Love Island fans have been reacting to the news that the show’s most recent winners have already called it quits.
Yesterday, speculation began that this summer’s champions, Jess Harding and Sammy Root had broken up, just two months after leaving the Love Island villa.
Then, just a few hours after reports first circulated, Sammy took to his Instagram stories last night to confirm the rumours.
In a lengthy statement, the 22-year-old wrote: “Yes we had a private conversation regarding our relationship but this was left up in the air as Jess is still away and we haven’t had a chance to speak in person. For me to then see today via the media that we had officially broken up came as a total shock.”
“To be totally clear – I at least wanted a face to face conversation to see if our relationship could be saved and felt this would be the respectful way forward. We had the most incredible experience winning Love Island and I genuinely saw a future with Jess,” Sammy admitted.
“I was committed and respectful to our relationship. Unfortunately things don’t always work out the way you’d hoped,” he added, concluding: “Despite how this has all played out today. I think Jess is an amazing woman and genuinely wish her all the best.”
Following the news of the couple’s split, many Love Island fans have since taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, to reveal their thoughts.
Several viewers were shocked to hear of the winners’ breakup so soon, with one user writing: “Jess & Sammy breaking up is heart breaking”.
“Jess ending things with Sammy this way is what I never saw coming,” another admitted.
However, many other fans confessed that they were not surprised by the news, with one user sharing: “Jess was never Sammy’s type anyways, I hope she’ll find the right one.”
Another fan expressed that the pair should never have won Love Island, penning: “I will always say that Whitney and Lochan and Ella and Ty were robbed and Jess and Sammy breaking up just confirms it.”
