Sammy Root reveals why he hasn’t spent a PENNY of £50k Love Island prize fund five months after winning
LOVE Island star Sammy Root may have won the show's £50k prize fund, but he has no intention of spending it soon.
Sammy, 22, and his ex-girlfriend Jess Harding, 23, came first in the ITV2 show's summer series back in July - splitting the cash between them.
But, after five whole months, he's yet to dip into his winnings.
In an interview with The Sun, the former project manager explained why he's hesitant to start splashing the cash freely.
He said, "It's a very, very big privilege to be voted the winner - and I think therefore the money you get for it, I definitely wouldn't want to waste.
"I mean, right now, I'm just just holding onto it, keeping my pockets deep. But yeah, waiting for the future to see if there's something I really could use that money for to better myself, really.
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"So yeah, just being very safe with it in a minute."
Sammy and Jess beat fan favourites Whitney Adebayo and Lochan Nowacki to the top spot on July 31.
Tyrique Hyde and Ella Thomas came in third place, while Molly Marsh and Zachariah Noble landed in fourth.
But just three months afterwards, Jess told him the relationship was over by phone, choosing not to wait for a face-to-face conversation before making the news public.
We revealed how Sammy was left "blindsided" by the move as she partied in Ibiza and refused his pleas to talk in person.
A source close to the couple said: “Sammy feels blindsided by the entire situation.
"He hasn't had any time to process Jess' decision privately and she didn't even give him the respect to speak face-to-face about her decision to end the relationship.
"Sammy was absolutely under the impression they could work things out once seeing each other in person again.
"He is completely gutted about the split.”
