also stay true. Her fears were alleviated (albeit temporarily) when Liam returned from Casa single and was ready to continue their relationship. A different kind of bombshell was dropped when Lillie and Millie (the irony was not lost on either of them) met up outside the villa so that Lillie could disclose what had really happened between her and Liam in Casa. Millie rightfully put Liam in the doghouse for a while before he declared his feelings for her in a public poem of affection. As if she’s living in her own rom-com, Millie forgave Liam and the two went on to win the season. After a brief break-up in 2022, the stunning twosome is back together and have serious relationship goals.
2 Molly-Mae Hague & Tommy Fury
Season 5 (2019)
Boxer Tommy Fury sent the Love Island villa into a frenzy when he entered as one of the first bombshells of the season. He initially had eyes for Islander Lucie, but his head was fully turned when model Molly-Mae Hague entered as a bombshell and chose him for a date on day four. After a little blip about Tommy potentially wanting to crack on with Islander Maura, the couple remained a fan-favorite with their undeniable bond, and they sealed the relationship with their first kiss. But the true test of a Love Island couple – Casa Amor – was coming, and viewers were worried for Tommy and Molly-Mae.
When the ladies of the villa left for Casa, Molly-Mae left her stuffed elephant (Ellie Belly) on the bed she shared with Tommy, a sweet little reminder of her affection. Throughout the Casa split, Tommy slept with Ellie Belly and pined for Molly-Mae. Both the Islanders and fans of the couple were delighted, some even brought to happy tears, when Tommy and Molly-Mae reunited at the Casa Recoupling. The duo made it official in the villa, with Tommy popping the question with the help of Ellie Belly in front of the other Islanders. Despite being arguably the strongest couple in the villa, Tommy and Molly-Mae came in second place. The pair stayed strong after their time in the villa, and welcomed a baby girl named Bambi in January 2023. In July 2023, Tommy proposed, but the two don’t plan to officially wed until sometime in 2025.
1 Ekin-Su Cülcüloglu & Davide Sanclimenti
Season 8 (2022)
An absolute powder-keg of a couple, Ekin-Su Cülcüloglu and Davide Sanclimenti brought the drama, and viewers couldn’t get enough, eventually crowning this on-and-off-again couple the champions of Season 8. Dubbed an Italian stallion, Davide entered the villa on day one, initially intending to charm Gemma. Ekin-su, a Turkish actress, caused a stir with her outspoken personality when she entered as a bombshell on day three. Gemma got picked by another Islander, leaving Davide to recouple with his other interest, Ekin-su. From the edit on television, Ekin-su seemed to put more effort into her relationship with Davide, as he played a more laissez-faire role. Feeling underappreciated, Ekin-su lashed out by kissing another Islander behind Davide’s back – even going so far as to crawl on the ground to avoid being caught!
Of course, nothing on Love Island stays a secret, and Davide’s explosive reaction to Ekin-su’s betrayal gave viewers some of the best quotes of the series – “You’re a liar, an actress, get the fuck out!” and “She’s as fake as the Louis Vuitton from China.” The couple appeared to be over through several Recouplings and flings with other Islanders, but the Heart Rate challenge proved that Davide and Ekin-Su’s story was not over yet. Both Davide and Ekin-su acted out in Casa, but they eventually found the right balance with each other and recoupled to win the entire season. The two were so popular that they landed their own reality series, Ekin-Su & Davide: Homecomings, and Ekin-Su showed up in Season 2 of The Traitors. The couple allegedly broke things off in 2023, but got back together for a brief time before splitting again in January. Time will tell if this iconic Love Island UK couple will find their way back to each other in the future.