EXCLUSIVE: Love Island star Marcel Somerville found out he was about to become a dad, then days later ended up in hospital almost dying due to a health condition he had no idea about
Love Island hunk Marcel Somerville has shared how he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 35 after a “scary” brush with death. The former Blazin’ Squad rapper was a finalist on Love Island in 2017 and appeared in the recent All Stars version of the ITV2 show.
Now, with the series back on our screens and to mark Diabetes Awareness Week, the star has opened up about how he only discovered he had the condition after suffering a shocking collapse. Type 1 Diabetes means your body can’t make the hormone insulin, causing the level of glucose (sugar) in your blood to get too high. It usually strikes early in life but can develop at any age.
Gym lover Marcel, now 39, has always kept himself in good shape, but looking back he says there were early signs that he might have had the condition.
He recalls: “At the age of 10 I passed out in church and then seven years later it happened again. I had to have Lucozade to bring me round. They could have been signals, but I never thought it was diabetes.”
It was during the Covid pandemic in 2020 that Marcel began noticing bigger changes in his health.
He says: “I was going to the toilet seven or eight times a night and at the same time feeling really thirsty. I also started having naps in the middle of the day and began losing a lot of weight going from 90kilos to around 70. I didn’t look like myself.
“I didn’t know it at the time but these were the ‘four Ts’ – classic symptoms of type 1 diabetes: Toilet, Thirsty, Tired, Thinner.”
When Marcel began developing indigestion and vomiting too, his GP recommended blood tests. But on the day he was due to get the results, the situation escalated.
He remembers: “In the morning I was throwing up, then I remember being in my bedroom and just falling on the floor. Everything went upside down.”
Marcel ended up on intensive care in hospital where doctors desperately tried to stabilise his blood sugar levels. He’d developed life threatening diabetic ketoacidosis, where a lack of insulin causes harmful substances called ketones to develop in the blood.
He says: “The first day was just a blur. When I came round the following day I had all the tubes and stuff in my arms and was lying there thinking ‘what’s going on?’ The doctors said: ‘Did you know you were diabetic?’ I said: ‘I didn’t have a clue.’
“They told me my life was going to be very different going forward. I didn’t know anything about diabetes. I was in hospital for seven days and had to learn how to inject insulin, how to prick my finger and use a strip to tell me what my blood sugar was and manage my food based on that.
“It was an absolute shock. The week before I’d found out I was becoming a dad – and then a week later I was rushed into hospital, nearly dying!
But the prospect of being a father to Roman, now three, made Marcel focus.
He says: “I knew I had to be on the job. I love cake for example, but it’s not the best with diabetes. So I got to managing the food I can and can’t eat – like lots of carb heavy rice and pasta – fast.”
Marcel still injects insulin, as he finds a pump too restrictive, but does wear a Dexcom monitor to alert him when his glucose levels are too high or low.
He says: “It’s so simple to use, like a diabetic assistant helping you throughout your day.”
Marcel, who recently split with wife Rebecca – mum to Roman – says there are silver linings to developing diabetes.
He adds “It has given me a reason to be a bit more focussed on my nutrition. At first it was scary, but now it’s just sort of life – you can’t let it take control.”
Marcel wears a Dexcom G7 – a continuous glucose monitor that helps him track his glucose levels and manage his diabetes. Visit Dexcom.com. For symptoms visit www.diabetes.org.uk
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
