When the previous participants got to vote for the winning couple, there was no question about it. Ruslan Sultanov and Moa Melin took home ten out of eleven votes and can call themselves winners of the latest season of the reality show "Paradise Hotel" ahead of the other final couple, Tilde Gustafsson and Benjamin Flygge.
Once at the so-called ball ceremony, there was a major rift between the previously close-knit duo when Sultanov, to the great cheers of many fellow competitors, broke the couple's pact, smashed the golden ball and walked away with 200,000 kronor. The rest of the winning money, 300,000 kronor, was shared by the other participants, while Moa Melin – who lost the final in 2024 – went without a ticket.
Since it's money I didn't have, it's money I don't lose, so I'm happy for him, says Moa Melin, who notes that the strong emotions of the finale have had time to drain away since the recording in March.
There are absolutely no “hard feelings.” Games are games.
"Honk and drive"
What makes me happiest is that we won the vote so big and that everyone else was happy with us, says Ruslan Sultanov, who had decided to throw the ball beforehand and didn't dare trust that his partner wouldn't do the same.
She had no plans for that, Melin claims.
My attitude when I got there was also that if I got to the final and won, I would throw, but I liked Ruslan so much, so I couldn't have taken that away from him.
They were both certain of victory. However, neither of them sees a clear recipe for victory for future participants.
I'm completely crazy and Ruslan is nice and nice. He's friends with everything and everyone, I'm not friends with everything and everyone. Just be yourself, honk and drive, says Moa Melin.
Going to buy socks
Ruslan Sultanov is relieved that the 42-episode season, which followed many months of silence, is over. The prize money will go towards saving and helping his family, he says.
And new socks. I only brought one with me today.
In parallel with the final being shown on TV, the next season finale is being filmed in Mexico. Ruslan Sultanov answers yes with some hesitation when asked if he would like to participate again in the future. For Moa Melin there is no doubt:
110 percent.
Two final pairs are pitted against each other and the previous participants who have been voted out during the season get to choose which pair they want to send to the final by backing the pair they think is the most worthy winner. In the final, the winning pair stands with a glass ball in each hand.
The host puts up 50,000 kronor at a time and the finalists can choose to throw the ball into the ground or hold on to it until the next level. If both of them hold on to the ball the whole way, they win 250,000 kronor each. If either of them throws the ball before the host has reached 250,000, the participant who threw it gets to keep the amount he or she threw, while the remaining participants (except the other winner) get to share the money that is left over.
