‘She wanted me to stay and be her mum’: Tearful Ekin-Su Culculoglu meets with Turkish orphans in heart-breaking trip to her homeland following devastating earthquake
Ekin-Su Culculoglu has detailed the moment she met with Turkish orphans in a heart-breaking trip to her homeland after the devastating earthquake.
The Love Island winner, 28, who was born in London, has previously lived in Istanbul for two years and holds Turkish citizenship.
Visiting the southern province of Hatay with the British Red Cross, Ekin-Su helped make food for those in need and visited a children’s psychology session.
She tearfully explained how one little girl ‘asked her to be her mum’ and admitted how she ‘wished he could bring them all home’ with her.
Speaking to The Mirror during the trip, the reality TV star, explained: ‘She [the child] wanted me to stay and be her mum because she had lost hers.’
Awful: Ekin-Su Culculoglu, 28, detailed the moment she met with Turkish orphans in a heart-breaking trip to her homeland after the devastating earthquake (pictured this week in London)
Ekin-Su continued: ‘I couldn’t hold my tears in. It felt very overwhelming. Some of the other children had also lost family members.
‘I wish I could have taken them back to England. They feel alone and need love and support.’
Last month, Ekin-Su said she was left devastated after a horror earthquake hit parts of Turkey and Syria and revealed she plans to visit the affected area.
The Love Island star also explained that some of her extended family have been caught up in the disaster.
During an interview with Women’s Health Magazine, Ekin-Su praised boyfriend Davide Sanclimenti for supporting her during the emotional period.
Ekin-Su, who met on the 2022 series of Love Island and went on to win, said: ‘Davide has been great supporting me emotionally. I was with him when we heard and I just couldn’t comprehend the devastation.
‘I’ve been keeping up with the news since it struck… I hope to visit the affected area with The Red Cross as soon as it’s safe.’
Ekin-Su was born in Islington, London, to Turkish parents Sezer and Zekai and lived in Istanbul while starring on Turkish television shows, before moving back to the UK.
Upsetting: She tearfully explained how one little girl ‘asked her to be her mum’ and admitted how she ‘wished he could bring them all home’ with her
Horror: Her comments come as officials said 9,057 people had died in Turkey (pictured: Hatay city centre) and 2,662 in Syria from Monday’s 7.8-magnitude tremor, bringing the total to 11,719
Her parents relocated to the UK and she also has a younger brother Arda.
The Turkey-Syria earthquake’s death toll has risen to 11,719 – with officials saying 9,057 people had died in Turkey and 2,662 in Syria – making it the deadliest seismic event in more than a decade.
It is more than the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Nepal in 2015 which killed more than 8,800 people.
Officials say the death toll could double if the worst fears of experts are realised, which would bring the number of fatalities close to the magnitude nine quake off the coast of Japan that killed nearly 20,000 in 2011.
