Despite being in the villa for less than a week, Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu has already cemented herself in the Love Island hall of fame. Never have we seen a Love Island bombshell wreak as much havoc since the blissful 2019 days of Maura Higgins - though, as culture writer Jason Okundaye pointed out, unlike Maura, Ekin-Su is actually successful in her pursuits.
But, after last night’s episode, some may fear that Ekin-Su is becoming a little bit too powerful - as her flirtation with new bombshellJay Younger has turned into a full-blown affair. (Come on, we all saw it coming after that spaghetti scene on Wednesday.) Whatever you think of Ekin-Su, you have to admit that she knows exactly what audiences are going to screenshot and meme on Twitter, and last night was no exception, as she crawled along the villa to have a snog with Jay.
But it’s what happened after Davide Sanclimenti (who Ekin-Su is currently coupled up with) found out about her and Jay’s secret kisses that really divided viewers. Instead of apologising for kissing someone else - even though, yes, as Ekin-Su has repeatedly told everyone, it’s not like anyone in the villa is official - she then turned the blame on Davide, asking why he was bothered when he hasn’t been showing her attention.
‘Why do you all of a sudden care when this guy comes in?’ she yelled. ‘For fuck sake, we’re in the same bed together and you don’t even cuddle me for five seconds.’ Davide then responded by telling Ekin-Su he didn’t want to show her a more sensitive side because of how swiftly her head had turned. Predictably, she then came out with her catchphrase: ‘I’m in here to find real love.’ (As Ekin-Su is an actress, we’re in two minds as to whether she is actually on the show to find love, but we digress.)
While some on the internet have praised Ekin-Su and her reckless behaviour, others are less sure - and have pointed out that Ekin-Su’s behaviour is gaslighting. And to be honest, while she might be highly entertaining and the one of the most chaotic contestants Love Island's had in years, it’s not hard to imagine the uproar if it was Davide, or another man, ‘cheating’ (we’ll use the term here loosely), and then gaslighting Ekin-Su.
Anyway, while we can all debate whether Ekin-Su is a reality TV hero or villain, it seems Davide has properly had enough with Ekin-Su's antics, as he tells her in tonight’s episode: ‘I hope you find the love of your life because me and you are closed.’
We wonder what the next chapter is for Jay and Ekin-Su. And whether her head is going to be turned again.