Are 'Love Island's' Ekin-Su Culculoglu and 'The Only Way is Essex's' James Argent dating? Rumours explained

Rumours have been swirling that there’s a new celebrity couple - 'Love Island's' Ekin-Su Culculoglu and 'The Only Way is Essex's' James Argent.

The reality TV stars are reported to have been spending time with one another since the beginning of the year, shortly after 29-year-old Culculoglu left the ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ house.

But, apparently there’s nothing between them - other than a PR team and possibly a friendship. They are said to have each laughed at the suggestion that they are dating. The management firm that looks after both TV personalities has now denied that there are any romantic links between them, while Argent, aged 36, and Culculoglu both say they’re both still single.

A source told Metro.co.uk: “Ekin-Su and James are friends, and have had a little laugh to themselves about the story. They both remain single.”

An unknown person had previously claimed the pair were “practically neighbours” and that they’d “passionately kissed” after enjoying dates together at each other’s houses. It does seem, however, that the information about a blossoming romance between the pair appears to be false, and those who represent the pair are investigating to find out who is giving the press false information about the supposed romance.

The source added: “The team are channelling their inner Wagatha Christie and trying to find out who is selling out on Ekin-Su. And they’re pretty sure they know who it is. A small number of people who were told about a drunken snog. Everybody is getting closer to the source of the leaks. Sadly, the pair are no strangers to people trying to make a quick buck out of them, and it looks like this is another case of somebody trying to sell out on the pair.”

Culculoglu broke up with her ‘Love Island’ boyfriend Davide Sanclimenti in January this year. They won the ITV dating show in Augusty 2022 and had been dating from that point prior to their split. Shortly after the break-up, she entered the ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ house - but her stint in the show was not received well by the public and when she was evicted she was met with boos from the crowd. She has kept a low profile in general since then and hasn’t given any details about her love life.

Argent also split from girlfriend Stella Turian recently. Their relationship came to an end in November last year after a year-long romance. A source had told the Daily Mail: "Their friendship developed into something stronger and they started to spend more time together, even passionately kissing. It's still early days and they both appreciate they need to take it slow, having come out of high-profile relationships in the past six months . . . but there's no denying the feelings and chemistry between them."

A close friend of Culculoglu has also refuted the dating claims and told The Sun: "James and Ekin share the same management team so it's inevitable that they'd be linked, but they are not dating. They have had a little laugh to themselves about the rumours they are together, but they both remain single.

"Ekin is focusing on herself since ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ and has kept a low profile in recent weeks but she has some exciting things lined up for the summer.”