Marisha Wallace has revealed that Ekin-Su Culculogly is ‘okay’ after leaving the Celebrity Big Brother house and they have kept in touch.
The Love Island star, 29, has been pulled from appearing in Friday’s final after she endured a tour blue spell on the ITV show.
Ekin-Su was also criticized by viewers after she broke down in hysterical tears when Marisha, 38, chose her during face-to-face nominations.
The Turkish actress stormed off to bed as Marisha followed her to apologize – as she raged over her reason for nominating her and branded the theater star a ‘fake’.
Speaking to MailOnline, Marisha insisted the pair are still on speaking terms now they are both out of the house.
Marisha Wallace has revealed that Ekin-Su Culculogly is ‘okay’ after leaving the Celebrity Big Brother house and they have kept in touch
The Love Island star, 29, has been pulled from appearing in Friday’s final after she endured a tour-de-force spell on the ITV show
She said: ‘Ekin-Su and I have been in touch since we left the house – she is fine.’
However, the theater star admitted that she still thinks she made the right decision in nominating Ekin-Su for eviction.
She said: ‘I don’t regret nominating Ekin-Su – everything worked out as it should’
Asked who she would like to see win, Marisha said: ‘I’d like David (Potts) to win but Louis (Walsh) will – he’s good TV.’
Ekin’s post-elimination treatment, which saw her involved in bullying on CBB spin-off show Late & Live before being wrongly accused of pulling out of an appearance on Lorraine, has sparked her management’s decision to ax her from Friday night’s showpiece.
MailOnline has learned that Ekin-Su will explain her absence to fans ahead of the final, where she was due to reunite with housemates and show hosts AJ Adudu and Will Best.
A source said: ‘It’s been a bit of a tough few weeks for Ekin-Su.
‘She could have played the sob story card but has remained tight-lipped publicly and expressed to those around her that she is aware that she has to be responsible for a few things that have happened.
Ekin-Su was also criticized by viewers after she broke down in hysterical tears when Marisha, 38, chose her during face-to-face nominations
Speaking to MailOnline, Marisha insisted the pair are still on speaking terms now they are both out of the house
‘Understandably, she feels vulnerable, but is using this time to gather her thoughts and figure out next steps, which is why her management believes pulling her from the final is the most sensible move.
‘She has been asking the team for some time to reflect on what everyone is on board with.’
An ITV source added: ‘Ekin has been part of some of ITV’s biggest shows over the past two years, including Love Island, Dancing on Ice, her own spin-off show with Davide and now Celebrity Big Brother.
“Like a lot of the team feel very protective of her and it’s a real shame she’s not in the final.”
The backlash against Ekin-Su was sent into overdrive following her appearance on Late & Live on Friday shortly after her eviction, when she was booed by the audience and mocked by guest Layton Williams for claiming she was “poorly edited”.
Her defensive style was sparked by loved ones, who informed her minutes before appearing on the ITV2 spin-off show that she was at risk of being “cancelled” and fans had “turned on her” because of the way she had been portrayed.
Hosts AJ and Will did little to quell the studio audience’s volatile reaction, the latter even dubbing her “Ekin Boo Hoo Hoo”, which, combined with Layton’s brandy exchanges, sparked hundreds of Ofcom complaints alleging she was the subject of bullying and coercion in the past host. Davina McCall to remind the show of their duty of care.
Ekin-Su’s post-elimination treatment has sparked her management’s decision to exclude her from Friday night’s showpiece
MailOnline has learned that Ekin-Su will explain her no-show to fans ahead of the final, where she was due to reunite with her housemates
Pressure on Ekin-Su was further increased on Monday after claims that she had pulled out of appearing on ITV1 show Lorraine at the last minute led to her being further jeered by presenters who were unaware of what was happened.
The following day, both Lorraine and ITV issued an apology and were forced to clarify that the reality star was never confirmed to appear, and it became clear that she had not been personally involved in any discussions surrounding the show.
Despite social media trolls reveling in the drama and fueling further hate towards Ekin-Su, she remained silent while telling friends she hoped Lorraine would not receive criticism following the mix-up.
However, Ekin-Su has privately admitted choosing to appear on Celebrity Big Brother following a relationship breakdown – having split from Love Island co-star Davide Sanclimenti in January after two years – was, in hindsight, the wrong decision, believing , that she wasn’t in the right frame of mind entering the house, which may have contributed to mistakes she made during her time on the show.
But she believes that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be held accountable, despite loved ones angry at some of the housemates’ behavior towards her, which was alluded to by co-star Levi Roots, who claimed during his exit- interview that the Love Island winner was the subject of “micro-bullying” inside the house, and her negative treatment after the show.
She has also received “hateful” comments on social media which have included “threats of physical abuse”, according to members of her family who have hit out at online trolls.
Ekin-Su has privately admitted that choosing to appear on Celebrity Big Brother after splitting from Davide Sanclimenti in January was, in hindsight, the wrong decision
She believes she wasn’t in the right frame of mind when she entered the house, which may have contributed to mistakes she made during her time on the show
The source said: ‘It all feels like it’s been blown out of proportion. It has been a hard lesson to learn and she has openly told her team that this experience has been an eye opener.
‘Ekin-Su, in retrospect, feels that the decision to enter the house after a very public separation may not have been the right decision as she carried a lot of raw emotions and unresolved feelings into the house.
‘But she knows where she went wrong and she will admit things when she is able to’.
The source added: “She is set to acknowledge her absence from the final ahead of Friday with her fans, but for now management is trying to limit how much she is online.”