Revenge, shock and one final bombshell: Inside Love Island UK's 2026 finale

OPINION: It has been a long slog, but what a season of Love Island UK it’s been.

We’ve had explosive recouplings, Casa Amor chaos, bombshells, heartbreak and some genuinely strong couples make it all the way to the finish line.

Heading into the final, we had our top five couples, but Mika and Samraj were the first to be dumped from the villa. While they didn’t seem to be the biggest fan favourites, they did find exactly what they were looking for – each other.

What they didn’t know was that their journey wasn’t quite over.

Before leaving, they were handed one final bombshell. They had the power to decide which remaining couple would miss out on the final entirely, with only three couples allowed through.

After plenty of discussion, they tried to put their own emotions aside and instead chose the couple they thought the public were least likely to vote for. Their decision? Yaz and Tommy.

It probably wasn’t a huge surprise. Tommy had faced plenty of scrutiny after it was revealed he’d only recently split from his girlfriend before entering the villa, leaving many viewers questioning whether his intentions were genuine and whether the relationship would survive on the outside.

That left our final three:

• Angelista and Simba

• Jazz and Kav

• Lorenzo and Julia

The next couple to leave were Angelista and Simba.

I genuinely thought they were going to win. They were constantly described by the other Islanders as the couple most likely to go the distance on the outside, but the public clearly had other ideas.

That left Jazz and Kav going head-to-head with Lorenzo and Julia.

Going into the final vote, I honestly thought Jazz and Kav had it locked up. Jazz has been, by far, the biggest social media star from this year’s cast, so it felt like she had all the momentum.

But the public had a different favourite.

Jazz and Kav finished as the runners-up, meaning the winners of Love Island UK 2026 are…

🥳 Lorenzo and Julia!

Julia entered the villa during Casa Amor and completely stole Lorenzo’s heart, and together they’ve gone on to win the series.

I think a lot of fans will be pretty happy with this result. Lorenzo was one of the standout Islanders this season, and it’s hard to find anyone who had a bad word to say about him. He was funny, genuine and consistently one of the most likeable people in the villa.

Whether their relationship lasts on the outside remains to be seen. If I had to make a prediction, I wouldn’t be shocked if Lorenzo eventually becomes one of those Love Island contestants whose career goes far beyond the show. He has the kind of popularity that could see him follow in the footsteps of Islanders like Chris Hughes and Olivia Attwood, becoming a much-loved TV personality long after this season is over.

Catch more deep dives on A Little Bit Extra with Sharyn Casey, available now on rova.