Welsh couple lose final but win hearts

They might have lost the Love Island final, but Welsh couple Nicole and Ciaran have won the hearts of many back home.

Account manager Nicole Samuel, 24, from Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and 21-year-old rugby player and surveyor Ciaran Davies, from Bridgend, narrowly missed out on the £50,000 prize on Monday night.

The pair, who enjoyed a cwtch throughout the series, were disappointed not to become the first Welsh couple to win the show and had to settle for second.

But at a Love Island-themed party back home in Wales, family and friends said the couple might have lost the final, but “the whole community has won”.

The pair became an official couple on day five of the show after an emotional speech by Ciaran, who told the boys in the villa that “Welsh girls are wifey material”.

They looked set to follow in the footsteps of Love Island’s first Welsh winner, Amber Davies, from Denbigh, who clinched the title with Kem Cetinay in 2017, and Liam Reardon, from Merthyr Tydfil, who won with Millie Court in 2021.

Nicole and Ciaran were the only official couple in the villa, often leaving the rest of the contestants – and host Maya Jama – in tears with their re-coupling speeches and an emotional reunion after the show separated the boys and girls for few days.

Fans praised the Welsh representation they brought throughout the show.

Nicole would often ask her fellow islanders for a cwtch [a Welsh word for hug] with some of the other non-Welsh contestants using it in their vocabulary too.

Ciaran continued that tradition on Thursday by decorating part of the villa in colours that signified the Welsh flag for the couple’s final date.

Speaking after the result, his parents Hayley and Mark said the result did not matter.

At a packed Love Island final watch party at Tondu RFC in Bridgend county, attended by more than 200 people, bar staff said it was not just busy for a Monday evening, it was “the busiest any night we’ve seen”.

The downstairs room at the club heaved with Ciaran’s family and friends, including some who had come as far as Cornwall to support him.

Ciaran’s mum Hayley said: “I’m really proud of Ciaran and it’s been great watching him over there. Ciaran’s done well to get this far.

“Family have come all the way from Cornwall to watch the final here, not seen some of them in 10 years.”

But despite the build-up to the final, no-one was disappointed in their “ambassador”.

“It doesn’t feel like Ciaran lost, not when you look at the turnout we’ve had here tonight,” said Hayley.

“The whole community has won really, and I’ve met Nic and she’s lovely. They’re both besotted with each other and I wish them only the best from here on in.”

Aberkenfig might not quite match up to the paradise setting of Love Island, but in the sweltering heat with plastic foliage hanging from the walls, the venue had been turned into Club Tropicana for the night.

As Ciaran’s supporters raced to get there in time, the surrounding streets were jammed with cars.

While the lights went out to focus on the show, one man rushed out to move his vehicle that he had parked in someone’s garden in a panic.

Assistant coach Hywel Davies said some had to play catch-up after realising Ciaran was in the show.

“We only really found out he was going on Love Island a few days before,” he said.

Although the couple did not win, Ciaran had made everyone proud, he said.

“He’s been a great ambassador for the club and has come across as a really good guy.

“I never thought I’d end up watching Love Island but it’s been on every night.”

Team captain Sam Grabham added: “I really don’t think if Wales had made it to the World Cup final you’d have seen more people in here than have turned up tonight.

“I’ve even seen banners on bridges along the M4 saying ‘C’mon Ciaran!'”