31 January 2024 , 09:31
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On Tuesday, Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu dropped the bomb that she's split from Davide Sanclimenti in a statement to their fans on social media - less than two years after the pair won Love Island.
The Turkish reality TV star, 29, took to her Instagram Story to share with her followers that she had 'recently made the decision' to end their relationship. Announcing their separation, Ekin-Su wrote: "The last 18 months have been a rollercoaster of ups and downs, just like every relationship. Davide and I both wanted to make this relationship work as we cared deeply for each other."
"Unfortunately, I have recently made the decision to end our relationship and to go our separate ways. Breakups are never easy for any couple, and we hope that our privacy will be respected at this time. I enjoyed our time together and will cherish the memories we made. Thank you for your continued support. It's been so lovely to have you follow our Love Island journeys together since the villa and we hope you'll continue to follow our careers as we go off in our own directions."
Ekin-Su announced their shock split saying it was her decision (Daily Mirror)
Davide has made a savage swipe at Ekin-Su (Instagram)Now, Davide has seemingly hit back at Ekin's statement with a savage swipe of his own after he decided to stay silent on the announcement for hours on end. In a statement shared with his Instagram followers, the Italian star said: "Life sometimes reserves surprises and suddenly wakes you up... Ekin and I, just after the ski holidays, decided to go different ways."
Davide then claimed that he and Ekin had decided to wait and share their breakup statement together, but Ekin seemingly went against their agreement and posted about their split online before he got a chance to. Davide said: "It was a joint decision, but I was waiting to make it public to respect her time in the show. I don't know why the agreed statement changed last minute."
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Sharing fond memories of their love story, Davide said: "I agree, it was a beautiful story even with its ups and downs like all couples. I loved every moment, from the first time I knew her in the Villa until life outside. I really believed in us and saw a future for us. But sometimes in life people need to grow apart. Is just the direction of life. I will treasure our moments forever. Now it's time to focus on myself. I love you all always, thank you for the unconditional support everyone showed me from the beginning. Davide."
The Love Island winners met on the ITV dating show back in 2022 and briefly went their separate ways last year before rekindling their romance on a holiday to Turkey to celebrate Ekin-Su’s 29th birthday. After a rocky start to their relationship, the pair seemed more loved up than ever recently, had moved in together and were making plans for a 'special year' ahead. Davide even revealed the couple 'never really broke up' last year because they were speaking and in touch the whole time they were on a break.
Ekin and Davide have split two years after winning Love Island (Instagram)
The pair became household names in 2022 thanks to Love Island (Zak Hussein / SplashNews.com)Speaking to The Mirror back in December, Davide shared his plans for a very special year ahead with Ekin. The Italian star gushed over how excited he was to travel and see the world alongside Ekin-Su in 2024. "We are going to be travelling together a lot in 2024. We need a hot weather country so we will try to spend a few months in a hot country travelling. We are trying to do something together, when we work together we enjoy it and it never feels like work. We laugh with each other and have a lot of banter. Time flies without realising," he told.
Davide and Ekin-Su were so loved up that the Turkish beauty even flew to Italy to spend Christmas with her beau's family. Lifting the lid on their cute Christmas plans back in early December, Davide added to The Mirror: "Christmas plans this year we are going to Italy, me and Ekin. She is going to come with us with her mum and brother to spend Christmas together with my mum and sister as well. While I am there I will likely see my dad over Boxing Day. Then on the 28th, just after Christmas and New Year, me and Ekin are going on the Alps to ski in Italy. It’s been such a long time since I’ve skied, so I said to Ekin that we should do something new for New Year. I said what about spending it on my birthday on New Year's Day on the mountains skiing."