Love Island gave me my mental health back
Amy defends therapy team after 3 suicides rock show
A LOVE Island contestant has defended the show over its mental health support – claiming it SAVED her.
The reality series has been rocked by the suicides of two former participants and its host Caroline Flack.
But Amy Hart, who walked out of the show in 2019 for mental health reasons, says ITV’s aftercare team saved her life.
And the ex-British Airways cabin crew manager is so confident the series is safe that she would go back on it.
Amy, 29, told the Sunday Mirror: “Everyone says, ‘Is Love Island the worst thing you’ve ever done for your mental health?’
“And I say, no, it’s actually the best thing I’ve ever done for my mental health because I would never, ever have had those tools. I would never have known anything was wrong.
“I suffer with anxiety but I didn’t know until Love Island.
“After I found out my brain is like, ‘You’re not good enough, you’re a failure, you’re ugly’, I have been able to completely turn my life around, thanks to the ITV aftercare team.
“If they did do an All Stars, I would love to go on.
“I’d love, after eight months of therapy, to show the person I am now. I would enjoy it more.”
Amy quit the show when her “half boyfriend” Curtis Pritchard began seeing rival, Maura Higgins.
The programme has been mired in controversy after contestants Sophie Gradon, 32, and Mike Thalassitis, 26, took their own lives, in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
Then, last year, host Caroline, 40, committed suicide after she was accused of attacking lover, Lewis Burton.
TV aftercare procedures have been under scrutiny since the Jeremy Kyle show was axed following a guest’s suicide and Ofcom introduced strict new rules.
Amy, who is now a full-time influencer, has just finished 18 months of postshow therapy.
She said: “You have the welfare girls call you periodically, and you have as much therapy as you need.
“When I finished my therapy journey, she said, ‘This isn’t closing the door with ITV. If you need therapy, ITV will always support you’.”
It’s the best thing I have done,giving me tools to cope with my anxiety AMY HART ON THERAPY SUPPORT GIVEN BY ITV
HER TV FELLA Amy with Curtis
FLING Curtis and Maura