Ekin-Su Culculoglu has spoken out for the first time about the real reason for her out of character behaviour in the Celebrity Big Brother house.
She insists the devastating effect of alleged endless deceit from her ex-boyfriend Davide Sanclimenti prior to their January split, which left her heartbroken.
The Love Island star, 29, skipped the Big Brother final in March after her management felt she was too ‘vulnerable’ to return in light of her turbulent time on the ITV series and subsequent drama-filled spin-off show appearance.
And Ekin-Su claims she made a mistake by going into the house after being told Davide had cheated on her and seeing possible evidence for herself.
She told The Sun: ‘I should never have gone into the Big Brother house. I was angry, hurt, maybe a bit bitter, definitely insecure – Big Brother is not where you go to heal heartache, let me tell you.
Ekin-Su Culculoglu has spoken out for the first time about the real reason for her out of character behaviour in the Celebrity Big Brother house
She insists the devastating effect of alleged endless deceit from her ex-boyfriend Davide Sanclimenti prior to their January split, which left her heartbroken
‘I went into the show thinking that I could rebuild myself after everything that happened with Davide, but I came off worse. My guard was up.
‘I blame myself for making a poor choice in my career. People could see that I wasn’t myself, and I can understand why they thought I was being fake.’
She added: ‘I never wanted to believe the allegations against Davide but people would tell me I was being cheated on all the time. I was so scared of being alone, and I didn’t know who the hell Ekin-Su was meant to be without him.’
Ekin-Su was embroiled in a bullying row after she was booed by the studio audience, goaded by guest star Layton Williams and mocked by hosts AJ Adudu and Will Best, the latter branding her ‘Ekin Boo Hoo Hoo’, during her stint on ITV2’s Late & Live after her eviction.
The model sparked the onslaught by claiming she was ‘edited badly’, after being informed by loved ones that she was at risk of being ‘cancelled’ and fans had ‘turned against her’ due to the way she had been portrayed.
She later insisted she had ‘lost herself’ in the run up to appearing on the show, writing on Instagram in April: ‘Haven’t felt myself for a long time, and I’ve realised i had kind of lost myself and for a while didn’t know who I was beyond being defined by ex relationships or TV shows, and that needs to change!
‘I am so excited for all the growth and full healing. CBB was the final lightbulb moment to make me realise what needs to be done.’
I was in tears because I just didn’t think I deserved to be treated like that.
Cracks appeared in her relationship with Davide less than a month after they won Love Island as a couple in the summer of 2022
Ekin-Su claims she made a mistake by going into the Celebrity Big Brother house after being told Davide had cheated on her and seeing possible evidence for herself (Ekin-Su, left, seen with Sharon Osbourne, right, on the show in March)
Ekin skipped the show final after her management felt she was too ‘vulnerable’ to return in light of her turbulent time on the ITV series (pictured on Celebrity Big Brother: Late and Live in March)
Cracks appeared in her relationship with Davide less than a month after they won Love Island as a couple in the summer of 2022.
Hunky Davide was seen leaving a party with two blondes in August of that year.
Ekin-Su said she was left in floods of tears after learning of the incident, insisting she did not want to believe Davide would treat her badly.
She sad she rang him a number of times to discuss the situation but ‘was always made to feel like I was the “psycho girlfriend”‘.
When she asked him ‘how could you do this to me’, she claims he simply replied: ‘Excuse me?’
While filming their ITV2 show Homecomings, Ekin-Su said she saw pictures of Davide with females on his phone.
She claims she saw images of two blonde girls in his Manchester flat wearing his clothes.
Ekin-Su did not want to make anything of the situation at the time because they were being filmed.
While filming their ITV2 show Homecomings (pictured), Ekin-Su said she saw pictures of Davide with females on his phone
The television personality went on to claim Davide cheated on her with a girl called Harriet Wilson, with Harriet contacting Ekin-Su to tell her.
Ekin-Su said that at another time Davide left his laptop open and she saw sexually explicit messages between him and a girl she herself had met on New Year’s Eve.
She said seeing those messages ‘broke something in me’.
Actress Ekin-Su said she did not want to be embarrassed amid the cheating allegations so did her best not to react publicly but also wanted to protect Davide.
Davide was later spotted snorting a suspicious white powder in Ibiza while Ekin-Su was at home in the UK.
When Ekin-Su went away in September last year to film the US version of The Traitors, she returned to the UK to learn Davide had been out partying in Manchester with her love rival Harriet.
It is also claimed he went on a secret holiday to Morocco with an OnlyFans model but did not tell Ekin-Su the truth when he returned.
Ekin-Su said she had a rude awakening when Davide disrespected her mother during a trip to Rome, Italy.
The couple had a turbulent 18-month relationship since they first met in the Love Island villa in 2022 after winning the show together (pictured in 2022 on Love Island)
Taking to Instagram in January, Ekin-Su confirmed she had parted ways with the Italian businessman
She said Davide had called paparazzi so he could get pictured making a fake proposal to her in front of the Colesseum in the city.
Ekin-Su said her mother was furious as she knew her daughter was desperate for him to propose to her for real, adding that Davide told her mother to ‘f**k off’ when the moment did not go to his liking.
However, they stayed together as they had a ski trip planned and Ekin-Su felt attached to him due to feelings of guilt.
She insists she never betrayed Davide but there were times when she was furious and did react, with the pair arguing.
MailOnline has contacted Davide for comment.
He told The Sun: ‘I’m sorry to hear that Ekin still feels the need to talk about me in order to have a storyline.
‘I haven’t mentioned her to respect our past and because I never wanted to. I don’t understand her claims since I was alone and single on all my holidays.
‘I could have mentioned the messages I found on her phone many times, but I didn’t. I didn’t watch Big Brother, but I heard she showed her true self.
‘She should wash her mouth before talking about me.’