TikTok star Max Balegde has reignited rumours Love Island’s Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti are “faking” their relationship.
The fan-favourite couple won the 2022 series of the dating show back in August, and have since moved in together.
Despite their very public romance, the reality stars have been plagued by speculation they’re “faking” their relationship since leaving the villa.
While they’ve both denied the rumours, some fans are still convinced they’re not really together.
TikTok star and influencer Max Balegde further fuelled the speculation this week on his podcast The Useless Hotline.
During the episode, Max said: “There’s some relationships in the industry that are not real. And I’m talking there’s possibly one relationship specifically that’s very prominent in the UK media right now that I maybe happen to know is definitely not real…”
“Some other people have alluded to this on some other medias. I don’t want to name and shame.”
@theuselesshotlinepod I personally stan Max and George #TheUselessHotline #MaxBalegde #GeorgeClarke #podcast ♬ original sound – The Useless Hotline
“I mean I met the person who’s in it and they were quite nice to me, but they definitely said something that would indicate they’re not in a relationship with said person.”
The clip of Max’s comments quickly went viral on social media, as fans immediately assumed he was talking about Ekin-Su and Davide.
One fan commented: “100% Ekinsu and davide.”
Other fans pointed out that Max has met both Ekin-Su and Davide at separate events over the past few months.
The “fake” rumours first started swirling in October, when Paige Thorne claimed one of the remaining Love Island couples had secretly called it quits since leaving the villa.
During her appearance on the Saving Grace podcast, the Welsh paramedic played a game of ‘Say It Or Shot It’, and was asked: “Who is the fakest couple to come out of Love Island this year?”
Paige replied: “All I’m going to say on this is… There are how many couples left, three? Really there’s only two. But that’s a secret I’ll never tell.”
@loveislandbby22 As far as we know there’s 4 couples left so who’s the 2 that’s still together and the 2 that’s not👀👀 #paigethorne #savinggrace #loveisland #loveislanduk #loveisland2022 #fyp #foryou ♬ original sound – Love Island Bits🏝
At the time, Ekin-Su shut down the rumours by telling Metro: “Apparently I fake my relationship. It doesn’t bother me. I laugh at the negative comments.”
“We’re moving in together pretty soon. We don’t need to prove to the world that we’re in love. We really don’t.”
The Turkish beauty also reflected on the constant scrutiny their relationship receives, adding: “Being in the public eye, sometimes, is not as easy as not being in the public eye.”
“It’s the smallest things – if I didn’t like my boyfriend’s picture, for instance, people would assume things.”
“Or, if Davide didn’t comment on one of my pictures, people would say something: ‘Oh my God, have they broken up!?’
“There’s no pressure to stay together. We are a real couple. We are authentic.”
