Love Island winners Davide Sanclimenti and Ekin-Su Culculoglu shared a kiss as they landed back in the UK following the final of the ITV2 dating show.
The couple posed for pictures with fans as they left Stansted Airport hand in hand after flying in from Majorca on Wednesday.
Ekin-Su, wearing a denim jacket and leather trousers, was handed a bouquet of flowers as she arrived with Italian business owner Davide, who wore a grey hooded sweatshirt and jeans.
Davide became emotional after being reunited with his friends and, after sharing hugs and laughter with them, removed his sunglasses to wipe away tears.
Shouts of his “Liar” catchphrase – which was born out of an argument with Ekin-Su – could be heard coming from the crowd of friends and family as they joked with each other.
Runners-up Gemma Owen and Luca Bish were greeted by family as they left the terminal, with Gemma also handed a bouquet of white flowers.
Tasha Ghouri, who came fourth in the live final with Andrew Le Page, screamed and ran with open arms towards her father Tarek, who lifted her off the ground in an embrace.
He then presented her with a large bunch of flowers.
After Andrew received hugs and kisses from his own family, he shared a heartfelt moment with Tasha’s father as the two men hugged and shook hands.
All the couples posed for photos and took selfies with fans who had waited patiently outside the terminal.
Love Island fan Natasha, 22, from Tooting in London, said she believes Dami and Indiyah will stay together long into the future.
She told the PA news agency: “I voted for them so many times. I think they’ll move in together in due course.
“I feel like they’ll stay together as well, I don’t think they’re going to be that couple that break up after six months.”
Reflecting on the firm comments Indiyah’s mother made to Dami when she visited the villa, she added: “I think it was fair. I think Dami needed telling.”
She also said her favourite part of the show’s eighth series had been Davide’s comedic comments, which led him to become a meme on social media.
She said: “Davide’s one-liners, ‘You’re a liar, actress, get out!’, yeah I loved that.”
Secondary school student Amelia, 14, and her mother Anne Curtis, 46, had been waiting for the islanders to return before heading off on their own holiday to Turkey.
Self-proclaimed “super fan” Amelia said she had watched the series from start to finish and said she was “very excited” to see her “favourite” couple of the series, Ekin-Su and Davide.
She also said she had previously met Ekin-Su’s younger brother, who featured on the show when the islanders’ families paid a visit to the villa.
“I met her brother earlier and I got a photo with him,” she told PA.
Anne jokingly added: “I’m 46 and I’m still a fan.”
Monday night’s finale saw Ekin-Su and Davide crowned the winners and take home the £50,000 prize money.
ITV subsequently revealed they had been the clear winners of the public vote with 63.7%.
Gemma and Luca were in second place with 14.5%, Indiyah Polack and Dami Hope came third with 11.8%, and Tasha and Andrew scored 10.1%.
The latest series launched to a consolidated five million viewers across all devices, according to ITV, making it the biggest launch since 2019.
ITV has also announced there will be two series of the show in 2023 – a winter series in South Africa and a summer series in Majorca.
