ITV2’s hit television show Love Island is back to satiate our need for drama this summer with new bombshells and six-packed hunks.
This season’s hot topic contestant is none other than British Turkish actress and model Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu.
The 27-year-old Essex girl has topped worldwide trends on Twitter multiple times and had viewers’ jaws dropping with her antics since the moment she showed up in the villa located on the Spanish island of Majorca.
Jumping from one Italian man to the other as she tries to find “the love of her life”, Ekin-Su has already secured her title as the ‘Official Drama Instigator’ of Love Island 2022.
In one scene, she awkwardly breaks into SpongeBob’s theme song, crawling on the terrace floor to have a Romeo-Juliet moment with Jay, while absolutely pissing off her existing flame Davide.
Ekin-Su has a point to prove. She’s entered the villa determined to make her mark. A TV icon and legend in the making, she is very much of the moment!
Who is Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu?
So, who exactly is our new troublemaker that’s got all the boys’ heads turning?
Ekin-Su is a Performing Arts graduate from Central Lancashire University, where she went by the stage name “Susie Hayzel”.
Finding out her real Turkish name, Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, through the show came as a bit of a shocker to her college friends who “only ever knew her as Susie”.
“Everybody knew who she was at university, and she made sure of that. We only ever knew her as Susie though, and it was a surprise when she started going by the name Ekin-Su,” one source told the Daily Mail.
“She had a strong Essex accent at university, which has changed a lot since she pursued her acting dreams in Turkey. Ekin-Su always wanted to be famous, she studied performing arts and after uni competed in Miss World, Miss Ireland, and Miss Central London beauty pageants, so being on Love Island suits her,” the unnamed person added.
Seems like not much has changed in the personality department, though the same can’t be said for the Turkish bombshell’s looks.
In happier times: Ekin-Su with Davide on Love Island 2022
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Old YouTube videos of Ekin-Su, which have made the rounds on social media after she appeared on Love Island, show the Turkish actress looking vastly different from her current appearance. It’s not a huge reveal though.
Ekin-Su is very candid about her cosmetic surgery procedures, even doing Q&As with her currently 475K Instagram followers about getting veneers for the “perfect smile” and breast implants in Türkiye.
She lived in Türkiye for two years where she did some acting and modelling gigs. Prior to Love Island, her most prominent role was playing the character ‘Işıl’ in the Turkish TV series “Kuzey Yıldızı” (The North Star), back in 2020.
She’s got a colourful CV, having competed in beauty pageants and a low-budget reality TV show called Lancashore during her university years. Featuring the lives of a small group of male and female students, Lancashore had hoped to emulate Geordie Shore and The Only Way Is Essex, but failed to get beyond the pilot stage.
“I’m looking for a serious man and a serious relationship”
Having landed a spot on Love Island, Ekin-Su makes no secret of her current ambitions, and it isn’t to make friends. She claims to be looking for “that real genuine spark”… and obviously the £50,000 prize.
“I’m quite picky and I’m not just looking for looks, I’m looking for brains! I’m looking for someone with intelligence, someone who can have good chats,” said the actress, who first coupled up with Davide and then dumped him for newcomer Jay.
“Nothing like cockiness! I’m looking for a serious man and a serious relationship. I think the concept of the show brings back true and raw feelings,” Ekin-Su added.
Three weeks in on the dating show, and Ekin-Su already butted heads with several of the girls and boys. Her fiery feud with Davide, where she refused to take accountability for lying, definitely contributed to her almost getting kicked off the island with a low number of votes from viewers who disapproved of her gaslighting the Italian hunk.
The actress also received an eye-roll from fellow bombshell Amber, who was freshly thrown off the island earlier this week for getting the lowest votes from Love Island fans.
While securing some of the lowest viewer votes, Ekin-Su remains a firm favourite on social media discussions about the show, including Love Island 2021 winner Millie Court, who said “I’m here for the drama. It’s good TV.”
Love her or hate her, no one can deny she is the top-tier entertainment we’ve all been craving for.
All images © ITV
