Ellie Spence thought about taking her life after Love Island when ‘bullied’ by ex-Islanders

Ex-Islander Ellie Spence has said she nearly took her own life after appearing on winter Love Island 2023, because of her experience with fellow Islanders.

Ellie has said she felt bullied by other Islanders from the show, and had problems with them after her series had come to an end. She said she went to Love Island welfare for help, but didn’t feel as though she got the assistance she needed.

“When I came out of Love Island, a good couple of months after the show had finished, I was going to events and networking and I was having issues with a couple of people,” Ellie said in a video. She said what was happening was “really affecting my mental health” before she had a call with Love Island’s welfare.

In the video, Ellie then explained how she was struggling in her personal life too, and having issues with ex-Islanders she had been on the show with wasn’t helping. “My mental health was in the gutter and I [thought I] could do something really silly,” Ellie said. She said she “felt like I could take my own life if this carries on.” Ellie added one Islander “bullied the shit” out of her in the villa, which had continued after the show.

Ellie then said she didn’t have a good experience with the Love Island welfare team, so decided to block all members of the team and cut them off. ITV told The Tab if an Islander decides to have no further contact with them, it has to respect their wishes. ITV also added that it cannot comment on individual Islanders’ experiences with welfare for confidentiality reasons.

Ellie claims after sharing her problems she was pulled into a press interview with the people who bullied her on the show, and was told to “debunk” rumours of arguments between them.

A spokesperson for Love Island told The Tab: “Welfare and duty of care towards our participants is always our primary concern, and we take the emotional well-being of all the Islanders extremely seriously. We are fully transparent about the extensive support we provide before, during and after filming, and are committed to providing this. Where an Islander requests no further contact from our welfare team, we will always respect that whilst reinforcing that we are available should they need to reach out to us.”

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