Since leaving the Love Island villa, Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu has become one of the most in demand stars of the show to date.
She’s the new face of Oh Polly, creating her own make-up line with BPerfect cosmetics and will soon be back on our screens with a new travel show called Ekin-Su and Davide: Homecomings on ITV.
Now just two months after winning Love Island, Ekin-Su, 28, admits she and Davide Sanclimenti, 27, “hardly see each other” as they’re so busy with work.
And they were caught on camera having explosive arguments while filming their new show in Italy and Turkey.
“He’s my biggest supporter, he’s so proud of me,” Ekin-Su exclusively tells Mirror.
“He always says to me that regardless of whatever happens with us, I’m always here for you and will support you and that’s really reassuring for me.
“It’s hard because we hardly see each other recently but we’ve gotten a lot closer than I though which is nice.”
Ekin-Su admits coming out of the villa after winning the £50,000 prize was “very overwhelming” and they didn’t have much time to “focus on us”.
But now the couple are “falling harder” in love with each other than ever.
“I’ve seen Davide in different situations, he sees more of a calmer Ekin-Su and more of my caring side and I see the same,” she says.
“And in the villa you can’t always be calm because there’s always something happening, you have to stick up for yourself,” Ekin-Su says of her fiery behaviour in the villa.
“Now everything’s more like, we get each other and especially when we go to bed and he cuddles me to sleep. I forget everything and it’s the nicest feeling in the world.”
Ekin-Su and Davide’s relationship was put to the test more than once in the Love Island villa, but now he’s got to know her “genuine pure” personality away from the cameras.
“Davide says to me that he loved me on Love Island but he’s loving me more now because of how authentic I am and how genuine and humble I am with everyone,” she says.
And now the couple are considering getting their own flat together - although Ekin-Su is keen to take the next step in their relationship on their own terms.
“We will eventually move in because we’re kind of tired of hotels all the time now, it’s tiring,” she admits.
“With our own time, with our own pace and with our own wanting of moving in together we will.
“Without the pressure of people saying, ‘When will you move in?’ It feels more unnatural to say that.”
For now the couple often stay at hotels together in Manchester and London or wherever work takes them.
“We will move in when we’re both calm, we’ve both got time to look at flats and both know which areas are best suited for us,” she says.
“It’s not serious, it’s not that deep when people say ‘moving in’. Rather than living in hotels with a suitcase it will be nice to just be in a pad together.”
But the winning couple are enjoying time away from the Love Island cameras, and their private time together.
Ekin-Su admits that in the villa you “forget” about the constant surveillance but you still feel “aware” of being watched.
“Me and Davide were cuddling in bed once and we heard like this turning noise and we saw the camera turn and zoom in on us and we were like… great,” she laughs.
“So when you forget then you do get reminded that there’s cameras in the villa.”
The pair’s fiery relationship was a huge hit with ITV viewers and now the offers for more TV work keep coming in.
Responding to rumours she will join the Loose Women panel, Ekin-Su tells us: “I heard that and it was sweet because one of the ladies was like, ‘Would you want to be on the panel?’
“I said I can be whatever you want me to be. I love Loose Women, I think the women are all very strong, independent women and if I get approached, I wouldn’t say no.”
Ekin-Su’s next TV project is a travel and cooking series with Davide for ITV that will be coming to screens in November.
“It’s more real this time, you’ll see arguments caught on camera because the cameras follow you everywhere,” she says.
“It’s a reality show so if you go to the toilet they’ll follow you and you can’t have a private conversation because the cameras are there, it’s real. But we want people to see us so that’s why I’m not regretting anything on the show.”
Meanwhile, Ekin-Su is taking the fashion world by storm with her debut collection for Oh Polly.
The dresses and coordinating sets are designed to hug every curve in a stunning colour palette of chocolate brown, olive green, bright orange and white.
“I would describe my style as classy, sexy but edgy and also different,” she tells us.
So what’s the key to sizzling like a bombshell?
“The waist I always want to make sure that whatever size you are, the waist is nipped in to make sure everyone looks sexy,” she says.
The Oh Polly x Ekin-Su collection is available at www.ohpolly.com
