Ekin-Su Culculoglu has broken her silence on claims Molly Smith and Callum Jones faked their breakup.
Exes Molly and Callum entered the villa separately as stunners during the debut episode of Love Island All Stars on Monday night, both appearing shocked to see each other.
Callum was then given the option to ‘steal’ one of the other girls or pair up with Molly, with the scaffolder choosing his ex-girlfriend of three years as he hinted they had unfinished business.
Skeptical fans quickly accused the exes – who split just six months ago – of faking their divorce and suggested they had ‘staged’ the reunion as a publicity stunt.
Now former Love Island winner Ekin-Su, 29, has broken her silence on the claims and admitted she was shocked to see her friends both appear on screen.
Ekin-Su Culculoglu has broken her silence on claims Molly Smith and Callum Jones faked their breakup
Exes Molly and Callum entered the villa separately as stunners during the debut episode of Love Island All Stars on Monday night, both appearing shocked to see the other.
Callum was then given the option to ‘steal’ one of the girls or pair up with Molly, with the scaffolder immediately picking his ex-girlfriend as he hinted they had unfinished business.
She said The sun of Molly’s shocked arrival: ‘I spit out my drink! She’s a buddy, but I had no idea she was working on her. When I first saw Callum I was worried about how Molly would take it (…) but then I saw Molly coming and I was amazed!’
She firmly denied claims that the couple had ‘staged’ their break-up, adding: ‘I don’t think either of them would lie about that for the sake of a show or publicity, they moved out of their house together.
‘Besides their divorce was six months ago, I don’t think Love Island All Stars even approached contestants that far back.’
It comes after fans took to social media after Monday’s All Stars launch show to accuse Molly, 29, and Callum, 27, of attracting publicity with their performances.
One person went to X to vent their thoughts, saying: ‘I’m sorry but Molly and Callum definitely broke up over this! I don’t believe in their breakup; they still have photos together on Instagram.”
Others agreed, saying: ‘Yes, I think Molly and Callum planned this but we’ll see;’ ‘Molly and Callum are playing with us,’
“This is all a bit too convenient, isn’t it? Hmmm… Molly and Callum break up before heading to Love Island All Stars and oh yeah, they’re working together again.’
Skeptical fans were quick to accuse the exes – who split just six months ago – of faking their divorce, but their friend Ekin-Su has firmly quashed the rumours.
Ekin-Su said of Molly’s shocked arrival: ‘I spit out my drink! She’s a buddy, but I had no idea she was coming along (All Stars).”
“This pseudo-ex on the beach with Molly and Callum couldn’t be more blatant. You must vote them all out when the time comes;” “Did Molly and Callum really come back to the villa to get back together?”
“I hope Molly and Callum don’t just get back together and stay together all the time because that’s going to be boring.”
The couple met when Molly was a Casa Amor bombshell in the 2020 season and began dating for three years, even moving in together in Manchester.
But they split just six months ago and had an awkward on-screen reunion when they both shockingly entered the South African villa during the All Stars launch.
Callum appeared to be the first bombshell to shake things up in the villa, straight after presenter Maya Jama linked up the line-up of former show legends.
But in a very unexpected twist, Molly came right after him like a second bombshell, leaving Callum completely stunned.
When she walked in, Callum was wide-eyed as Molly walked her things through the doors, leaving the rest of the villa reeling at the very awkward reunion.
Maya then explained that Callum would have a choice between stealing one of the girls from an existing couple, or entering into a relationship with his ex-girlfriend Molly.
Molly looked unimpressed and rolled her eyes at the prospect of Callum picking on her after their split as the pair did not appear to be on good terms.
During Tuesday’s episode, Molly pulled her ex along for a chat on the couches before they got into a heated argument about their split.
During Tuesday’s episode, Molly pulled her ex along for a chat before they had a heated argument about their breakup, with Molly saying Callum’s ‘level of respect had completely diminished’
Molly spilled the dirt on their breakup when she told Callum his ‘level of respect had completely diminished’.
She told him, “There are things that happened that you probably could have done a little differently, so there will be conversations.”
As the boys and girls parted ways to chat, both Callum and Molly opened up about the reason behind their split, with Callum saying they were ‘always clashing’.
And Molly said to the girls, “Honestly, nothing bad happened. We mutually agreed that we didn’t really get along.
“It was very mutual, but literally two weeks after we broke up, he just did things that I thought were disrespectful, and I thought he could have handled it a lot better.”
She continued, “He apologized on the phone at the time, but then I got sent videos, I got sent pictures, and I was just like, obviously it’s just annoying. Keep yourself together and have some respect.”
In September it emerged that Callum and Molly had gone their separate ways after three years together.
Callum left their Manchester home after the split, with a source claiming Molly had wanted to get engaged.
Insiders told The Sun at the time: ‘It’s really sad because they were a lovely couple together, but it’s over – and has been for a few weeks.
‘They try to remain friends – they were together for more than three years – but it’s difficult. I think Molly eventually wanted to get engaged, but that didn’t happen.
‘Everyone was really surprised when they broke up because they were perfect for each other. He has now moved out of the home they shared and they have split custody of their two dogs.”
Molly and Callum met on the very first winter edition of the ITV dating show in 2020, where they left before the final.
In September it emerged that Callum and Molly had gone their separate ways after three years together and left the Manchester home they shared.
The couple moved into a lavish four-bedroom home in Manchester in November after meeting on the show.
Former scaffolder Callum previously revealed he sees himself marrying model Molly and possibly having children together.
Last year he gave a now moving interview in which he hit back at people who judged them, revealing that they have ‘proven a few people wrong’ after recently celebrating their two-year anniversary.
He said, ‘We are perfect. We have two dogs, so we have a real little family, it’s lovely. There are other things we want to focus on right now, but clearly in the future it’s definitely something we both want together…
“We haven’t really decided when yet. We’re just enjoying the things we have right now, and then family and marriage will come into it eventually.”