Love Island winners Jess Harding and Sammy Root have broken their silence amid a rumbling ‘fix’ feud following their shock victory on Monday.
The pair left fans stunned as they pushed Whitney Adebayo and Lochan Nowacki to the post for the £50,000 prize, with Whitney and Lochan being voted the favorites to the end.
After the winners were announced, many viewers took to Twitter to express their dismay at the result, with some even claiming that the vote had been “rigged.”
During a post-show interview, the pair opened up about their win, where they talked about how they were “shocked through their system” by the unexpected win.
Project manager Sammy, 22, said of their win: ‘It feels great, it’s hard to put into words, but it’s very surreal.’
Speaking up: Love Island winners Jess Harding and Sammy Root have broken their silence amid a rumbling ‘fix’ feud following their shock victory on Monday
Not really! The pair left fans stunned as they pushed Whitney Adebayo and Lochan Nowacki to the post for the £50,000 prize, with Whitney and Lochan being voted the favorites to the end
While esthetician Jess, also 22, shared: ‘I feel like it was a close call and everyone did so well. To win it is in the clouds. Very positive, happy and overwhelmed.’
Sammy added, “As Jess said, when we stood there, we looked at everyone and thought they were all worth winning.
“It was hard to work it out. When our names were called, it was a shock to the system, but a nice shock.”
The much-loved duo added that they were looking forward to their romance now that they were away from the villa, with Jess commenting: “I feel like I’m ready to enjoy the outside world with Sammy, it’s been a great opportunity and I’m grateful to start it and finish as a winner so very happy.’
While Sammy said, ‘It’s been a really long journey and I’ve loved every step of the way, the best two months of my life. It’s exciting for us to break through on the outside.’
Speaking about their future, the duo shared that they plan to start traveling together, perhaps to Asia, adding that they don’t want to “rush” anything and just “have fun.”
The pair have a tumultuous relationship in the villa, fraught with ups and downs as Sammy struggled with his temptations of getting to know new bombshells.
Can’t believe it: During a post-show interview, the pair opened up about their victory, where they talked about how they were “shocked through their system” by the unexpected win
Bewildered: “It was hard to work it out. When our names were called, it was a shock to the system, but a nice shock.”
Runners-up: The couple have posted Whitney Adebayo and Lochan Nowacki for the prize of £50,000
Finalists: Tyrique Hyde and Ella Thomas (left) placed third and Molly Marsh and Zachariah Noble (right) placed fourth
However, the pair insisted that they had no regrets about their time together on the show.
Jess explained, “You know what, I’m not sorry because I’m here today. There are situations I could have handled better that I look back on and I’m sure the same goes for Sammy. It has made us stronger. You must kiss some frogs!’
While Sammy shared, “For me it’s a matter of telling myself I’d be real all the time. To say I’m sorry, no I don’t at all. Certain situations could have been better, but we were in a different environment and learned how to handle things in that environment.
In Monday’s final Jess and Sammy seemed shocked and hugged tightly after the presenter Maya Jama announced that they had won.
Opinion: After the winners were announced, many viewers took to Twitter to express their dismay at the result
Shocking? Love Island viewers were stunned when Tyrique Hyde and Ella Thomas finished in third place during the series finale on Monday
To repair? Some fans even claimed the vote was ‘rigged’, while many insisted they should have finished second
After the winners were announced, viewers took to Twitter to express their surprise at the result, with many believing that both Whitney and Lochlan and Tyrique and Ella should have ended up over Jess and Sammy,
One person wrote, “WHAT!!! This show is rigged because there’s no way Sammy and Jess could actually win over Whitney and Lochan. What kind of bad joke is this!!!’
Someone else shared, “How did they win???? Sammy said Jess wasn’t attractive. They have been voted by the public several times as the bottom 3, least favorite and compatible couple. Whitney and Lochan have been voted THE FAVORITE COUPLE by the public. And they’ve never been bottom.’
Another person joked, “Maya, I think that was a slip of the tongue?” What the hell are Jess and Sammy?”
Champs: Both Jess and Sammy appeared shocked and hugged tightly after presenter Maya Jama announced they had won
Shocking? Love Island viewers were stunned when Tyrique Hyde and Ella Thomas finished in third place during the series finale on Monday
To repair? Some fans even claimed the vote was ‘rigged’, while many insisted they should have finished second
Watched: Love Island viewers took to Twitter to express their shock over Tyique and Ella finishing in third place
Someone else posted, “That was wild! Jess & Sammy had nothing going on. Whit & Lochan we’re solid off & worn this season only to be rejected by Fiat 500′
While another person tweeted, ‘Sammy and Jess winners!!?? Wtf They were never even in the competition. It was always Whitney and Lochan or Ty and Ella. What hell.’
But despite shocking everyone with their unexpected victory, figures show that Jess and Sammy won by a decent margin, with 34.57% of the final vote.
The pair earned 7.72% more votes than second-placed Whitney and Lochan with 26.85%, with the pair long expected to take the 2023 crown.
The numbers revealed: Despite shocking everyone with their unexpected victory, figures show that Jess and Sammy won by a decent margin, taking 34.57% of the final vote
However, the vote between 2nd and 3rd turned out to be extremely close, with third place Ella Thomas and Tyrique earning 24.21% of the vote – meaning there was only 2.64% between them.
However, Zachariah Noble and Molly Marsh would have had a tough job competing as the fourth-placed pair only garnered 14.37% of the vote.
The voting figures, posted on Love Island’s Twitter account on Tuesday, garnered widespread response from fans, with one tweeting, “I speak for everyone when I say we demand a review.”
While another shared, “3rd and 2nd was so close watts.”
With a third fan adding, “How many phones did Jess and Sammy’s families have to vote for omgggg.”