Back in January, Davide Sanclimenti took to social media to reveal his new relationship, sharing the happy news with his Instagram followers. The 30-year-old, who won series 8 of Love Island back in 2022, posted a photo of entrepreneur girlfriend Iris Au with the caption, "Happy Lunar New Year! 🧧⛩️🥳 #JanuaryDump"
While the comments section was full of people sharing their support for the couple, and complimenting the new relationship, others were more speculative of Davide's timing - linking it to the fact his ex-girlfriend, Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, was in the Love Island All Stars villa at the time.
In response, he took to Instagram again to share how he had "faced an ongoing campaign of misinformation and targeted attacks designed to paint me as someone I am not", adding that he has seen "undeniable evidence" that has led him to believe a "defamation campaign."
Now, Davide opens up about his new relationship for the first time, sharing how he and Iris met, details of when they moved in together - and what he actually thinks of All Stars.
Hello, Davide and Iris! How did you two meet?
Davide: Neither of us were looking to go in a relationship. But we met through a common friend at a group dinner last May. Since that moment, we've been basically inseparable - talking and seeing each other every day. Since the beginning, there's probably been three days that we haven't stayed together, in basically nine months.
Iris: It was through a mutual friend from Dubai, but the dinner was in LA. We were supposed to just meet as friends, as we had both broken up from our last relationships in January and were still trying to move on. I found it difficult to trust after a previous relationship, but with Davide, it was just very natural. We're both coming from a place where we're both healing each other - we really do laugh non-stop. He's my best friend, and there's no real effort involved.
Had you watched Love Island before you started dating?
Iris: I've never watched the show before, so when he first told me his name was Davide, I was like, 'What kind of name is Davide?' In America, we don't pronounce it that way. So then he goes, 'OK, Iris [pronounced Eh-reece]' And I say, 'If you call me [Eh-reece] one more time, I'm going to call you David.'
Davide: Iris is actually one of my favourite desserts that we have in Sicily, that my dad was used to bring me every morning when I was a kid. So that's why I was calling her Iris.
Iris reminded me of the values that I grew up with - having family peace and being grounded. I saw how she's so nice, not just with me, but also with people around us. I fell in love with the way she treated me and the fact she let me feel human again.
When did you move in with each other?
Davide: In the first couple of months, she was coming over to my place all the time, as I had just moved to LA. We then went on a trip to South America and moved in together afterwards, at the end of August.
Iris, you have two daughters. What is Davide like with them?
They absolutely adore him. It feels like I have three kids! They're good together because they just play all the time. They love him. He has a youthful soul that my daughters can vibe with, and I can really see how much love they have for each other. He's a good step-dad.
Davide: I love them, they're adorable. It's also nice because Iris has a beautiful relationship with her ex-husband. I see him often because her daughters come to us the weekends. So I see him when he drops them off, or when we pick them up. It's a nice healthy relationship environment.
Iris: I go to his wife's birthday, she goes to mine. We celebrate the kids' birthdays together. I'm so blessed to have a good relationship with my ex.
