Ekin-Su Finally Found Someone Who Matches Her Freak

Ask a Love Island fan which season is the most iconic, and they’ll probably say Season 5—with Season 8 as a close second. Season 5 had it all: romances, redemption arcs, infuriating men, explosive fights, and two of the show’s biggest stars, Molly-Mae Hague and Maura Higgins. Season 8 had Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu.

The former Turkish-soap-opera star injected new life into the series. She crawled on a terrace to conceal an elicit kiss, challenged a bombshell to a pancake-making contest, and delivered one of the most captivating enemies-to-lovers arcs on reality TV. Some accused her of being a “producer plant.” All that drama couldn’t possibly be real, right? But Ekin-Su—and those who know her well—have always insisted she was just being herself.

Ekin-Su emerged from the villa a winner, with both a boyfriend and one of the biggest followings in the show’s history. She went on to try other reality shows, like The Traitors (US) and Celebrity Big Brother. And earlier this year, she made her return to the villa for Love Island: All Stars Season 2—getting to the finale and leaving with a boyfriend, ballroom dancer and Season 5 star Curtis Pritchard.

Once again, Ekin-Su (and Curtis) faced accusations of “faking it.” But true believers swear the romance is real: This is just what it looks like when two theater kids fall in love. They punctuate dramatic fights with passionate kisses, write “I <3 U” in fruit, and deliver some of the most unhinged stripteases you’ve ever seen. Plus, if we punish anyone who delivers the drama we say we want, won’t reality TV get really boring?

When I sat down with Ekin-Su, I had a lot of questions: Did she ask to be the first bombshell on both her seasons? What’s going through her head when she delivers an iconic moment? And how often are viewers really misled by “the edit”? She mostly confirmed my suspicions: We viewers aren’t stupid—and when she’s crawling on a terrace, she’s not thinking about us at all.

Set the scene for me. You’re walking into the villa for the first time on your original season. How do you feel? What are you thinking? What are you hoping for?

Gosh—that’s so long ago now! Well, definitely a lot of adrenaline and a lot of confidence. 

I remember my first walk in that night, and I just knew exactly what I wanted. I felt so excited to bring the drama—show them what a real bombshell is, you know? I hadn’t really seen a bombshell bombshelling in a long time. So I thought, I’m going to bring the drama. I’m going to bring everything I’ve said I would. And I did.

It was one of my best summers ever, where my life pretty much changed.

How does that compare to how you felt walking into the All Stars villa this time? 

This time around, I went in very open-minded. And I’m not going to lie, I had doubts. It wasn’t an easy decision, where I was like, ‘You know what? It’s going to work out.’ But I thought to myself, it’s a risk. And I definitely want to rewrite my story—and, you know, have fun. 

And why can’t I go back to something that made me who I am? Why can’t I go to a place where it’s safe, where it’s a familiar atmosphere? Why can’t 30-year-old Ekin come back as a bombshell? 

What part of your story did you want to rewrite?

Everything. I just thought, the person I am now is going to bring different things than the person you saw three years ago. So for me, it was rewriting everything—the way I move, the way I speak, the way I think. It was exciting. 

When you were in talks to join All Stars, did you have any preferences about when or how you’d show up? Was it just a coincidence that you were the first bombshell on both of your seasons, or did you ask for that?

Oh, that is not even a question. Ekin-Su would never come back unless it’s the iconic entrance. I mean, we all know there’s no way the producers would put me as an original. That wouldn’t make sense. If I’m coming in, I’m coming in as a big shock, and the entrance had to be an iconic one.

Definitely—in your dress, the pearls, everything.

Oh my god, the pearls. That dress, when I saw it, I thought to myself, ‘God, I know what that dress would be good for.’ However, the pearls did fall a lot—I remember it was a nightmare by the end of the night.

Many people accuse you of “acting” on the show, but those who know you insist you’re just being yourself. What’s going through your mind when you deliver an iconic moment, like when you crawled on the terrace or kissed Curtis mid-dramatic fight?

I’m not really thinking or feeling anything—it’s just who I am. I’m like that behind closed doors. I am entertaining. I am over the top. I wear my heart on my sleeve. And I think a lot of people can relate to that. 

As a TV show, it’s going to look edited. It’s all amplified. And it looks almost like a performance, but it’s not. In certain argument scenes, there’s that intense background music. And if there’s a love scene, they put lovely songs in the back. It makes it into more of a movie for you—more entertaining for the audience to watch. 

The crawling was all me. People did question back then: “Was it produced? Is she a producer plant?” No, it’s all organic. I didn’t even know people were saying that. I take that as a huge compliment. I mean, I’ll take that. I feel like reality TV fits my personality very well. 

When things like that happen, are you aware it’s going to become an iconic moment?

No, no, no. I’m not thinking about the outside. I’m living in that moment. For me, everything is raw and heightened and intense. When I’m feeling sad, I feel sad sad. When I’m feeling happy and love, it’s 10 times. 

You won your original season and made it to the finale of All Stars—and left both seasons in long-term relationships. Why do you think you’ve been so successful on the show?

Oh, I don’t know. I think I’ve just been myself.

I’m not going to lie, it was very overwhelming when I came out. I thought, wow, this is mad. A lot of people love me, and I never thought I deserved that love. I think what keeps me going in my life and career is just being who I am. And no matter what happens—whether I hit rock bottom, or people tell me I can’t, or there’s rumors—I keep saying to myself: I know who I am. I know what I bring to the table. I love myself, and no one’s going to knock me down. I think that mentality keeps me going. 

And yeah, you know, I do like TV. I love being on TV, and I’ll own that. There’s nothing wrong with me owning that. If there’s another TV opportunity that I think I’ll have fun on, I’ll take it, you know?

Are there any TV opportunities you’d be especially excited to pursue after this?

Personally, I love dancing. I did ballet for like 12 years. So something like Dancing with the Stars would be quite fun to do. Anything competitive—passionate—I would love to do that sort of journey. 

But preferably, I would like to host my own show and come up with a new concept that’s my idea.

That’s cool. Do you have any things you’re thinking about? 

I have some stuff, but it’s all discussions at the minute. But it’s on my mind.

I feel like I’ve been the contestant for a long time. I’ve just done another project, not long ago now, as a contestant—I won’t say. But I really want to start hosting and getting into acting more. That’s definitely on the cards. 

Why do you think your relationship with Curtis works so well?

Because we accept each other.

Coming out of the villa, we’ve been private. I’ve spent time with his family. I’ve met his really good friends. I’ve analyzed his life. He’s met my family. I feel like there’s a lot of things that I find very similar in myself. 

He’s a nice guy. He is. He’s just very supportive. I actually feel like someone in my life listens to me for once. Vice versa, I will always support him with his passions.

Everything is very healthy. We let each other live our own lives. I will support Curtis with his goals—boxing. I want him happy. And he’s the same. He wants to make sure I’m doing my acting, everything that I love. Because when we do what we love, we’re better people together.

Being here now, and experiencing this relationship, what advice would you give to your younger self?

Ooh, I would say you will definitely have to kiss a few ugly frogs. [Laughs]

Sometimes, you’re not lucky with the first boyfriends—you think they mean the world to you and you’re going to marry them. There’s an idea of love that we’ve been fed since we were kids, about Cinderella and all this stuff. But actually, love is complicated. It’s not always the happy ending, and things happen that you can’t control. And you just have to sometimes let people go.

And it’s okay to have more than one boyfriend. You know, one year you break up, and you might meet someone else, and you should allow yourself to fall in love again and again. There’s nothing wrong with that. You might feel different love for different men in your life, but never shy away from believing in it.

When we watch the show at home, we think we understand what’s going on in the villa—who’s feeling what, being shady, feeling isolated, etc. But post-show, castmates often say we got it wrong and blame the edit. In your experience, how often are we accurately sensing what’s happening vs. falling for “the edit”?

I think the audience isn’t stupid. If you can read a person, you can read a person, no matter how good of an actor they are on Love Island. You can definitely see the mask falling off. It doesn’t matter what you see that’s edited—a person’s personality will shine through.

I always feel like the audience relates best to people that have gone through a journey on the show—someone that’s more vulnerable. You sort of activate their hearts that way. And I feel like when you have no journey on Love Island and it’s quite plain sailing, it’s almost like, ‘Well, have you been tested? You might as well date on the outside.’

I feel like Love Island is a test. And I specifically love the idea of bombshells walking in and doing things and trying things. My different sort of emotions come out that I don’t really like to show sometimes, but you can’t help it. 

How would you describe the edit you received on Love Island? 

I mean, that is who I am. There’s nothing I would change. 

I just wish you guys saw 24 hours of us. You know, you don’t see us at lunch. I wish you guys could see who’s real at lunch time. Usually, I would plate food up for my partner every lunch. And none of you would see that, but it was quite sweet. And then after lunch, all of a sudden, some couples just somehow click when it’s camera-rolling time. I wish you guys could see all of it. Maybe people’s opinions might change. 

What do you think of your edit on other shows, like The Traitors and Celebrity Big Brother?

On all these shows, I was in a different part of my life. Big Brother was part of my life where I wasn’t myself. I’d just done The Traitors (US) and had a dramatic exit where I died in a coffin. There were a lot of other emotions I just didn’t deal with. I needed healing, and I needed therapy. And I actually shouldn’t have gone into the Big Brother house. 

I didn’t realize at the time how bad it would be for my mental health. And I was very defensive on there. Looking back, I do not recognize that Ekin—it’s sad. God, I wish I could love myself more back then. But if I went in the house now, I definitely wouldn’t be acting the way I did then. But everything I’ve done, I never regret. Every show, I’ve learned something about me and the people I meet.

I definitely feel like I’ve loved myself more recently. I can say that out loud without being scared. I love me, and some people might not like that. But hey, there’s nothing wrong with being a confident woman. I think we should uplift each other and celebrate being powerful and strong and sexy and wonderful.

I thought your exit on The Traitors was so sad. All you did was drink wine!

I just want a good time! You can see that’s just me. I was tipsy. And I’m not going to lie, I thought Parvati was cute. She was like, ‘I love you, Ekin!’ And I was like, ‘I love you too!’ We all have those moments when we’re out.

We’ve already touched on this, but if you could wave a magic wand and make your dream opportunity happen, what would you do?

My dream would be acting in a movie—a thriller. Give me a scene, even a short scene. That would be iconic. Then I’ll know I’ve made it. 

It’s been a while since I’ve acted, and it’s something I genuinely love doing. It keeps me going. I’ve done it all my life, pretty much. And I haven’t done it in like, three years. I’m itching to learn a script and be a different character. Yeah, that would be my dream. 

*Some quotes have been edited and condensed for clarity.

Photographer: George Chinsee

Creative Director: Stephanie Cui

Makeup: Andrea Ventura

Hair: Sky Kim

Outfits: Jonathan Marc Stein