The enemies to lovers trope is not a storyline unique to Love Island. “The romcom babe in me is living for the enemies to lovers trope in Ekin-Su and Davide,” one person wrote on Twitter, while a second person said: “Ekin-Su and Davide are giving star crossed enemies to lovers it’s like a dramatic romcom watching them the best storyline to ever hit the villa.”

The pair partnered up early on, but the relationship soured when Ekin-Su’s secretive snogs were shown for all to see, resulting in Davide’s now meme-worthy exclamation that Ekin-Su is a “liar and an actress” who deserves an Oscar for her conniving ways and should “go the fuck out.” While Davide persistently needled Ekin-Su – on one occasion saying that she had “expired” for him – their initial chemistry and constant back-and-forth didn’t stop fans longing for the pair to reunite. From crawling to the terrace to sneak kisses from Jay to taking it upon herself to share Gemma’s thoughts on Luca, she is the drama that has fuelled this season’s narrative.īut it is her on-again-off-again relationship with ‘Italian snack’ Davide Sanclimenti that has really captivated Love Island viewers.

Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu is this year’s real star, sitting at the epicentre of this season’s biggest storylines. The producers have outdone themselves by assembling an intriguing ensemble of Islanders, who ricochet off each other like bullets off concrete, leaving intricate patterns of chaos in their wake. After a lacklustre run in 2021 – with one of the high points being the brief inclusion of a man who called himself ‘Chuggs’ – Love Island is back to its best, with 100 million streams making the eighth and current season the most-watched yet.

Enemies to lovers