An American Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu super-fan has had the star’s name inked onto his arm in tribute to the winner of Love Island 2022 after falling in love with the reality show this year.

Franklin Headen, a talent agent based in New York City, understands himself to be the second person with a tattoo in honour of Ekin-Su after British woman Amy Hollingsworth had her foot inked in July, which she showed off on TikTok.

He unveiled his tattoo on Instagram recently, only for Ekin-Su herself to share his picture to her Stories on Monday in admiration – and start following him.

Speaking to Metro.co.uk, Franklin revealed his reasons for getting the tattoo and his hopes for a future friendship with the star.

Firstly, it is absolutely real, and the agent revealed that it was added to his collection of spontaneous tattoos while on a recent work trip to Charleston, South Carolina.

‘All of my tattoos have been spur-of-the-moment decisions. I’ve had friends give me stick-and-pokes or tattoo me with their own little guns – I don’t take it too seriously. I see tattoos more as time stamps. I remember where I was, who I was with, and what was going on in my life at that time when I look at my tattoos.’

Explaining why he wanted Ekin-Su’s name in particular, he added: ‘These past few months have been amazing for me with lots of big life changes, and I finally feel open to finding the right guy for the first time ever. Everything going on in my love life coincided with watching Love Island for the first time so ‘Ekin-Su’ was the perfect tattoo to commemorate 2022.’

And yes, for those eagle-eyed among you, Franklin knew the devil was in the detail.

‘I had to use the water bottle/dresser/suitcase font so it was authentic to the series. She’s also the baddie that I aspire to always be so it’s a little reminder of that as well.’

There was a lot of reaction to Franklin’s new ink after he shared it on social media, including from the 27-year-old herself, which took him aback.

‘I’ve been working as a talent agent for over 10 years so I don’t often get starstruck anymore [but] what started as a fun tattoo turned into much more.

‘I posted it right before I got on a plane and when we landed my phone was blowing up. I thought that maybe she’d repost the story if she checked her DMs within 24 hours, but I certainly didn’t expect it! I was shocked that she actually followed me and of course went to my DMs to say a quick hello and that I’d love to meet and work with her one day.’

Franklin also shared that he was keen to try and develop their online connection into a friendship as he appreciates the star so much, and his friends have even said he would be ‘the Ekin-Su of the series’ if there was ever a gay version of Love Island.

‘She hasn’t seen [my message] yet, but I’m telling myself that she was likely asleep by the time I sent the message and the press tour that she’s on is keeping her busy. If she doesn’t message me back, I’ll reach out again at some point for sure – I know we’d be good friends and I can’t wait to see what her future holds.’

He also has a robust attitude in dismissing the mean-spirited trolling he’s received online in reaction to his tattoo.

‘It’s been funny to read some of the DMs I’ve been getting. I have so many people saying that they love it and are invested in our future friendship, as well as several accounts telling me to seek mental help or that I’m so weird. Little do they know I am a mental health advocate and am very aware that I am weird – the haters just make me laugh.’ 

So, what is it about Ekin-Su that has spoken so strongly to Franklin, who is full of compliments for the reality queen?

‘Whenever I watch something, I try and pick out which contestant or character I most relate to, and Ekin-Su quickly won me over. She gave me all of the drama that I needed in a reality TV show.

‘I’ve always been inspired by strong, confident, beautiful women. She walked in with a powerful, infectious energy and I was quickly amused by her ambition for love, humour, and empowering those around her.

‘She didn’t come in “to make seasonal girlfriends” [iconic line alert] but she was always there to listen and hype everyone up. We all watched almost everyone confide in her and I saw that didn’t go unnoticed.’

As a newcomer to the show, and someone watching from across the pond, the professional also explained how he had been pulled into the addictive series – thanks to a cross-over and a colleague’s recommendation.

‘I am a superfan of Survivor – it is my ultimate dream to compete,’ he said. ‘A few years ago, several former Survivor contestants began competing in another reality competition show called The Challenge. Several former Islanders were competitors on The Challenge, including Georgia Harrison who I became a big fan of.

‘I’d never heard of or watched Love Island at that point. But in early June of this year, I was speaking with Tucker Pearson – a colleague who is a filmmaker – about TV shows and he mentioned that Love Island UK was the best reality TV show he’d seen.

‘I went on Hulu and coincidentally season eight had just begun so I downloaded them on my phone before a holiday and began watching on the aeroplane. I enjoyed the first couple of episodes but when Ekin-Su entered the villa the show got so much more exciting.’

Franklin now considered himself hooked.

‘Hulu doesn’t release the episodes each day, so to stay current I literally downloaded a VPN and Googled a London postal code so I could sign up for an ITV subscription. My brother does digital marketing for Hulu, so I told him to give their team feedback that next season they need to figure out how to release episodes daily!’

Luckily for Franklin and us all, Ekin-su emerged justly victorious from Love Island with her other half Davide Sanclimenti, also 27.

The couple raked in a massive 63.69% of the public vote in the record-breaking final, ITV later revealed, with second place couple Luca Bish and Gemma Owen far off in the distance with just 14.47% of the final vote.

Ekin-Su and Davide have now revealed their plans to move in together soon, as they said real life had brought them ‘a lot closer’.

It can only be onwards and upwards for Ekin-Su!

Love Island is available to watch on the ITV Hub.

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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.

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