Latest Love Island winners make history for ITV2 series

Love Island fans have praised the winners of the ITV2 show’s latest series for “making history”.

Mimii Ngulube and Josh Oyinsan became the first black couple to win the reality show since it launched nine years ago.

The pair won the public vote and £50,000 prize, beating rivals Nicole Samuel and Ciaran Davies, Matilda Draper and Sean Stone, and Jessica Spencer and Ayo Odukoya.

Viewers saw the result during Monday night’s live final, after watching the remaining couples share emotional declarations of love with one another.

Josh wrote a poem for Mimii, who described him as “attentive, kind, gentle and loving”.

The couple had a rollercoaster time together, with fellow islanders suggesting Mimii still had feelings for Ayo, who she coupled up with at the start of the series.

During their eight weeks in the villa, this year’s contestants have missed a Euros tournament, an Olympics opening ceremony and a general election.

Their time inside has been almost as eventful, with shock dumpings, dramatic recouplings and sneaky kisses on the famous terrace.

BBC Newsbeat watched the final with Love Island superfans at a rooftop in London, and there were plenty of cheers when the winners were announced.

Friends Layla, Leah, Hermione and Kamorae were delighted that “history was made”.

“I was surprised to see the result, but so happy that it was a black couple,” Leah says.

“Their journey was so beautiful, I was so invested.”

Hermione adds it was “very unexpected”.

“But these are real people who come here [to the show], and have real feelings for each other.”

Love Island has been criticised in the past over a lack of inclusion for black and Asian contestants.

Another fan, Jean, told Newsbeat she felt things had improved but could be better.

“Casa Amor could have been a better opportunity to offer more diversity,” she says.

“The UK is more representative of diverse cultures, so I think there’s still a bit of a way to go to.”

She adds that Love Island has “changed a lot” over the years.

“It’s more about image these days, more than love,” she says.

Jean says the appearance of celebrity Joey Essex in this year’s summer edition was proof of this.

“A lot of people were there just for vibes, instead of the true essence just to find love,” she says.

When he entered the villa, Joey quickly became the bookies’ favourite to win the series.

But his antics finally caught up with him right before the final, when dumped contestants returned to vote for “the least compatible couple”.

After a heated exchange with Samantha Kenny – who Joey ditched earlier in the series – the Essex boy and his partner Jessy Potts were shown the door.

Joey’s casting in the 11th series of the ITV2 show received a mixed response, with some fans upset that a celebrity had been brought in.

But others praised the decision, and the 34-year-old has been at the centre of some of this year’s biggest dramas.

Love Island was once one of ITV’s biggest shows but viewing figures have steadily dropped since its heyday.

Six million people watched the show’s 2019 final but just 1 million saw the end of the All Stars edition aired earlier this year.

However, ITV said the opening episode of the current run provided the show’s best ratings for two years.

It said about 2 million people tuned in – up from 1.3 million in 2023.

The show has also beefed up its approach to contestants’ wellbeing after two former islanders took their own lives.

One recent high-profile measure introduced by the show’s producers was a social media ban preventing friends and family from posting on the behalf of islanders.

Previously, contestants’ relatives would take over their accounts while they were in the villa, sometimes leaving them to face abuse from angry fans.

The ban, first introduced in 2023, was lifted during All Stars but was restored for the latest series.

An ITV spokesperson said the move was part of its “continued commitment to duty of care”.

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