Best friends always have little ways of communicating to each other without anyone else catching on.
From 'help me' eyes to 'it's okay' hand gestures, the fact that two friends have an arsenal of secret signals to convey bigger messages is nothing new.
And it's no different for Love Island star Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and her best friend Arabella Ovenden, who has just revealed that Ekin-Su is sending her signals via her hair.
Talking to OK Magazine, the Love Island star's best friend revealed exactly what Ekin-Su does to let her friends back home know she is missing them.
Following some drama down at the Majorca villa, including the other Islanders' 'slutshaming' of the Turkish soap actor and fans worried over allegations bullying of Ekin-Su, it's of no surprise that the 27-year-old would be missing her friends back home.
Advert
Arabella admitted: "We have this sign – if she ever plaits her hair that means that she misses me. She did it almost straight away."
Her friend continued: "It made me feel bad, girls can be very bitchy and it just didn’t seem like they were taking to her. It seems fine now that she’s come out of her shell. She won’t let people mess her about, she’s very genuine."
Offering some insight into what Ekin-Su is like outside of the Love Island villa, Arabella noted: "I know she was really nervous to show people this side of her, she didn’t want to be judged.
Advert
"But I think she’s come out of her shell," the best friend added.
"I was worried at the start because the girls didn’t take to her," she continued.
"She’s been exactly how she is with her friends back in London.
Advert
"Because she’s an actress, we were wondering if she might put on a persona. But no, that’s the Ekin-Su we know."
This follows fans' outrage at the double-standards used to 'slutshame' Ekin-Su following the Jay Younger and Paige Thorne drama.
Hundreds of fans rushed to Twitter to share their views on the matter.
One Twitter user wrote: "It's the girls standing by and seeing the double standards between the boys and Ekin-Su and saying naff all. I don’t get it? #LoveIsland."
Advert
"Davide is talking about kissing two girls in 12 hours but Ekin-Su is constantly slut-shamed and belittled," pointed out another.
A third commented: "Ekin-Su deserves nothing but the best and shame on the other islanders for their nasty behaviour towards her #LoveIsland.”
Love Island continues tomorrow at 9 pm on ITV2 and ITV HUB.
Topics: Love Island, TV And Film, Real Life, ITV
Rhiannon Ingle