Why did Love Island Australia's Lucinda Strafford and Zac Nunns split?

17 September 2025, 01:20 | Updated: 2 February 2026, 15:04

Love Island Australia's Lucinda Strafford and Zac Nunns came second on season 5. Picture: Nine

By Abbie Reynolds

Love Island Games' Lucinda Stafford found love with Zac Nunn on Love Island Australia, but why did they split? Here's what happened.

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Love Island's Lucinda Strafford is back on our screens for Love Island Games, filmed in fiji and hosted by Vanderpump rules' Ariana Madix.

While most of us first met Lucinda during Love Island UK back in 2021, where she was dumped alongside Aaron Francis on day 28, she went on to try out the Australia version of the show two years later.

Lucinda became the first-ever British contestant to appear on Love Island Australia in 2023. She had a pretty perfect villa experience, meeting Zac Nunn and making it to the final with him, where they came second behind Kale Roberts and Tyra Johannes.

But now that she's looking for love and a challenge on Love Island Games, we're all wondering, what happened between her and Zac? Here are all the details on why they split.

Read more: How to watch Love Island Games in the UK

Why did Love Island's Lucinda and Zac split?

After Lucinda and Zac met on Love Island Australia, they had a fun time travelling together, with Zac telling Nine: "After the show wrapped up I went straight to the UK with Lucinda, then we went to Paris, Portugal and travelled around the UK together. We had the best time."

They went to try and maintain their long‑distance relationship, often travelling between the countries to visit each other. Zac even went on to reveal plans to move to the UK, saying: "Eventually I'm going to move in with Lucinda in the UK."

Sadly, just months later in February 2024, Zac announced they had split, telling fans he did "not feel too good about the situation".

Later, speaking on his podcast, The Zac and Trent Show, Zac revealed that the reason they split was because Lucinda had been texting with another man while they were still together.

Lucinda and Zac after Love Island Australia season 5. Picture: Instagram

He explained: "I picked her up from a party... then she gets a text from this unknown number and it's like, 'Hope you enjoy the rest of your night, talk later x'.

"I was like, 'Who the hell is this?' And I opened it and there were all these messages that she's been talking to this guy the whole time behind my back."

He continued: "I was devastated, I couldn't believe it. I'd gone to Portugal for three days, and she'd been talking to this guy the whole time."

Talking about the moment he read the messages, he said: "It was crazy, it was a soul-destroying moment...I had a few people [warn me about her], but I didn't want to believe it."

Lucinda hasn't spoken out about his claims.

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A post shared by Zac Nunns (@zacnunns)

Zac revealed the reason for their split when it was reported that Lucinda was dating DJ Nathan Dawe. Lucinda's rumoured romance with the DJ was short-lived with her confirming she was "recently single" soon after.

Since this relationship, Lucinda hasn't been romantically linked with anyone else. Zac also hasn't been linked to anyone and his Instagram still includes multiple posts of them together.