Well, after a nail-biting finale which in the end felt as through it could have gone either way, queen Ekin-su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti beat Gemma Owen and Luca Bish in the Love Island finale.
Love Island’s eight series managed to reach the best ratings in years with the final attracting the most viewers since 2019.
Why? Well, if anyone’s has kept us all hooked to the drama of that villa is it without a doubt Ekin-su.
From the moment she crawled on the floor for a secret kiss with Jay Younger on the balcony when there are plenty of places to hide for a cheeky song (trust us, we’ve been to the villa), to the moment she was serenaded by ‘some singer’ Alife Boe Ekin-su brought the fun and heart to Love Island.
She was the drama queen, the best friend and now the winner all rolled into one.
Following the Turkish Delight’s win with her Italian Stallion, Metro.co.uk caught up with Ekin-su’s self-proclaimed ‘superfans’ who told us what she means to them and why we all fell head over heels for her all summer.
Eoin thinks Ekin-su is the epitome of ‘expressing your true self’
I see Ekin-su as one of the best islanders to have ever graced the villa. From the moment she walked in I knew we would be in for a ride.
Ekin has given us some of the most iconic moments from the whole eight seasons, like the infamous terrace crawl and her cook off with Nathalia.
While her journey has been a bit of a rollercoaster, she’s proven herself to be one of the most genuine islanders we’ve ever seen – definitely not fake like the Louis Vuitton from China.
We’ve seen so many dimensions to her, from her confident and funny side to the more vulnerable nature we’ve seen as she’s progressed through the series.
To me, Ekin is the epitome of confidence and more importantly, expressing your true self. Throughout the entire experience, Ekin has been unapologetically herself and clearly inspires people to follow in her footsteps.
She has become a staple character and reference for my friends and I. Her reactions have made gifs that can be used in literally any situation. Ekin is a truly amazing person and I can’t wait to see what opportunities arise for her outside of the villa.
Madie is absolutely devastated she won’t spend weeknights watching Ekin-su on TV anymore
When Ekin-su first came in she was the bombshell we all needed. She was really confident in herself and knew what she wanted.
She never listened to what the guys were saying (which is good for her) and had her eyes on what her end goal was and that why we all fell for her.
Sophie loves how much Ekin-su champions girl power and supported her female islanders
She’s been a fantastic islander this year for a couple of reasons. Number one is obviously entertainment value. She really paced the show and I think without her, this year’s Love Island would’ve been too sanitised- everyone knows you’re being watched all the time, scripted, etc. she knows exactly how to play to the camera in a way that is pretty obvious, but I think makes her more self-aware than those pretending to be unaware of the Love Island effect.
I think she also shows a really interested juxtaposition of being soft and firm at the same time, which is nice to see in Love Island, where people are often shown as a lot more one dimensional. I love a redemption arc!
On a deeper level, I love the fact that she’s been so strong in her support for the girls – from the obviously scripted “I’m not here to make seasonal girlfriends”, she’s completely disproved that and been one of the kindest islanders, showing that you can be sassy, have fun, and always stick up for girls.
No other islander would ever have used their talent portion to sing praises of the other girls in the island and I don’t think people are holding onto that enough!
She just wants everyone to feel loved and is clearly on a mission to raise other girls up – she does more than just talk the talk.
Emily wasn’t always a huge Ekin-su fan but her love for her has ‘grown exponentially’
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a webbrowser thatsupports HTML5video
Much like Maura Higgins before her, she has won people over and will go down in history as one of the best islanders of all time. She’s hilariously funny, clever, kind and speaks her mind.
She is a very strong woman, while also having a very human vulnerability to her. In Unseen Bits, you really see her personality and what’s not to love? She’s a 11/10 allrounder.
While she can be a bit dramatic at times, who isn’t? We all love a bit of drama (whether we’ll admit it or not…).
I think people relate to her and can see the motivations behind her actions. While she has been reckless at times, I think we’ve really seen her grow and allow herself to put her guard down when it comes to opening up with Davide.
I don’t necessarily think they’ll last but I do believe their feelings for each other are real, even if they secretly both hate that they are.
Jayde can’t wait for Ekin-su to take over the world
Ekin-Su was so iconic to watch because she came with unmatched confident energy we’ve never seen before.
We watched her stay strong, be herself, upset the boys by behaving the way boys do and face misogynistic losers while being the most beautiful bombshell the villa has ever seen.
She’s been the most enjoyable islander ever to watch because she followed her heart and genuinely found the most chemistry soaked romance that every girl dreams of having.
A proposal with a tiramisu? Mother Ekin deserves that and more.
Well, there are just some of the reasons Ekin-su is already a reality TV icon, and is leaving the villa with the world her oyster overnight.
Love Island might be over but this is just the beginning for our queen and we cannot wait to see the magic unfold.
The entire series of Love Island is available to stream on ITV Hub.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
Love Island 2022
Say hello to your social lives once again – Love Island 2022 is over, with Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti being crowned the winners in an epic final.
If you missed it, don’t fret – here are the highlights of the end of a brilliant series:
- Davide Sanclimenti and Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu are crowned winners
- The Love Island final episode – as it happened
- Michael Owen shares ‘pride’ in daughter Gemma as she comes runner-up with Luca Bish
- Which Love Island couples are still together?
- Who won the last Love Island? Full list of past winners
- Has anyone ever kept the £50,000 prize on Love Island?
For all the latest updates, visit Metro.co.uk‘s Love Island page.
Source: Read Full Article