Trauma gave me a new outlook on life
Love Island’s Demi Jones tells ABI JACKSON how cancer has changed her perspective, the pressure to look perfect and why she puts herself first now
DEMI JONES knows exactly who she’d name as her role model.
“I know this might sound cliched, but it has to be my mum,” says the former Love Islander.
“She’s the main woman in my life who has just taught me everything. I think subconsciously through being around her and the way she’s dealt with things in life – she’s always been so strong, so optimistic, got through everything with a smile on her face – I think I’ve reciprocated that.”
Luckily, the 23-year-old gets to see lots of her mum, Karen, as she’s still living at home in Portsmouth.
“When I came out of Love Island, I was only two weeks out when we were struck with the pandemic – so I’ve been home and there hasn’t been a reason for me to leave yet,” she says with a laugh.
It’s not just the pandemic that Demi has had to contend with since taking part in the hit ITV reality show in early 2020.
Just after the series ended and the world went into lockdown, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in the May, following surgery to remove a golf-ball-sized tumour.
She had further surgery to remove the rest of her thyroid (meaning she now needs medication to replace the hormones the gland usually produces, which play a vital role in regulating the metabolism) and was thankfully told she was cancer-free late last year.
So how is she doing now?
“I’m actually doing really well,” she says. “I was given the all-clear just before Christmas, so that was the best Christmas present ever.”
She’d found the lump before going on Love Island, but didn’t know it was cancerous at that point, so 2020 was a bit of a rollercoaster.
“My life changed with the show, then I came out and it was lockdown, and obviously all my appointments were delayed, so it has been a real journey to be fair.
“But I’m just so glad I was able to get into treatment last year, and I’ve been given the all-clear. I’m so fortunate it was a very treatable cancer.”
She’s glad to be bringing some focus back to other areas of her life and was thrilled to join the judging panel for The Pour Moi Uplifting Women Awards in May. The lingerie and swimwear retailer has set out five categories – Charity Champion, Activist Achiever, Extraordinary Entrepreneur, Innovator In Business and the Pour Moi Loves Award, for women who’ve faced and overcome significant challenges and adversity.
It’s a welcome relief from the body-image pressures that come with Love Island and being an Instagram influencer.
“I definitely feel under pressure,” Demi admits. “Right now, I’m really not enjoying my body, but I think that’s because I went through such a drastic change before Love Island. “I lost weight and toned up for the show [she recently revealed she’d lost three stone before it] and I managed to maintain that. “Then obviously being diagnosed with cancer, I have gone up like two dress sizes, so for me, especially if I’m posting on Instagram all the time, there is a lot of pressure to keep up with these other influencers and always feel like I have to look good.
“But I need to not put that pressure on myself and remember I’ve been through quite a traumatic experience that’s taken a toll on my body. And also with the hormone tablets, I am sort of fighting a losing battle at the moment. But I’m trying to stay really positive.”
Being honest about this stuff means a lot to her – because it’s something that affects so many women and young girls.
“I hope people can remember that I’m real, I’m not just this person who posts on Insta and looks perfect all the time. Honestly, I’m a woman your weight naturally fluctuates anyway, let alone if you’ve been through something like cancer.”
While she may have had the allclear before Christmas, recovery is an ongoing process – emotionally as well as physically.
“I think for a while I was in denial that I even had it,” Demi says. “With all the other women I’ve spoken to that have been through cancer, you definitely divide your life into two sections. Life before cancer, and life after cancer is very different.”
She’s still getting to grips with the hormone tablets, which she’ll be taking daily for the rest of her life.
“I’m very up and down with my emotions, it takes the tiniest thing to make me cry,” she says.
The whole experience has given her a new outlook on lots of things.
“I know this sounds really cheesy, but I think it’s definitely given me like a new perspective. It has given me a different outlook on how I view myself.
“I do take my personal happiness a bit more seriously now,” Demi reflects. “If I’m not happy about something or having a bad day, I know I’ve got the right to switch off from the world. I’ve got the right to put myself first.”
■ The Pour Moi Uplifting Women Awards take place on May 19.
I hope people can remember that I’m real – I’m not just a person who posts on Insta...