Love Island stars Ekin-Su Culculoglu and Curtis Pritchard announce split as reality stars issue lengthy statement: ‘Really tough decision’
Love Island: All Stars couple Ekin-Su Culculoglu and Curtis Pritchard have split after four months together. The pair, who met on this year’s series of Love Island: All Stars in January, announced their breakup earlier today.
Culculoglu confirmed the split in a statement posted to her Instagram story, with the couple having been plagued by showmance speculation since leaving the villa, where they finished in third place.
Their relationship had sparked concern amongst fans in recent weeks after an absence of joint social media posts, with Culculoglu’s announcement coming just three months after the second series of Love Island: All Stars concluded, with several other finalist couples also calling it quits.
Announcing the split on Instagram, Culculoglu wrote: “I wanted to share that Curtis and I have decided to go our separate ways. It’s been a really tough decision, but one made with a lot of love and respect for one another.”
She continued: “He’s an incredible person and I’ll always cherish the memories we made both in and out of the villa. Thank you all so much for the love and support over the past few months.”
The statement concluded: “We’re both focusing on navigating this transition and would really appreciate privacy during this time. Love always, Ekin-Su Xx.”
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The announcement was shared via her Instagram story, confirming what fans had begun to suspect following the couple’s recent absence from each other’s social media posts.
Pritchard, not long after, took to his own Instagram story to confirm their split and penned: “Just a quick note to say thank you so much for the kind messages, it really does mean the world.
“It’s true, Ekin and I have decided to go our separate ways. Breakups are never easy, but I’ll always be grateful for the laughs, the adventures, and the memories (especially the dance routines).
“I’ll be keeping busy with work, boxing, dancing, and working with the team on FINT. Lots of love, Curtis x.”
The Sun revealed that the couple held “crisis talks” in recent days before making their decision to split.
A source close to the former couple said the break-up “wasn’t weeks in the making” and happened “very recently in the last few days”.
The source explained: “It certainly wasn’t weeks in the making, so it’s still raw for them both but they had a series of crisis talks in the recent days which were emotional for them both.
“They wanted to make it work, but they felt they like they were growing apart and they couldn’t see a way forward.”
One of the biggest issues cited was their busy careers, with Ekin-Su getting work opportunities in America whilst Curtis focuses on his boxing career and new investment app.
The source added: “As they are both so busy, it was becoming harder to prioritise the relationship and they realised that wasn’t a good sign.”
The professional dancer’s response echoed Ekin-Su’s sentiment of mutual respect and gratitude for their time together.
Ekin-Su entered the All Stars villa as a bombshell on the first night and stole Curtis from Kaz Crossley, marking the start of their chaotic love story.
Their romance was always fiery, featuring explosive rows quickly followed by passionate make-up sessions during their time in the villa.
The couple were tested when bombshell Danielle Sellers chose to spend the night in the Hideaway with Curtis, but he soon found his way back to Ekin-Su.
They went on to make it to the final, finishing behind runners-up Grace Jackson and Luca Bish and eventual winners Gabby Allen and Casey O’Gorman.
From the outset, they were plagued with rumours their relationship was fake.
Laughing off allegations in March, Ekin-Su told The Sun: “It’s not a showmance, it’s real. It just feels right.”