LOVE Island star Samie Elishi said her romance with Towie’s Harry Lee was not out of the blue after falling for each other months ago.
Last month The Sun revealed that the pair had been secretly dating for a number of weeks.
But now Samie, 24, has told The Sun that she and Harry have been friends for years and their romance heated up in the last year.
The stunning brunette exclusively told us: “Me and Harry are going really well, we’re still together and going strong.
“We’ve been together for a while and it’s important at the beginning of a relationship to just spend time together and get to know each other, that’s why we kept it quiet at first.
“But I’ve actually known him for years, we’ve been friends for a long time.”
Samie split from fellow Love Island co-star Tom Clare last year after they struggled to make their relationship work long distance.
But Samie is not making the same mistake again – saying she and Essex lad Harry are making regular effort to see each other, especially as they’re only a short distance from each other.
“I live in London and he lives in Essex, it’s just a little drive, so I don’t see it as long distance,” she said.
As for plans on setting up house together, Samie shared: “You can’t put a time on moving in together, so we”ll just see but not anytime soon.”
TV favourite Samie said her new fella won her over with his charming sense of humour, which has kept her in fits of giggles.
The star praised him: “My favourite quality of Harry’s…probably his sense of humour, we’ve both quite funny.”
A source told us last month: “They met out and about in Essex and have mutual friends.
“They are super close and have been spending a lot of time together.
“Samie and Harry are definitely in the honeymoon stage and have enjoyed getting to know each other out of the spotlight.”
Harry shot to fame on the 24th series of Towie back in 2019.
The footballer’s relationships with Frankie Sims played out on our screens until he left three seasons later.
Meanwhile Samie appeared on the ninth series of Love Island in 2023.
Samie told us that she will still be tuning into the new summer series but is hoping for a major shake-up, adding: “Love Island is full of surprises, you never know what’s round the corner. I reckon this new one has to have something up their sleeve that they’ve never done before.”
The beauty placed fourth on the show alongside her ex Tom, who has found love with Molly Smith after appearing on the All Stars series.
Samie, who attended the Sol de Janeiro event on Wednesday to celebrating the launch of their NEW Rio Radiance SPF50 Collection, looked glam in a cream thigh-high split skirt and chocolate-brown crop top.
She was joined by a host of famous faces including Zara McDermott, Claudia Fogarty, Hannah Elizabeth, Abi Moores and Towie star Harry Derbidge.
