Caroline Flack, ‘Love Island’ Host, Took Her Own Life Over Prosecution Fears for Boyfriend’s Assault

Former Love Island host, Caroline Flack, took her own life in February, and the coroner’s office is now reporting they believe she did so over fears of being prosecuted for assaulting her boyfriend. According to Page Six, North London Coroner Mary Hassell issued her findings, stating the reason “for her taking her life was she now knew she was being prosecuted for certainty. […] She knew she would face the media, press, publicity. It would all come down upon her,” she continued.

Flack also reportedly struggled with “fluctuating mental health” for some time, with the coroner’s office determining that her fame and celebrity made her battle tougher. “In spite of the fact she may have led — to some — a charmed life, actually the more famous she got, the more some of these difficulties increased – she had to deal with the media in a way most of us don’t,” Hassell said. The 40-year-old reality TV host was charged with assaulting her 27-year-old boyfriend, Lewis Burton, in December. He has gone on the record as saying that he did not want her to be prosecuted.

Flack’s mother, Chris, and sister, Jody, have since publicly thanked Hassell for the way she handled the investigation of Flack’s death. “She treated Caroline with dignity and respect and allowed us to ask questions and finally get answers to things that have been giving us sleepless nights ever since Caroline felt she had no choice but to take her life rather than face the humiliation of a show trial,” they said, according to The Guardian. Previously, Flack’s family released an unpublished social media post that she wrote just days before taking her own life. This was to give her fans, and those following the story of her death, some perspective on what she was going through.

“The reason I am talking today is because my family can’t take anymore,” Flack wrote. “I’ve lost my job. My home. My ability to speak. And the truth has been taken out of my hands and used as entertainment.” She went on to say, “I’m so sorry to my family for what I have brought upon them and for what my friends have had to go through.”

Flack also shared that she had been experiencing an “emotional breakdown,” and added, “I have always taken responsibility for what happened that night. Even on the night. But the truth is …. It was an accident.” She added, “I am NOT a domestic abuser. We had an argument and an accident happened. An accident.”

If you or someone you know are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741-741.