Love Island has catapulted a number of stars to fame over the years, but the dating show has also been hit with numerous tragedies that include suicides and health battles
Love Island has been hit with a number of tragedies over the years.
For some, ITV’s hit dating show has been the perfect platform for success outside of the villa. Molly-Mae Hague famously bagged a £500,000 PrettyLittleThing deal and became Creative Director, a role which is said to have landed her hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Love Island All Stars winner Molly Smith found love with Tom Clare and has signed a lucrative six-figure deal with US supplement brand Alani Nu. And Molly Mae’s co-star Josh Denzel has forged a successful sports broadcasting career, interviewing the England squad and making regular appearances on BT Sports and Sky Sports.
But the flip side of life after Love Island can be much darker, with some experiencing horrific abuse on social media, debt and serious health issues. Six years on from Mike Thalassitis’ tragic death, Daily Star has looked at some of the tragedies suffered by the cast.
Tragic deaths
Three people linked to Love Island have sadly taken their own lives. On March 16 2019, Mike Thalassitis was found dead in a park in Edmonton, north London, at the age of just 26.
North London Coroner’s Court concluded that his cause of death was suicide by hanging. Mike had appeared on series three of Love Island in 2017, and his co-star Montana Brown revealing he had been in a “dark place” in the months prior to his death.
It was said Mike was struggling financially and with the death of his grandmother before his tragic passing. Just months earlier, series two star Sophie Gradon tragically took her own life as well.
She consumed cocaine and alcohol before hanging herself at her family home in Medburn in June. The 32-year-old was found by her boyfriend Aaron Armstrong, 25, who took his own life 20 days later.
The Northumbria Police force said Sophie had been exchanging messages with a male friend on the day she died. In the texts, Sophie admitted having suicidal thoughts, explaining that she was “struggling with the world” and “could not do this any more”.
She was taking medication for social anxiety disorder at the time of her death. Sophie, who had been diagnosed with depression and low self-esteem in 2013, appeared on Love Island in 2016.
In 2020, former Love Island presenter Caroline Flack was found dead at her home in Stoke Newington, London. The 40-year-old tragically hung herself just days before she was due to stand trial for assaulting her boyfriend Lewis Burton.
The former X Factor host learned she would likely be prosecuted for the incident. Coroner Mary Hassell said that the way the case “played out in the national press” was “incredibly difficult for her”.
The Met Police says it will partly re-investigate what made it charge Flack as “new witness evidence may be available”. The Crown Prosecution Service had said Flack should get only a caution – but the Met appealed and she was charged.
Hollyoaks star Paul Danan appeared on he original series of Celebrity Love Island, which took place in Fiji back in 2005, and in the second series which aired the following year. He sadly died in January of this year at the age of 46 – it’s now been confirmed he died from a cocktail of drugs including cocaine and heroin.
In 2019, Malin Andersson revealed her one-month old daughter Consy had passed away. Malin, who appeared on series two of Love Island in 2016, delivered her baby girl seven weeks early in December 2018.
Consy, who was named after the star’s late mum, had been treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital after suffering complications following her birth. In a post shared on New Year’s Day, the 33-year-old wrote: “Happy New Year… Tom and I are so happy to let you all know that our baby girl CONSY arrived in this world 23rd December 2018, seven weeks early…
“She is so beautiful, we are totally in love with her and feel so blessed that she is here but unfortunately due to complications, she is currently being cared for at Great Ormond Street… we have received a number of messages over the past week and there has been a lot of speculation and so we wanted to share our news with you so you could hear from us first hand.”
But tragically, baby Consy passed away in hospital at four-weeks old. Announcing Consy’s death, Malin wrote: “Completely in love with you.. and my Mum just wanted you to be with her. Your time wasn’t ready yet. Mummy loves you. I stayed with you each day…
“You opened your eyes one last time for me and I saw those beautiful big brown eyes. I’m so sorry I couldn’t do anymore. Go be with grandma Consy. My angel. Rest in peace CONSY GLORIA EMMA ANDERSSON-KEMP 23/12/18-22/01/19.”
Cancer battle
Demi Jones rose to fame on the first ever winter version of Love Island back in 2020. She amassed huge success after leaving the villa, however, things took a horrifying turn when she discovered she had cancer in May 2021.
It was actually Demi’s fans who saved her life after spotting a faint mark on her neck, which turned out to be a cancerous lump. In a video shared on her social media platform in collaboration with Cancer Research UK, Demi spoke about her first symptoms.
The 27-year-old said: “I remember when I came out of Love Island I got my phone back and obviously your phone just blows up, doesn’t it? Quite a few people had messaged me and said they’d seen the lump on my neck.”
After Demi’s mum insisted that she get the mark checked out, Demi was informed that the golf-ball-sized lump was a rare form of thyroid cancer. The reality star had surgery to remove the cancerous lump, later followed by a full thyroidectomy which removed her entire thyroid. Demi discovered she was cancer-free in December 2021.
Miscarriages
Jess Hayes appeared on series one of Love Island in 2015 and went on to win the show with Max Morley. Their relationship didn’t work out after leaving the villa and Jess welcomed a son named Presley with her ex-fiance Dan Lawry in 2019.
The following year, Jess miscarried her son Teddy at 19 weeks. She split with Dan in 2021 but found love again with businessman Zeb. Last year, the reality star shared the devastating news that she had miscarried again.
Starting her post with a trigger warning, the 32-year-old wrote: “I debated posting it feels really strange to open up and feel vulnerable but you know I’m always open and honest with you all and it’s hard to pretend I’m ok as it’s been a rough week. But I hope that someone going through the same this might help. I was pregnant and now I’m not.”
She continued: “I spoke about my 1st loss and tbh I didn’t know I would be here again earlier this time but it still feels complete sh*t. It’s not really just losing a pregnancy it’s the plans you make, your vision of what that baby or child might of been like, what your family will look like and it gets taken away in a second.”
Jess admitted she had to carry on as normal for four-year-old Presley, adding: “It was a traumatic day when it happened which I wasn’t really expecting at all I tried to keep busy and go about my day went out which was a big mistake. Rushed home panicked after last time (previous haemorrhage) convinced myself it might be happening again, so I was just happy to get out the other side.”
Love Island OG Olivia Bowen found her husband Alex on Love Island back in 2016 – the pair welcomed son Abel in 2022 but recently announced Olivia was pregnant again. However, they sadly lost one of the twins they were expecting through vanishing twin syndrome.
The pair were told they were having twins just before Christmas last year but were later told one of the twins had no heartbeat. Recalling the traumatic loss, Olivia told The Sun: “As we looked at the screen, you could see that one baby was so much bigger than the other. And then the sonographer told us that the smaller baby had no heartbeat.
‘I just didn’t believe it. I sat there thinking: ‘No, it’s going to come back.’ And what made me more upset was seeing Alex’s face, because he had been so positive.’
She added: “I was a mess and couldn’t speak to anyone. I just wanted to be asleep, but then I would feel so guilty because there was this other little baby thriving inside me that other people literally dream of having.”
Sharon Gakkfa was a contestant on Love Island in 2021. In 2023, Sharon revealed she suffered a miscarriage 18 months prior.
Detailing her pain, Sharon explained that she’d been “trying to find the strength” to open up about the ordeal. In the emotional post, Sharon also revealed that the upcoming week would have marked her baby’s first birthday.
Sharon admitted she’d found it “incredibly tough” to function” as normal, telling her fans that she shared the news for her “own healing” and not for “sympathy”.
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
