Love Island star CONFIRMS romance with EastEnders actress with slew of loved up snaps following months of relationship rumours

Daily Mail​

22-07-2025

Love Island Michael Griffiths has confirmed his romance with EastEnders actress Rukku Nahar following months of relationship rumours.
The reality star, 33, who appeared on the ITV show back in 2019, shared a slew of loved up snaps with the stunner, 29, as they watched Oleksandr take on Daniel Dubois for the heavyweight boxing championship at Wembley Stadium.
Michael and Rukku first set tongues wagging back in October when they attended the London premiere of Venom: The Last Dance together, but until now have not until gone Instagram official.
The lovebirds could not keep their hands off each other as they packed on the PDA and shared a smooch while watching the big fight.
In the caption Michael gushed over Rukku, who played Habiba Ahmed in the BBC soap until 2020, and said: 'Her first official fight night. And what a night it was, here's to many more adventures'.
Michael was vilified by the Love Island viewers when he dumped fellow Amber Gill for Joanna Chimonides in dramatic scenes from his series.
But in 2020 told MailOnline that he didn't hold any 'grudges' against his former flame after she went onto win the £50,000 cash prize.
'There's no point in me holding grudges and what happened in the past, happened in the past. If you hold onto it it's just going to upset you even more,' he said.
Amber was mortified after Michael returned from Casa Amor with another woman – but the brutal dumping earned her the respect of the nation.
Amber went on to become one of the most lucrative islanders from the 2019 series, following high-profile deals with the likes of Misspap and Littlewoods.
Michael admits he has 'no regrets' from his time in the villa and he's happy to remain single for the foreseeable future. He said: 'I don't regret anything from that point of view.
'After Love Island, I found it difficult to date, right now the way I see it I just have to concentrate on myself and becoming the best version of myself I can be by concentrating on work and my career.
After the show, Michael moved from his native Liverpool to Essex where he lived with former co-stars Jordan Hames, Chris Taylor and Danny Williams.
The boys starred together in MTV's Living The Dream, a digital series filmed during the pandemic.
In the caption Michael gushed over Rukku and said: 'Her first official fight night. And what a night it was, here's to many more adventures'
Meanwhile the latest series has seen Harrison Solomon's treatment of Lauren Wood and Toni Laites condemned by viewers.
But much to Harrison's dismay, Women's Aid also criticised his actions by releasing a damning statement claiming his behaviour 'reinforces a culture that excuses and trivialises violence against women and girls.'
The Derby-born Islander had a relationship with US waitress Toni before embarking on a new romance with Lauren after meeting her in rival villa Casa Amor, with the couple becoming the first to have sex on the ITV2 show this series.
But Harrison then sparked outrage by convincing Toni, who was unaware he had slept with Lauren, to rekindle, leaving the distraught influencer in floods of tears.
Shortly after their bedroom antics were exposed, Lauren was dumped from the villa and followed out the door by Harrison, who was quickly informed of Women's Aid's criticism which left him dumbstruck.
Breaking his silence in an exclusive interview with MailOnline, Harrison insisted the charity was wrong to call him out and claims the nature of the statement upset his family.
He said: 'I have seen the backlash and it's hard to digest. I would disagree with a lot of it in terms of my respect for women, I do respect women.
'The worst has been from Women's Aid. I know myself and the girls on the show too, Toni said she knows I'm not a bad person, just went about situations in the wrong way, but the Women's Aid statement wasn't nice... it's not nice coming out of the villa to my mum upset by that so I would say that's been the hardest.'
He added: 'To the women I have hurt, I am obviously sorry.
'I got it wrong and the back and forth between the two connections caused more harm than I ever intended.
'It wasn't ever an ego thing. I am not proud of how I handled things and I'm not going to make excuses.
'I just want to own it. If people can give me the space to grow from it, I will do everything I can to be better and that's the only thing I can do.
'There is no handbook for how to be on a show like Love Island. It's instincts and intentions. I got some of it right, but I know I got a lot of it wrong, and I know that now.'
Harrison said the statement issued by Women's Aid, which commented on women being 'lied to, slut-shamed, and laughed at behind their backs' was particularly detrimental given the close relationship he shares with his mother and younger sister.