As the summer 2023 season of Love Island draws to a close, it’s time to discuss the prizes.
As a matter of fact, love and wealth have long been intertwined. Who among couples doesn’t have to cope with money issues?
But the popular ITV2 dating show’s winners had to make an especially difficult choice. In previous seasons, both members of the victorious pair received an envelope when their names were revealed.
The winner may decide whether to split the cash with their spouse or keep it for themselves. One envelope holds the £50,000 prize money, while the other is empty.
Any relationship would be put to the test by it, much less one that has had less than two months to develop.
The pair Mitchel Taylor and Ella Barnes were rejected last night, just one day before the season finale, giving us all the dramatic ups and downs we’ve come to anticipate from the ITV dating programme.
We’ll have to wait and see if the finalists from tonight have the choice to keep or split.
But have any prior winners made the decision to keep their winnings and leave?
Has any Love Island winner taken the money?
Love has always prevailed… so far.
The winning couples have, up until now, always chosen to divide the money and get their relationship off to a great start.
2023 champions Ekin-Su Cülcülolu and Davide Sanclimenti, the winners of 2022, as well as Kai and Sanam, were not given the option to take the money and go; instead, they automatically divided the prize money equally.
In 2021, Millie Court and Liam Reardon were the winners of the competition, and Millie was the one to receive the prize money in the winning envelope. In the end, she split the cash with her ex-boyfriend Liam.
The pair dated for a year before calling it quits, but they later split up.
In 2020, Paige Turley and Finley Tapp were named the winter series champions. Paige had to decide between her love of money and her passion of love.
She decided to divide the money, and luckily she made the correct choice since the pair is still happily living together in Manchester.
Greg O’Shea and Amber Gill won Love Island in 2019, as opposed to Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham in 2018. Both groups chose to equally divide the funds, maintaining equity.
In 2017, Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies were given the option, with Kem holding the power when he selected the envelope containing the money. Additionally, he chose to divide it with Amber.
In the 2016 championship, Cara De La Hoyde and Nathan Massey received the gold envelopes. They were married and had two kids together after Cara made the decision to share.
The 2015 series’ winners, Max Morley and Jess Hayes, had to decide if they were in their relationship for love or for financial gain. They got to divide the £50,000 reward since they both chose love.
If the split or steal twist returns for this year’s championship, may this be the year when an islander ultimately betrays their country?
The Love Island final airs tonight on ITV2 and ITVX at 9pm.
