LOVE Island star Zara Holland says she has struggled to watch the show after Sophie Gradon's untimely death in 2018.
Sophie was battling depression when she ended her life with a lethal cocktail of alcohol and cocaine two years after appearing on the ITV2 dating show.
The tragedy devastated the 32-year-old's family and friends including her Love Island co-star Zara, who grew close to Sophie in the 2016 series.
Zara, 25, said: "Nothing against the show. But I was extremely close with Sophie Gradon. She was a big part of my time in the villa.
"I just wouldn’t watch it, even if I had loads of spare time on my hands."
Following her death, Sophie's mum Deborah has fought for a crackdown on online trolls, having witnessed firsthand the horrific abuse Sophie suffered on social media before she died.
Reflecting on the trolling Sophie received, Zara added to The Mirror: "Life shouldn’t be about judging one another. For example, judging a young woman for enjoying herself.
"A young woman who hasn’t harmed anyone but a woman who has faced a torrent of judgemental and close minded opinions since leaving Love Island."
An inquest into Sophie's death in 2019 told how her boyfriend Aaron Armstrong performed CPR on her for 15 minutes but was unable to save her.
The reality star, who was crowned Miss Newcastle and Miss Great Britain in 2009, had been mourning the recent death of close friend Paul Burns at the time of her death.
Aaron, 25, went on to take his own life five days after Sophie's funeral having taken a similar cocktail of cocaine and booze, a separate inquest was told.
The couple exchanged texts the day before Sophie's death that were "very general and loving in nature" while both were at home looking after their respective parents' dogs.
But when he couldn't contact Sophie the next day, Aaron became so worried he called his brother Ryan and the pair went together to her home.
They threw stones up to Sophie's bedroom window to get her attention, before Aaron peered through the living room window and saw his girlfriend was unconscious.
The brothers smashed their way in through a door before Aaron began performing CPR.
Sophie's mum Deborah is campaigning for all accounts to be verified as well as a register logging abusive accounts.
In April she revealed the stress of her daughter's death could have contributed to a non-cancerous tumour in her pituitary gland.
You’re Not Alone
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide.
It doesn't discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It's the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it's rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You're Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let's all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You're Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858
- Heads Together, www.headstogether.org.uk
- Mind, www.mind.org.uk, 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus, www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans, www.samaritans.org, 116 123
- Movember, www.uk.movember.com
- Anxiety UK www.anxietyuk.org.uk, 03444 775 774 Monday-Friday 9.30am-10pm, Saturday/Sunday 10am-8pm
Source: Read Full Article
