Ekin-Su: A Love Letter to Reality TV's Most Iconic Feminist Icon

For me, Ekin-Su Culculoglu fell into the same category of Love Island contestant as Maura Higgins and Megan Barton-Hansen. All bombshells in their own right, they’re the kind of girls that I’d most probably keep at arm’s length upon first meeting IRL – (through intimidation and little else, to be honest) – but who each grew on me in the same way my desire for 13 new bikinis does every summer. Slowly, surely and with conviction.

Yet this week, as the nation basks in the wonderful news of Ekin-Su and Davide Sanclimenti’s upcoming reality television series (they’re going to be cooking and eating their way around Turkey and Italy, FYI), it’s the Turkish Delight of Love Island Season Eight whom I’m declaring the most iconic Love Island bombshell of them all. Period.

Not all Love Island bombshells are created equal, after all, and there's something a little different about Ekin in comparison to series five’s most popular Irish Islander and Wes Nelson’s once-upon-a-time blonde babe. 

They’re all beautiful, sure. Each with an unapologetic and unrelenting commitment to causing complete and utter chaos. But what sets Ekin-Su apart is exactly what made Charlie (remember him?) call her a “weirdo” when she impersonated Voldemort in an early-July Unseen Bits episode. She’s funny, she’s intelligent and she paves the way for women to act in the same way as their male peers. 

Yep: Ekin-Su regularly and admirably exhibited the brazen behaviour that’s so often praised in men – but wrongly proclaimed as women behaving badly. 

She shouted. She crawled on her hands and knees to orchestrate a display of affection with fleeting love interest Jay Younger. She blew kisses across the bedroom to Luca on her first night in the villa, while he lay soundly next to fellow Islander Gemma. She changed her mind about which Islander she wanted – in the early days – a lot. She upset who she was dating in the same way the men in the show always do in a bid to figure out whether the “grass was greener". Then, à la 2021 winner Liam Reardon, she went on to win over her OG love interest, the other Islanders and the public to seal the win. 

She also knew exactly what it was she wasn't looking for – and wasn't shy in giving it a miss. A far cry from those of us (me) who flip flop between knowing what they want and feeling they should give wrong-fitting jigsaw puzzle pieces a shot for the sake of saving (men's) feelings.

Back to that aforementioned clip of Ekin-Su and Charlie in their post-recoupling chat. “We haven't even progressed yet to a kiss,” he told Ekin. Did she kiss him? No. Did she want to? Absolutely not. 

Instead, she lured him under the semblance of flirting, asked him if he'd be willing to wait five years to kiss her (no surprises, he would not), then whacked out her (actually rather impressive) Voldemort impression to really assure him he was not what she was after. Somehow weird and ego-damaging for Charlie, but oh-so relatable for every girl who has ever had to swerve the attempted grasp of a vain and persistent man. 

One TikTok viewer encapsulated why she's so great perfectly: "The reason why men dislike women like Ekin-Su is because they can’t stand the sight of their own reflection.” It's this willingness to play men at their own game which makes her so popular with female fans like me. 

Ekin-Su's tactics further proved her disinterest in taking herself too seriously. While countless contestants seem only to be interested in growing their Instagram following and bagging a spot on the next series of Dancing on Ice, Ekin-Su seemingly had zero fascination by being likeable. (Just take a look at her endearingly chaotic post-exit Instagram stories for proof). Admirable, when faced with cameras tasked with capturing content for the most-watched dating show of a generation. 

She presented herself as a multi-faceted woman who could act like a man and pick herself up like one. She made women feel comfortable in being themselves. She had an innate ability to form fierce female friendships, never cruel to the people in her life in the process of going after what she wanted. Take note, Luca Bisch. Nope! Don’t let her declaration that she was “not here to make seasonal girlfriends - I’m here to meet the love of my life” fool you. She was a girls’ girl, regularly reported by her fellow Islanders as being everyone's biggest fan. “You are a bombshell. A bomb. Shell,” she told Danica Taylor amidst a bit of a self-confidence crisis. “She’s amazing. Believe in yourself. You’re fire.”

Granted, Ekin-Su isn’t perfect – and while we might not be able to stand by every decision she ever made (she repeatedly lied to Davide about *that* encounter with George Tasker which resulted in what was, perhaps, one of the most iconic lines in Love Island history) – it's this messy, relatable and ballsy lust for life and love that made Ekin-Su the Love Island girl we all rooted for. And one half of the love story we actually enjoyed watching. We should all be a bit more Ekin-Su, babe.

For more from Glamour UK Commerce Editor Sophie Cockett, follow her on Instagram @sophiecockettx.

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