Love Island All Stars’ Samie Elishi and Ciaran Davies made a homerun as 2026’s winners, so why are fans divided despite their connection? The cringe-fest show only has only one solution going forward
Love Island All Stars hosted the messiest final to date last night.
Fans across the nation are divided on the unexpected outcome: Samie Elishi and Ciaran Davies winning the £50k, despite rumours of ‘bullying’ and pointed fingers at who was vying for the most screen time. It was the viral Spiderman meme. Literally.
After locking in for the past two months at 9pm without fail, I was left dumbfounded by the result. It was a totally anti-climactic end to what was, without a doubt, the most dramatic live final I’ve ever watched – and I’ve been tuning in since the Molly-Mae days.
I loved Samie at the start of the show, and admired how pretty she is in a way that steps away from the usual Love Island blonde bombshell look. And with this year’s returnees being the most diverse cast possibly yet, it was an overall enjoyable watch (minus the micro aggressions).
But following last year’s struggle faced by ‘the Big Three,’ and the tidal wave of Ofcom complaints over the treatment of iconic Shakira Khan, Love Island All Stars appeared to be a playground for women pitted against each other – this time by the influence of ‘the outside’.
By this, I mean the virtual balloon of social media that had the South African villa surrounded. Inflating each year as the brand deals increase and contestants put in shifts to make it as a successful content creators post-flight, many fans are now wondering “where is the love?”.
Sex and relationships expert Gemma Nice said of the result: “It was a really interesting one because Sammi and Ciaran won, but this may have been because they stayed out of the drama, whereas if Scott and Leanne had won, that would have made slightly more sense because of the drama they have been having.
Speaking on behalf of Buzz Bingo, she added: “If the public made both Samie and Ciaran (winners) and Zac and Millie (runners up) this means that the public wants more of a genuine connection between the couples (which they have) rather than the drama which was unfolding between most of the other couples”.
While a solid point, it arguably misses one key detail – Samie was a central figure in all the drama surrounding Lucinda Strafford. Yet she was still crowned the 2026 winner.
And although I was a fan of her flame with Welsh star Ciaran, I couldn’t really work out whether it was the real-deal. The Sun has even suggested he had mistaken his TV partner for his ex. “I was happy with Nicole,” he said during the boys calls. Had I been duped by Lucinda and Sean? With viewers taking to X (Twitter) claiming “a fix,” I’m still trying to wrap my head around the least eventful scene of last night.
Elsewhere, accusations fired across the villa garden led to villa USA contestant Kyra Lizama unleashing her wrath on ex Curtis Pritchard and Jack Keating for all to see.
Expert Gemma said: “Kyra really was verbally attacking Jack for no reason other than maybe to get airtime; even Maya had to step in and say ‘We’ll come back to this in a minute’ to stop her [from going further]. Jack then apologised, but she still didn’t really take it.
“This certainly didn’t need to be drama in the final, but then again, is it drama that Kyra was going for to play the game a little longer? This seemed to take over the whole final, and people are talking about it now”.
I wonder whether Kyra really was on a mission for more screen time, or if she was simply a woman scorned and exacting justice the only way she deemed fair, on national TV.
My friends and I can believe there is real attraction, especially between the beautiful winners, but will it last when business comes first and money is at the forefront of everyone’s minds? Every contestant hopes to join the ITV titans Olivia Atwood and Ekin Su, and I believe that’s why love has become second to followers gained.
People are starting to smell it. The appetite for All Stars has run dry, a majority of couples barely last the year and there’s a lack of trust for those who’ve appeared on three or more times on the shows. So what’s the solution?
Find people genuinely looking for love and ditch the influencers. There’s a reason Love on The Spectrum and Love is Blind do so well. In a grey world of increasing living costs, rent and the dating landscape resembling a desert, Brits are hoping for fairy-tale true love on their screens – but with a serious deduction of cringe.
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