Love Island’s Davide Sanclimenti says he and Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu still have ‘struggles’ since leaving the villa

Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti attend the European Premiere of Paramount Pictures' "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts". Photo / Getty Images

Love Island winner Davide Sanclimenti has gotten candid about his relationship with fellow contestant Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, revealing the couple still face “struggles” after coming off of the show.

The pair came out of the reality show’s eighth season as victors last summer, and while they have been loved-up since the show ended, Sanclimenti has revealed that it hasn’t always been smooth sailing.

The Italian businessman shed light on the difficulties he and Cülcüloğlu have had to face while being in the public eye in an interview with The Sun Online.

He said: “Me and Ekin-Su had our struggles due to our public positions and we still have them sometimes.

“If there’s something that I would change or would have done differently [with Ekin-Su in the villa] maybe I would have taken things a bit more slowly.”

Sanclimenti added that, even though there have been a few bumps, he and his beau are very much in love, particularly because they have the “same background”.

“The best thing about dating Ekin-Su is that we understand each other - not just because we are literally the same person,” the former Love Island contestant gushed. “She is my copy-paste.”

After winning the ITV reality show, the couple moved in together.

However, Sanclimenti and Cülcüloğlu recently had to dismiss rumours that their relationship was a showmance.

Cülcüloğlu was allegedly “fuming and upset” in April after discovering messages and photographs on Sanclimenti’s phone from two models.

An insider shared with The Sun at the time: “It all exploded last Sunday after she found messages on Davide’s phone discussing their time together.

Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti attend The Fashion Awards 2022 at the Royal Albert Hall. Photo / Getty Images

“He had been messaging both of the girls and she suspected they had all met up one night.

“Ekin-Su contacted one of the girls to tell them she knew about things. She was furious and really upset.”

A representative for Cülcüloğlu declined to comment on the story. MailOnline had also reached out for comment from Sanclimenti who hasn’t replied.

Sanclimenti’s interview comes after his partner revealed that she had “no friends left” after being thrown into the spotlight.

The former contestant opened up to Cosmopolitan about her struggle with close friendships since leaving the villa.

She confessed that since becoming famous, people don’t “want” to befriend her because of her “status”.

Cülcüloğlu even alleged that some of the friends that she had known for more than 10 years sold stories about her to the press.

However, despite having “no friends left”, the star admitted that she is “much happier this way”, especially with the support of her boyfriend.

She said: “I’ve lost every friend I had. I don’t have any friends. I have one friend and that’s it.

“Unfortunately, with the fame, you see people’s true colours. People just want to be your friend because of your status, and it’s a hard industry to trust.

“No, I don’t actually have friends left. People I’d known for 10 years who were in my life…Selling stories is not very nice. I wouldn’t do that to someone. If they were happy, I would support them.

“Unfortunately, I had that coming out of the villa, I had to delete people out of my life.

“But I am happier this way. Sometimes keeping your circle small is the best, and you don’t always need friends. So long as you know who you are, that’s fine.”