Sammy Root and Jess Harding are crowned winners of Love Island 2023
Sammy Root and Jess Harding have been crowned the winners of Love Island 2023, winning the £50,000 prize.
They beat Whitney Adebayo and Lochan Nowacki in the final two, while Ella Thomas and Tyrique Hyde came in third and Molly Marsh and Zachariah Noble came fourth.
Jess, 22, from west London, was an original Islander and was coupled up by viewers on day one with George Fensom.
When bombshell Sammy hit the Villa on day four, Jess was excited to get to know him - but the two had a tumultuous journey before becoming boyfriend and girlfriend.
Jess regularly voiced her upset when Sammy showed interest in new girls coming into the Villa, though he finally pledged loyalty to her in the final weeks.
Whitney, 25, who runs a successful wig business in London, came second alongside Windsor-local Lochan, an account manager, after skyrocketing to popularity across the season.
She entered on day three by meeting Andre Furtado for a date, before coupling up with Frenchman Mehdi Edno.
After Mehdi was dumped, Whitney met Lochan in the brutal Casa Amor stick-or-twist segment of the series, and the couple have been paired up since.
Whitney won the hearts of fans for her candid honesty and confidence, including one moment where she declared: "It's giving bad b****" as two new girls went on dates with the Villa boys while the others were forced to watch on.
In third was Glasgow-born model Ella, 23, who was chosen by viewers to couple up with Tyrique, an Essex-based semi-professional footballer, on day one of the series.
The two seemingly hit it off but faced a myriad of bumps in the road when Tyrique confessed he "missed the game" and plunged Ella into weeks of frustration while she only had eyes for him.
However, audiences were shocked when Ella recoupled with Ouzy See and left Tyrique standing alone upon her return to the main Villa after Casa Amor.
The two managed to make amends and confessed to falling in love as the series neared its end.
In the final episode, the four couples battled it out for the £50,000 prize by sharing how they feel about their romantic partners at the Love Island ball.
Jess said to Sammy: “Knowing how much it takes for you to get strong feelings screams to me how serious and genuine our connection is.”
Sammy replied: “It took some time at the beginning of my journey to realise what I was risking but when I saw you walking towards the fire pit on your own after Casa, I instantly knew that you were all that I wanted, my wandering eye turned into my eye for Jess.”
Whitney said to Lochan: “You ask me if I am happy everyday. You kiss my forehead when you think I’m asleep and you tell me I look beautiful every chance you get.
“You’re exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Lochan replied: “I want to continue making you happy, growing together, laughing together which is why I can confidently say that I don’t see a future with anyone else on the outside and I can’t wait for our next chapter.”
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