Justice for Kai and Sanam! The Love Island winners dealt the sh*t end of the stick

Winter Love Island, eh? It comes and goes like a chilly, snowflake shaped fart in the wind. ITV 2 did not learn the hard way that doing their behemoth, cultural reset of a reality dating show during the winter months doesn’t hit the same way it does in the summer when their original winter season flopped back at the very start of 2020. Instead, we were all forced to endure another season of it at the start of 2022. That is, those that actually tuned in to it were. Whilst I think it had slightly more juice than its older 2020 sister, the winter Love Island venture once again made minimal ripples in the pop culture pools beyond a TikTok farmer going in. But there was one thing that was good about that season: The winners, Kai Fagan and Sanam Harrinanan. Two genuinely lovely people, a happy couple still together – but one you hear nothing about. As Kai and Sanam start to speak out about their lack of opportunities, I present to you: JUSTICE FOR KAI AND SANAM – the Love Island couple who simply deserve better.

First off, a euphoric win

Kai and Sanam winning Love Island was a sigh of relief. They really deserved it. Beating the turbulent and, quite frankly, boring Ron and Lana to the win just felt… nice. Wholesome. Deserved. Kai met Sanam in Casa Amor, and after having a less than great time in the villa up til that point it felt like everything started to click for them. The two refused to engage in drama, and emerged from the season looking mature, loved up and happy. They still are. So surely the two were destined for the huge success of other winners before them?

Kai and Sanam speak out about feeling like they didn’t get the same opportunities as other winners

Over six months on from their Love Island victory, Kai and Sanam have shared a pretty candid conversation about how they feel like they haven’t been given the same opportunities as other winners of the franchise. Winners of Love Island, and even those who don’t even come close to such a title, are used to leaving the villa and getting a huge amount of followers – securing influencer jobs for life and brand deals, magazine shoots and reality TV opportunities elsewhere. Kai and Sanam feel like they’ve not received the same treatment, and it’s easy to see why.

“People have asked us, ‘why did you never get daytime TV when you came out the villa’,” Kai began in the clip. “‘Why did you never do photoshoots in the tabloids?’ And the answer is we don’t know. We have no answer to that. We don’t really know why all previous Love Island winners before us, and after us, got opportunities.

“There’s no justification for it. I feel like since we’ve come out the villa all we’ve done is spend time with each other.” Sanam added that since the show they’ve focused on finding and building a home together, which Kai added has been “the most important thing to us.”

Kai explained they didn’t go on the show and “expect” any opportunities and they instead went on to find love which they said they have. “We’re really happy with that,” he said. “The things that come with it – maybe we weren’t what they wanted. Not what they wanted Love Island winners to be, because we don’t cause drama…we don’t do certain things other Love Island winners do. Maybe that’s your answer, maybe it’s something else.”

So what’s gone on here? Kai and Sanam go on to talk about their diversity, with Sanam being Indian and Caribbean and Kai being Jamaican English – and that this is a huge thing for representation on one of the country’s biggest platforms. So why aren’t they given the same respect as other Love Island winners?

JUSTICE FOR KAI AND SANAM! IMMEDIATELY!

It’s true: Kai and Sanam are hardly the chaos worthy of media frenzy like Erin-Su and Davide, who won the summer season of Love Island before before calling it quits this last month. But just because a couple are happy and not in the press every five seconds for a scandal does not mean they should get less chance to be in the public eye than others. Kai and Sanam are less explosive than their peers, but I wouldn’t say that they’re boring. A scroll through their socials is a different kind of entertainment. They’re soothing, they’re positive and they’re people I’d want to spend time with.

Kai and Sanam deserved better. They deserved to take that win in a season everyone was hooked on – and I do think that the fact they were the guinea pig season for Islanders to not have their socials running via friends and family significantly harmed their chances for growth. They aren’t sulking, and they are happy and went on the show for the right reasons – I just wish the general public and the media valued that more.

For all the latest Love Island news and gossip and for the best memes and quizzes, like The Holy Church of Love Island on Facebook.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Kai and Sanam talk about disappointment not being offered any opportunities after Love Island

• ‘Never say never’: Scott just high-key said he and Catherine might get back together

• Revealed: The amount of cash the Love Island 2023 cast can earn on Instagram

Featured image courtesy of @kaifagan_