We don’t need to prove that we’re real’ – Love Island’s Ekin-Su and Davide blast ‘showmance’ rumours
LOVE Island’s Ekin-Su Culculoglu and Davide Sanclimenti on jealousy, Dancing On Ice controversy and why their relationship is no ‘showmance’.
They were the runaway winners of last year’s Love Island, and six months on, Ekin-Su Culculoglu and Davide Sanclimenti are more loved-up than ever.
In fact, during our steamy Valentine’s Day shoot with the pair, we actually think they might need to get a room, because they can’t keep their hands off each other.
The Turkish actress and her Italian boyfriend, both 28, have been dogged with rumours that theirs is just a “showmance”, but we can confirm there isn’t anything fake about their interaction.
Whenever Davide says anything sweet about Ekin-Su, she gazes at him adoringly and whispers: “Oh baby”, then covers him in kisses.
Not at all awkward for us watching on…
So why do some people think theirs is just a showbiz coupling of convenience?
“I read a comment saying we were fake because we barely post on social media together,” says Davide.
“But I’m just not a social media person.
“I don’t blame people – they only know us for what they have seen.
“But those who have seen us in real life cannot believe anyone would think we are fake.
“Luca [Bish, runner-up on Love Island] mentioned how we were such a lovely couple.
“And [fellow Islander] Dami Hope said the same.
“That’s why we don’t care about those kinds of comments.”
Ekin-Su, who has been competing in this year’s series of ITV’s Dancing On Ice, nods in agreement: “We don’t want everyone to know everything.
“Our relationship is between two people, not the world.
“We don’t need to prove to anyone that we are real.
“I believe the less you show on social media, the healthier the relationship is.
“Michelle Keegan and Mark Wright or Molly-Mae and Tommy Fury don’t post 24/7 about what they’re doing, yet they still have strong relationships.
“When you reveal everything to the public, that’s when things get messy.”
The path to true love wasn’t easy for the pair in the villa, as Ekin-Su had her head turned by bombshell Jay Younger, even crawling along the balcony to sneakily snog him, causing Davide to famously yell: “You are a liar, actress, go the f**k out!”
Now, the couple cringe at some of their on-screen behaviour.
“Everything has changed since Love Island,” Davide says.
“I knew that we liked each other and something was growing, but the real relationship started when we came out of the villa and got to know each other in our daily life.”
Ekin-Su agrees: “It is different.
“I would never act that way now.
“I would not be on that terrace crawling.
“I would not be kissing Jay.
“If we see Davide’s Casa Amor clips, or me with Jay, we turn it off.
“We have such feelings for each other now.
“At the end of the day, Love Island is a show – it’s not real.”
Davide agrees: “We were real, but the show is not real.”
Of course, things got a lot more real three months ago, when the couple moved into a pad in Essex together.
Ekin-Su says: “My mum says you have to live with your partner to really know them.
“It can go either way, but luckily it’s brought us closer.
“Every day I’m smiling, thinking: ‘This man could be the father of my kids.’”
Davide smiles: “Baby, I feel the same. I feel like we understand each other.”
They start kissing… And kissing some more.
But living with a partner is hard. Surely there is something that irritates each other around the house?
Ekin-Su shakes her head: “I don’t think so.
“If I leave clothes lying around, my friends would say: ‘How can you live like this?’ but I’m not bothered. He’s the same.”
“We are easy-going,” agrees Davide.
“Although there is just one thing she does that I hate – she leaves food lying around.
“I can understand clothes, but food? She did it in the villa, too.”
While Ekin-Su has been busy competing on Dancing On Ice, Davide has taken on the job of sprucing up their new pad.
“I decorated it in my Italian style,” explains the business owner, who grew up in Rome.
“Our bed and a table are made in Italy.
“I’ve got good taste, so she trusted me to do it. I feel like I did a good job.”
“You did,” Ekin-Su assures him.
“It’s a shame we are only renting.
“He’s got such an eye for this stuff.
“Even when we go shopping, I’ll just let him pick my clothes.
“It’s not me saying: ‘Control me’. He’s just got such good taste.”
Last month, fans suspected that the pair had got engaged after Davide gave Ekin-Su a Cartier ring during a trip to Rome, but the pair are keen to emphasise it was just a promise ring.
“My mum, Sezer, said if that was a proposal, Davide would have gone so much bigger,” Ekin-Su says.
Davide agrees: “A lot of people thought we had got engaged.
“But I just wanted to create a nice moment.
“It was the first ring I had bought her and I wanted to give it to her in Rome. But for a proposal, I will go fully into it. It will be bigger.
“We are not ready at the moment, but she is the first girlfriend I actually can see a future with.
“In the past I’ve never seen it like I can with Ekin-Su.
“Men can change, but only when you have the right one near you.
“Destiny brought us together. But before [we get married and have children], we want to be financially stable to make sure that we can give our kids a good future.
“We agree that we want two kids, hopefully a boy and a girl.”
Ekin-Su jokingly fans herself: “Excuse me while I just melt here.”
It’s not surprising that she can’t help being swept along in the fairy tale.
After all, she previously revealed that all four of her previous serious relationships ended because of infidelity.
“I had such bad experiences with men,” she admits.
“I kept thinking: ‘When am I going to find that guy?’ The one you can be you with and not worry.
“With Davide, I have finally found someone who loves me – even all my weird bits. And I’m the same with him.
“I manifested him for a long time. You just have to kiss a few frogs.”
She may have found The One, but fame has come at a price for Ekin-Su.
She admits she’s lost most of her mates since going on the show. “I don’t have friends,” she says sadly.
“I’ve only got two, my friend Grace and another one.
“Everyone else… instead of messaging me, going: ‘Hi, how are you?’ They’re asking: ‘Can you send me some stuff?’ And I’m like: ‘Do you want to use me?’
“They’ve been like that since I left the villa. And then all these stories leaked and you think: ‘Well, this person knows this about me. How has it leaked out?’
“I’ve known these friends for 10 years. It’s sad.”
Davide squeezes her hand and adds. “Sometimes people just want to hang out so they can show off and use you for content. They were probably not real friends anyway.
“I always tell her: ‘You got me and you got my friends.’”
She nods: “Some of his friends have become really close now.
“They are lovely people. And we’ve made new ones – we’re friends with [2018 contestant-turned-Made-In-Chelsea star] Zara [McDermott] and Sam [Thompson]. They are a genuine couple.
“And I speak to former Love Island presenter Laura Whitmore, too.
“But I’d rather spend time with my boyfriend. I want to save my energy for him.”
Davide nods: “They are in a similar situation to us. They understand sometimes you just don’t want to go out, as you will be under assault from people asking for a picture.
“We’ve got a busy schedule, but at the end of the day, we sleep under the same roof.”
Ekin-Su adds cheekily: “Sometimes we don’t even sleep! We like baths together. Davide will light the candles and that’s our relaxing time together.”
Finding time for each other has been particularly difficult for the couple while Ekin-Su has been devoting the past few months to DOI training.
She was devastated after her “barely there” outfit prompted 112 Ofcom complaints and she ended up in the skate-off in week one.
At the time of going to print, she was still in the show.
“People always have an opinion,” she says.
“Every one of the other celebrities said I looked beautiful and loved the costume.
“I had four or five layers of thick unitard on – it was an illusion that I was wearing nothing.
“I couldn’t dance to Britney Spears in a nun costume!
“One thing I’ve learned from doing another big show is: ‘Don’t let it knock your confidence.’ After the skate-off, I was worrying: ‘Are people going to criticise me? What are they thinking of me for wearing this dress?’ and I couldn’t focus on the dance. I feel like, with Dancing On Ice, you have to be even stronger than Love Island. You have to think: ‘I’m a confident woman.’ If you block out the negativity, it’s a great show.”
Davide agrees: “I told her the difference is, with Love Island she didn’t have her phone. If she had her phone on her, after week one she would have seen hate from people – instead she only saw comments after two months of knowing her.”
‘We don’t need to prove to anyone that we are real’
After weeks of hard physical work, Ekin-Su has never looked better, although she’s not convinced.
Davide explains: “She thinks it’s not true that she’s lost weight, but she’s got in shape. If you look at her in the villa and now, she’s so different.”
Ekin-Su says: “Have I? I can’t see it, cos I see myself every day. I did have my pancake bum in the villa!”
Has Ekin-Su, who previously had a boob job, considered having any more work done?
She shakes her head.
“Absolutely not. Since our relationship has got quite serious, I’ve felt natural is the way forward. I’ve gone dark with my hair.
“When you come out of Love Island, girls think they need to have surgery. I am always getting offered [free surgery]. And I’m like: ‘No, no, no. Let’s strip it back.’ Davide loves me with no make-up on.”
Did they have any concerns about her taking on a show like Dancing On Ice that has been known to split up couples?
“My relationship is the one thing I didn’t worry about,” Ekin-Su says. “I’m lucky to have Brendyn [Hatfield] as my partner, because he respects my relationship.”
Davide agrees: “Once I met Brendyn, that was enough to understand he was a nice guy.
“I can see when a guy wants to try it on.
“I’ve already seen someone inside the production team [who fancies Ekin-Su].
“I’m not gonna name names.
“I saw Brendyn didn’t have any other intentions.”
While the pair have no concerns about Ekin-Su’s dancing partner, they agree that getting a bit jealous when it comes to the opposite sex is one of the secrets to a happy relationship.
“If you don’t get jealous about someone, it means you don’t love them,” says Ekin-Su.
“If I never got jealous, I don’t think he should be with me. Because it shows I don’t love him.
“Davide’s the same. So many guys could try it on with me, but if I’m not encouraging them, that’s OK. And it’s the same with him if girls are trying it on.
“Healthy relationships have a little bit of jealousy.
“I’ll leave my phone out or WhatsApp open because I’m not hiding it.
“I’ll give him my phone and he will give me his because we trust each other.
“It’s the people who are sneaky and take their phone to the toilet with them – that’s a red flag.”
“In past relationships, I wanted to look at [my partner’s] phone,” Davide says.
“But I thought: ‘There is something wrong here.’ But we don’t feel the need to check the other’s phone. We have trust.”
Not that it seems likely, but if they were to split, would they consider revisiting Love Island, like Adam Collard did last year?
Davide shakes his head and Ekin-Su says: “It would be like going back to a broken relationship, or a job you were fired from. Why would you do that? Your time was up. I wouldn’t want to do that to him – it would feel like disrespecting our relationship.”
She may be done with the villa, but she’s very keen for her dad Zekai, 59, who she’s very close to, to go on the newly announced middle-aged version of the dating show.
She says: “I think it will do really well.
“I told my dad to apply. He’s single. He’s not like me, he’s quite quiet.”
Davide adds: “You are like your mama, but you are sweet like your dad.
“It [middle-aged Love Island] is gonna be interesting.
“Something new and different. I think it will be entertaining.”
While neither have tuned in to Winter Love Island, they both praised ITV2 for “pausing” the Islanders’ social media accounts, meaning friends and family can’t post or comment during the show.
Ekin-Su says: “Pausing their social media is a good thing.
“My family were dealing with their daughter getting death threats.
“If you want followers and fame, you’re not going to get those brand deals.
“But it’s good if you’re genuinely looking for love. It’s purely focused on that.”
And it’s clear that big deals aside, these two are very focused on each other.
- Follow the couple on Instagram @Ekinsuofficial and @Davidesancli.