Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
I am a tough person but I worry about others on Love Island who come out and have to face trolling. The cruelty has to stop
REALITY STAR ROSIE WILLIAMS ON HOW SHE STAYS STRONG
THE humiliating break-up she endured on Love Island would have floored most people.
But feisty Rosie Williams, 26, has bounced back from being ditched by fellow contestant Adam Collard and then dumped from the reality show.
She has revealed a previous relationship – with a champion boxer who nearly died after a bout – is one of the reasons she has become tough.
But lawyer Rosie says she fears how other Love Island stars will cope with the abuse they will get online once they leave the programme too. She said: “The cruelty must stop.”
She accepts her stint in the Love Island villa was difficult at times – and it put her parents through the mill.
Her mum was so upset seeing her in distress on screen she called show bosses begging to speak to her. And Rosie fears what her dad will say after she performed a sex act on Adam.
She said: “It’s emotionally demanding in there.
“You can’t escape, you can’t cry to your mother or ask your friends about the boy you’re dating...
AWFUL
“When I turned on my phone after the villa I thought, ‘Oh my god, what am I going into?’
“You don’t know how you’ve been portrayed on TV.
“But I knew what I was getting myself into. I had the time of my life.”
She added: “I know I am strong and I know I’ll be fine. But I worry about other people in the villa who are not as strong as me and they have to come out and face trolling.
“I have mainly received positivity but of course I get negative comments.
“I delete them straight away, though, and don’t let them get to me.
“No one is perfect – why do these people deserve their imperfections thrown in their face by other people who are not perfect either? It’s unacceptable. This cruelty has to stop.”
She was dating the then British middleweight champion Nick Blackwell when he lost to Chris Eubank Jnr in 2016 and was brought back to life after collapsing in an ambulance.
Rosie said: “I was ringside. It was awful. I was so upset and remember feeling sick constantly until we knew he was going to be OK.
“He’s part of the journey which has made me who I am today.
“Every experience I’ve had in relationships I’ve learned a lot from, and I have got stronger.”
The pair split soon after the nearfatal bout. Nick, 27, retired from boxing due to the head injury he suffered in the fight.
Rosie has also extended her sympathy to the family of former Love
Island contestant Sophie
Gradon who died last week aged 32.
They did not know each other but Rosie paid tribute, saying: “Sophie was a beautiful young girl and I watched Love Island when she was in it and she just seemed amazing.
“Such a nice soul, and it’s so tragic to see a life like that lost.” It is believed Sophie took her own life. Love Island viewers were concerned about Rosie’s wellbeing as she was often shown crying. She said: “My mother was worried. She was ringing the producers asking, ‘Is she all right?’” Her mum
Sharon, 48, and dad Stephen, 49, have also been concerned about the trolling she has been subjected to after leaving the ITV show last week. Rosie, whose sex act on Adam was under the covers, added: “I don’t regret what happened... but I was worried about what my parents had seen. “I still haven’t spoken to my dad yet. Obviously there’s some stuff in the villa I did he’s not 100% happy with. “My brother said he’s going to be having words with me when I get home, so I’m a bit scared to see Daddy. He’s protective and I wouldn’t want it to be any different, but I’m a 26-year-old woman – he can’t exactly ground me.”
She was axed from the villa in Majorca in week three of the show after partner Adam, 22, coupled up with new arrival Zara.
Before she went on the programme Rosie said she would not have sex on the show as she feared it might damage her legal career if she chose to return to it. She studied for eight years before she landed a job at a Manchester firm.
Now she is back from Majorca, she hopes to become a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing or Dancing on Ice.
And she hopes her mum, a head teacher near Rosie’s hometown in the Rhondda Valley, has managed to calm dad Stephen down so the family reunion will not be too fraught.
antonia.paget@trinitymirror.com
I’m scared to see Dad. But I’m 26 – he can’t ground me ROSIE ON REACTION TO HER SEX ACT ON ADAM