CAROLINE Flack thought quitting Love Island was a good thing, her friend and successor on the show Laura Whitmore has revealed.
The 34-year-old presenter explained that in one of the final times they spoke, her pal said that leaving the ITV2 hit in the wake of an assault charge might help her "work through" her problems.
Speaking on Frankie Bridge's Open Mind podcast, Laura recounted a conversation she had with Caroline two months before she took her own life.
She said: "I've never told anyone this, but one of the last things she told me is that this is probably good that it's happened this way as I have a lot of things I need to deal with and work through."
Caroline died on 15 February – while the new winter editon of Love Island was on air – with heartbroken Laura continuing to front the series in South Africa.
She killed herself a day after she learned that the CPS was pursuing charges that she allegedly attacked her boyfriend Lewis Burton, 27, with a lamp.
Laura added: "I remember thinking she'll come back with a bang, maybe I was being naive but I didn't think it would go the other way. My brain still hasn't computed it.
"The decision was made to not talk about Love Island after the winter series. It's weird as there's so many ups and downs, there were some wonderful time working on the series."
Caroline was buried last month in an enchanting forest close to where she grew up, her family revealed.
The presenter’s mum, Christine, said the ceremony was near their home in Norfolk as they had wanted to “bring her back home”.
More than 200 loved ones travelled from across the world and spent two hours remembering the star at GreenAcres, ceremonial park set in 16 acres of woodland at Colney, Norwich. Family and friends then held a wake in local pub The Black Horse.
Her funeral service included two moving live performances from West End and X Factor star Lucie Jones who sang She Used To Be Mine from the musical Waitress.
Close friend Ciara also performed a song called The Sulking Room which was written for Caroline.
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
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