'The Traitors' victim Ekin-Su says being buried alive was an 'iconic' way to die

• Warning: Spoilers ahead for "The Traitors" season two.
• Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu spoke with Business Insider about getting "killed" off Peacock's reality series.

Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu had the most dramatic exit yet on "The Traitors."

After getting "poisoned" by Parvati Shallow, the "Love Island UK" winner was shocked to be buried alive and "murdered" in front of her fellow housemates.

"I had an iconic death," Cülcüloğlu told Business Insider on Monday. "I'm glad I died in a coffin."

"If the producer said, 'How would you like to die?' I would've said, 'Please put me in a coffin," Cülcüloğlu added. "I'm grateful for the way I went away, and I'm grateful for the memories I had in there as well."

Now in its second season, Peacock's reality competition pits stars from "Big Brother," Bravo's "Real Housewives" franchise, "Survivor," and more against one another in a Scottish castle as they try to weed out which of the houseguests are secretly traitors — who are "killing" off the faithful one by one for a potential cash prize of up to $250,000.

The faithful are doing pretty miserably at this point. Seven of them have been sent home, three of whom were banished by their own teammates.

Business Insider caught up with Cülcüloğlu after her demise to hear about who she believes is playing the best game, her feud with Janelle Pierzina, and Parvati's "traitor face."

Ekin-Su is glad she watched her own funeral

What was it like in that coffin, especially when the lid closed?

Awakening. It was spiritual. First of all, I was shocked. Secondly, it was like the old me died and a new Ekin was born after I came out of that coffin after being buried. But yeah, indescribable. I don't wish this upon anyone. It's not a great experience, but I'm glad I did it, to say that I've actually been buried alive and watched my own funeral from afar.

It's made me realize life's too short and I just want to be happy, and I want everyone to be happy and live their life, because one minute you're here, the next minute you're in a coffin.

An unexpectedly profound experience, and probably also really fun because you're such a big fan of murder mysteries and documentaries.

Get me in a murder film, please. I'm shouting out to US producers. Thrillers? Murder documentaries? I'm in there.

Ekin-Su always thought Parvati had 'a traitor face'

You had that really great line right before Parvati handed you the poisoned cup where you said you were going to fuck up whoever was a traitor. Did you ever suspect Parvati might be a traitor? How is your relationship now?

I always knew Parvati had a traitor face, and I said this to her on the show. I said, "You're doing a face, which resembles a traitor." The pounce, the squint in the eyes. You know when someone plays like a bad villain, it's almost like playing that character in a show. So I did think she looks like a traitor. To my surprise, she turned out to be one.

But I liked Parvati. I didn't have anything against her, and I still like her. It's just a shame. Bless her. She didn't do a great job at the time of being a traitor, and obviously, Phaedra and Dan [Gheesling] weren't happy with the result. I keep thinking I could have been in there longer, and who knows what would've happened, but it's life.

I think your exit sent the house into disarray.

People have been saying after my death, it hasn't been the same in there. I've had people say to me that the energy went down and people started to get really, really argumentative in there, so it's what happens when you get rid of me.

I want to ask about the aftermath of your poisoning. The following morning at breakfast when host Alan Cumming announced someone was poisoned, Peter asked if anybody was given a drink. You didn't say anything. Did you forget you took the glass from Parvati?

That morning, something felt off, but I didn't put my finger on what it was before Alan even said anything. Something just felt off, and I felt this overwhelmingness that morning. It was like my last breakfast, so I was really enjoying my breakfast. As you can see, I was digging in my croissants. I was just happy to be alive again another day.

When Peter mentioned that comment, no, I didn't think of myself, because I remembered everyone had a drink and I was a bit tipsy that night. Who would've known? And then Alan mentioned the poisoning. Naturally, I had this weird feeling. Then something didn't feel right, and I obviously paused and I was like, "Poisoning?" And I was like, "Wait a minute. Why do I feel like this is me?" I just had this gut feeling that it could have been me because I'm quite giggly. I was vulnerable that night. I was speaking to everyone, so who knows? It could have been me.

She denies having any beef with Janelle

Another person that you seemed to have a little bit of a beef with in the show was Janelle — or rather she had a beef with you, maybe more so than you had with her, after you fought over a shield.

I didn't have a beef with her at all. I just stated some facts that I experienced during the game that we had, and that's all it was. And it got escalated on the table. Maks [Chmerkovskiy) brought it out as a big deal, and there was no big deal.

To be fair, people had nothing else to talk about but that. It was a great strategic plan to get the attention away from possible victims. I have nothing against Janelle. I think Janelle is a wonderful person, and she's a strong, independent boss babe. It was a game, and there was obviously a misunderstanding in a show, but that's fine.

Ekin-Su is pulling for John to win and thinks CT could go far

Who do you think is playing the best game right now?

I think Phaedra is really playing a good game. I didn't know who Phaedra was before. I didn't know who anyone was when I came. So for me, I just judged people on the first impressions. And for me, Phaedra seems really sweet, in her own world. I love the way she has her makeup. I just thought, "Oh, a glamorous woman." She was quite quiet sometimes, but all along she was in every circle, listening and acting very, very innocent, so I felt like Phaedra really did play well.

Dan is my friend in there as well. Who would've known Dan was a traitor all this time? Although, I mentioned it twice to him. I just felt something, but then the subject turned away.

It seems people are starting to suspect Dan more than Phaedra at this point in the show, so it will be interesting to see what happens there. On the flip side, who are you surprised is still in the game?

Who can I say? Parvati, again, just gives traitor vibes. I thought people had maybe sussed her out before. I know her name was mentioned a few times when we were in circles. And even Dan. I just felt like people knew, because people heard Alan's arm go up a few times [when he was selecting Traitors]. People never really dug into it deep enough, and I think if they did, we would've definitely caught some traitors at the start.

Who do you think is a black sheep in the game — someone who could have a resurgence and make it surprisingly far?

I don't know what happens at the end of the game, by the way. We don't know. But I'm guessing even CT could go far. Maybe.

Who would you like to see win?

I want to see my friends win. That's Tamra. We've got John. I love John. John, win! He's great. Even Peter I wanted to win. You've got Dan. He's my friend. When you find out he's a traitor, you're like, "Oh, maybe not." Who else? I thought Sandra was quite good at playing the game. I didn't know she was in "Survivor" and won it twice. She was very clever with people.

If I had to pick one person, John.

She would consider returning to 'The Traitors' with her boyfriend Davide

What did Davide think of your gameplay?

Before I went in, he was like, "Look, I think you're going to do really well because you are very smart and you're really good at reading people." He had no worries about me. He was just like, "Just be yourself and you'll be fine."

Obviously, when you find out what happens, he was like, "Look, it wasn't your fault." Just out of luck, I just drank something and I died. Yeah, he was very supportive before I went in.

How did he feel about how everything turned out? Did he have any reaction to the big death scene, seeing that play out on screen?

I think that scene definitely would've touched him. It's not nice to see your girlfriend in a coffin. It's an emotional scene, so I'm sure he felt sad.

Speaking of "Love Island," obviously you and Bergie were representing "Love Island" UK and US on "The Traitors." Who else from the franchise would you want to see on the show, or who do you think would perform really well on "The Traitors" in future seasons?

I've kind of drifted away from the whole "Love Island" scene as much as I can since I went on, but I would like to see Maura Higgins on there because she's my friend. I think she would be fiery on there. Even Davide, he'd be good on there.

Would you guys ever go on "The Traitors" together, like Larsa and Marcus this season?

We would, but I think we'd be a bit obvious. We'd have to play the game differently to how Marcus and Larsa would've played 100% because people would watch and be like, "Oh, they're doing the same thing." They'd have to make one of us a faithful or a traitor. That'd be quite fun to do. Or both of us as traitors.

She's done with 'Love Island' and wants to focus on hosting or serial killer documentaries

"Love Island: All-Stars" is airing right now. I know you said that you've purposely drifted away from the franchise, but if you weren't with Davide, is that something you would ever consider doing in the future, returning?

Look, I have respect for "Love Island." I love "Love Island," but for me, "Love Island" was 2022 season eight, and for me, that is a chapter closed. I had great memories, I won the show, and I think that is it.

I'm moving on to other things in my life. I want to do presenting. I want to make it big in the US. I want to do serial killer documentaries. I want to be in a thriller film.

There's so much I want to do in my life now, and I don't think "Love Island" fits in that category. I'd love to host shows like "Love Island," but I definitely wouldn't go back as a contestant.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.