15 March 2023 , 14:09
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Love Island host Maya Jama has admitted she found the final of the ITV2 reality show more emotional than she had anticipated and even struggled to look this year's winners in the eye.
Sanam Harrinanan and Kai Fagan were crowned winners of the winter Love Island 2023 on Monday night, beating original couple Ron Hall and Lana Jenkins to the £50k cash prize.
After eight weeks of South African villa gossip, Love Island viewers at home picked the social worker and PE teacher as their champions, making them the first Casa Amor couple to win.
Maya capped off her first series as host, after taking over from Laura Whitmore once she announced her shock departure from the role.
The 28-year-old star has now spoken out about presenting her first finale of the show, ahead of the show’s return to the sunny – and considerably less windy – climes of Mallorca this summer.
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Sanam Harrinanan and Kai Fagan were crowned winners (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)Maya even admitted that the final moments of the finale caught her off guard with emotion, as 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. You can see just how much of a warm heart she has.
Maya capped off her first series as host, after taking over from Laura Whitmore (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)“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.”
Sanam and Kai were crowned winners of the winter Love Island 2023 on Monday night by a major landslide, voting figures revealed.
It has been revealed that Kai and Sanam won by a remarkable majority, clinching the Love Island victory a massive 44 percent of the votes.
Sanam and Kai were crowned winners by a major landslide (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)Meanwhile, runner-up couple Ron Hall and Lana Jenkins came in at 30 percent of the votes, while Samie Elishi and Tom Clare received 24 percent.
The couple in the finale at fourth place was Tanya Manhenga and Shaq Muhammad, who only scored 2 per cent of the final vote.
However, only 1.1 million viewers tuned in to see Kai and Sanam crowned the winners live on ITV2 as the series wrapped up, making the ratings the lowest for a final since series two and marking a significant drop from last summer's 3 million.