Hopefully by now you've all had time to watch the first TOWIE trailer for series 36 – and more importantly, time to recover from it.
PUSHING, gossiping, tears, drama, relationship curveballs, wild insults (uncle?), PUSHING. Our jaws have only just left the floor.
One of the key storylines set to play out in the new season is the demise of Elma Pazar and Sammy Root's relationship. The TOWIE lovers solidified their romance on this year's Love Island: All Stars and even made it to the final of the show together. They dated for a few weeks after, and looked loved-up while filming series 35 of TOWIE but, soon enough, we learned the couple had split.
Almost immediately after that, we learned that all would be revealed on TOWIE series 36 (surprise surprise), and now here we are.
The trailer has given us one big insight: it was an emotional split for both of them. Both Sammy and Elma can be seen in tears in the trailer, with Sammy even admitting, 'This is why I hate getting feelings,' before Elma says, 'I want magic and I feel like I'm getting mediocre.'
In our minds, this is leaning towards Elma doing the dumping, but we won't know for sure until TOWIE returns later this month and we get the specifics.
Elma did, however, open up about her 'emotional' split from Sammy with Closer Online at ITV2's Reality Showcase, saying, 'I've got my own sh*t going on [this series]. There's a lot that will unravel, obviously, between me and Sammy.'
She continued, '[It was] very emotional – on both ends, as well. I think that makes it even harder.'
Despite the emotional rollercoaster, Elma stressed that she stands by the decisions she's made on the show this series, adding, 'As long as you're confident in what you've done, which I am, then you stand by it. Ride that wave.'
Elma and Sammy parted ways around June 2025, a few months after leaving the Love Island villa in South Africa. Their split was described as 'raw and emotional' at the time, and although they have separated, there is reportedly still a lot of love between them.
When Closer online asked Elma to discuss her turbulent time in the All Stars villa (during which she catastrophically clashed with Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and received backlash from the public), she stressed that although she had a great time on All Stars, she's moved on from the experience and didn't want to comment any further...
TOWIE series 36 begins on ITV2 and ITVX on Sunday 17 August and kicks off with a cast trip to Portugal – which even for a TOWIE cast trip, looks wild.
