Love Island's Ekin-Su praised for admitting she was 'acting' on All Stars

20 March 2025, 15:55 | Updated: 20 March 2025, 21:06

By Abbie Reynolds

Love Island All Stars finalist Ekin-Su has admitted she was on the show for 'clout'.

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We'd be remiss to not acknowledge how reality TV star Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu played a role in the drama of this year's Love Island All Stars.

Her unlikely, but somehow perfect, pairing with Curtis Pritchard was the gift that kept on giving as they put on a show every night for us viewers. (Need we remind you of their heart rate challenge that left the rest of the cast gobsmacked and had the girls literally running away from Curtis.)

The pair's natrually theatric ways had even Ekin-Su's brother questioning how authentic their relationship was. This was made even worse when Curtis' ex-girlfriend came forward and claimed he had a 'game plan'.

But, while the masses have been debating over the authenticity of Ekin-Su and Curtis' relationship, Ekin-Su has dropped a bombshell revelation.

Read more: Louis Tomlinson fans resurface Love Island comments amid Zara McDermott dating news

Speaking on the Chicks In The Office podcast, Ekin said: "I'm going to be very honest with you, I do like being on TV. I'm going to own it. I do, I love being on TV. I love being you know, myself on TV. I also like acting. So like, yeah I know it's a TV show, I've signed up for it.

"And I also know everyone who's on the show is there for clout," she claimed. "I don't care what anyone else says, they always say, 'Oh I'm here for love'. Well, darling it's All Stars. We've done it before. Whether you're on there three times, four times, second time, we're here."

She went on: "I'm just real, I will say it, I knew what the show would bring. But if I found someone else it was a bonus."

Elsewhere in the podcast chat, Ekin did confirm that she and Curtis are the real deal. Despite them both being performers, she said: "You know when you look at someone and you instantly feel something and you don't know what it is?

"I felt that from Curtis but I didn't feel that from Scott [Thomas] or Ronnie [Vint] or any of the other people."

Ekin said her feelings for Curtis were cemented when Danielle Sellers came into the villa and turned Curtis' head for a brief period.

One moment on the show that had fans sure she was turning it on for the cameras was during her fight with Curtis over Danielle when she turned to Luca Bish and said: "Help me."

Talking to Capital Luca said he was taken aback by that comment. He said: "When she said help me, I was just like [grimaces]. I don't know, it went from Love Island to The Titanic quite quick, I didn't have a scooby."

The moment Ekin-Su said: "Help me". Picture: ITV

Ekin-Su and Curtis came third on Love Island All Stars 2. Picture: Shutterstock

The former Love Island winner has been praised for being so open about how she approached her time on All Stars. One fan commented: "Now THIS is respectable."

Another said: "I like how she's owning it." And a third wrote: "This is the kind of honesty I'm on board with, a true Queen."

While Curtis excels in dancing - we've all seen the Hollyoaks clip - Ekin-Su was actually an actress before her time on Love Island.

Ahead of entering the villa for the first time, Ekin-Su had revealed that she found fame acting in the Turkish television show Kuzey Yildizi, which translates to North Star.

This led to the very iconic line her ex Davide delivered on Love Island: "You're a liar, actress, get the f--- out."