“Love Island stars Ekin-Su Culculoglu and Curtis Pritchard have split after just three months together. ”, — write: www.dailymail.co.uk
The couple met on this year’s series of Love Island: All Stars in January and had been plagued by showmance speculation since they came out of the villa.
Announcing the split on Instagram on Wednesday, Ekin 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.
‘He’s an incredible person and I’ll always cherish the memories we made both in an out of the villa.
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‘Thank you all so much for the love and support over the past few months. We’re both focusing on navigating this transition and would really appreciate privacy during this time. Love always, EkinSu Xx’.
Curtis is yet to comment on his own social media. MailOnline have contacted his representatives for comment.
Ekin’s post comes just days after she shared a gushing declaration of love for her boyfriend over on Instagram.
Commenting on one of Curtis’ most recent posts amid the launch of his boxing career she penned: ‘I just want you to know how incredibly proud I am of you.
‘Watching you train so hard and give it your all in that match was amazing…. you were strong, focused, and honestly just unstoppable. Win or lose you’re a champion in my eyes. I love you!’
The pair also put on a loved up display prior to the match after Misfits boxing shared a clip of Ekin planting a kiss on her boyfriend’s lips as he taped up pre fight.
The unlikely couple shocked fans after making their relationship official while in the villa back in February and from the get go they were plagued with rumours their relationship was fake.
Curtis hit back at the showmance rumours just over a week ago after appearing on the podcast Not My Bagg.
Host Joe Baggs asked the star: ‘A lot of people have said online about the showmance rumours, what would you say to these people because obviously you are still together so it’s not.’
Jokingly Curtis quipped: ‘Yeah, it’s a full on showmance. You’re right guys, 1000%. I think our contract runs out in two months or something and then we’ll end up breaking up.’
However he later insisted: ‘No, it’s not a showmance. It’s all a load of rubbish and people sometimes say like “Oh, there is a set contract, amount of time that they have to be together”.
‘I’ll tell you right now, I didn’t read my contract.’
He added: ‘We’re going good, we’re fun and people may think that because Ekin and I are very… I won’t lie we’re quite dramatic sometimes.’
Laughing off recent allegations that they’re only in a relationship for the publicity in March, Ekin told The Sun: ‘I’ve got respect for anyone’s opinions.’
She added: ‘I think everyone is entitled to think something and I can understand why they think that, because on the show we are theatrical people and when we come together, it is like a performance.
‘But it’s not a showmance, it’s real. It just feels right. It feels healthy and I am myself.’
Last month the couple hit back at rumours they had split after Curtis shared a video on Ekin-Su’s Instagram Story to joke about the reported ‘break up’ as he revealed they had both simply been away for work.
The dancer was seen with a black eye as he chilled on the sofa, before saying: ‘Good day of boxing today, and yeah as you can see a little bit of a black eye but it’s getting better.’
‘Yeah apparently I’m now single as well, yes!’ he added, as Ekin-Su could be heard laughing in the background. ‘But unfortunately I’ve got back with my ex straight away,’ he continued, as he leaned into Ekin-Su and showed her on camera.
‘Apparently spending nearly two or three days away means we’ve broken up?’ Ekin-Su said.
Curtis clarified: ‘You were working away and I’ve eh… been working in a dungeon, getting beaten up.’
‘Well guys it just proves that exes can get back together,’ Ekin-Su joked. ‘This is the shortest break up we’ve ever “had”.’
Meanwhile it has since been revealed that Ekin was in a secret relationship with Married At First Sight UK’s Georges Berthonneau during her time on Love Island: All Stars.
According to Georges, he and Ekin were in love, but she insisted on signing up to the ITV2 show to further her career.
They agreed she would go no further than ‘kissing’ another Islander during her time on the dating series, of which she was the star signing.
But Georges, 32, who confirmed the couple’s 10-month romance for the first time to MailOnline, claimed Ekin betrayed him on national TV when she became Curtis’ girlfriend, leaving him devastated.
In an exclusive interview, Georges told MailOnline he and Ekin had planned a future together, called each other pet names, holidayed in France during the summer and spent Boxing Day exchanging gifts, just 18 days before she entered the South African villa.
The personal trainer said he lived a ‘nightmare’ for the five weeks Ekin was on the dating show as she passionately kissed Curtis, 29, and performed a seductive routine for him wearing sexy red lingerie during the programme’s Heart Rate Challenge.