Samie Elishi dropped a bombshell confession after she finished in third place on the 2023 winter series of Love Island, admitting that fame was her true motive for joining the show – not romance. The TV star, 24, made the confession during an appearance on Chloe Burrow’s podcast Chloe vs The World.

Samie had appeared on Chloe’s podcast in the weeks prior to her split from then-boyfriend Tom Clare, who was rather awkwardly sat beside her as she made the confession.

During her appearance on Chloe’s show, Samie was quizzed about her intentions for participating in Love Island: “Did you go on Love Island for love or did you go on for exposure? ” Without hesitation, the London-based reality star confessed: “I’m going to be honest, mine was the second one. I didn’t expect to meet anyone.”

Tom shared a different perspective, claiming his goal was to find a partner, though he quickly felt out of luck: “I think mine was I really wanted to meet someone, but in the first two weeks I was like, ‘I’m stuffed here, there’s no one for me.”

Interrupting Tom with a hint of sarcasm, Samie challenged the notion that the quest for love is genuine on the show, exclaiming: “It’s f***ing Love Island! ” Host Chloe Burrows also chimed in, revealing she played up relationships during her own stint on the show just to secure her spot, reports the Mirror.

Following his split from Samie, Tom returned to the Love Island villa for the recent All Stars series, where he found love with fellow ex-islander Molly Smith. Meanwhile, Samie has embarked on a relationship with footballer turned TOWIE star, Harry Lee.

Confirming the romance last month, Samie shared a sweet birthday message to her new beau. Taking to her Instagram story, the TV star shared a snap of her and Harry kissing, to which she added the text: “Happiest of birthdays to youuu [heart emoji]”

Prior to her new romance, it had been reported that Samie had dropped out of appearing on Love Island All Stars after it was announced that Tom would be entering as a bombshell.

At the time, an insider told The Sun: “It’s fair to say Samie and Tom don’t really get on these days. There’s too much water under the bridge now. The idea of being back in the Cape Town villa – the same one where they first fell in love – was too much for Samie so once she heard Tom was in the mix it was an immediate ‘hell no’ to bosses.”