‘I’m a manipulative addict’: Austin Shepard reveals he relapsed whilst filming Love Island

People who watch Love Island are used to messy recouplings, dramatic exits and bombshell confessions, but Austin Shepard’s latest revelation lands in a very different, much heavier place.

The season seven alum has opened up about a relapse that happened after his time filming Beyond the Villa, and the way he described it is heartbreaking.

Austin had already spoken publicly about getting sober before Love Island USA made him a familiar face. Now, he’s sharing what happened when he relapsed.

Austin opens up about relapse during Beyond the Villa

Austin revealed that he relapsed while filming Love Island: Beyond the Villa, the franchise’s spin-off, and said the production team allegedly did not know what was happening at the time because he “tried to avoid filming as much as possible.”

Austin said no one on the Beyond the Villa cast knew about what was going on. In his interview with TMZ’s Previously On… podcast, he described himself as “a pretty manipulative, functional addict until it becomes so unmanageable”.

He also shared just how serious things had become by the time he sought treatment.

Austin heartbreakingly said: “I know how this road goes. I’ve had plenty of friends that are not here today that have sadly passed from it… that was my moment of clarity. There was one night, I was sitting there, I was going crazy, I hadn’t slept in four nights, I was very sick, like puking… It was horrible, I couldn’t sit still.”

At that point, he decided he needed “to go somewhere” and researched online for a detox clinic.

During the TMZ interview, he showed a photo of himself day one versus today and said: “Night and day difference.”

According to Austin, he arrived at detox in such poor shape that he had a seizure on his first night and had to be taken to the emergency room.

At the time of the interview, he said he was 11 days sober and spoke about wanting a different future for himself, especially after seeing where this road could lead.

He said plainly that he knows how addiction ends for a lot of people: “It’s either death or a long life of misery.”

He previously ‘quit’ opiates

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Austin Shepard (@austin_shepard3)

This is not the first time Austin has spoken about addiction. After leaving the villa, he said he had previously become addicted to opiates in his early twenties and had gotten sober at 22.

He traced the start of that battle back to being prescribed Percocet for a hand injury as a teenager, saying he was on it for two months and then became sick when it was stopped.

Austin also previously discussed using ibogaine as part of an unconventional attempt to get clean.

On The Journey Podcast, he described the experience as an intense 18-hour trip that forced him to picture a grim future if he stayed addicted.

He said he saw himself living out decades as an addict, losing his family and his stability, and came out of that experience feeling like he needed to change his life.

Right now, he says he is staying with his dad, leaning on loved ones, including girlfriend Raven Wood, and hoping to eventually help others by starting a scholarship for people who need treatment.