“I don’t have any regrets. Not one”

She was the victim of trolling after leaving series 4, but she hasn’t looked back

The moment Samira Mighty realised her life had changed forever was just hours after she left the Love Island villa. As soon as she stepped out of the car at Palma airport to fly home, people started pulling out their phones to film her. Others followed her through the terminal. Just five weeks earlier she’d been at the same airport as a very different person: a 22-year-old musical-theatre actress. “I can’t compare being ‘just Samira who was in musicals’ to who I am now in the public eye. Imagine going from normal life where no one recognises you to one day suddenly everyone recognises you everywhere you go. The degree of fame was a huge shock.” Mighty made a big splash when, three weeks before the end of the show in 2018, she chose to leave to be with her partner, Frankie Foster, who had been voted off the show after being in for just 10 days. Along with getting used to overnight fame, Mighty says the trolling that came with it was a challenge. “It was surprising. You never expect to see your name trending on Twitter. I couldn’t get my head round how people can send messages like ones I’ve had. Every little thing you do gets looked at. People think they know you very well, but sometimes it can get a bit too personal.” Leaving the show early didn’t affect the money she made off the back of it. She’s had multiple deals with fashion brands and appeared on The X Factor: Celebrity in 2019. “I wouldn’t call myself an influencer,” she says. “I like to put out what I put out, but I do want to be a recording artist and an actor. So I went on Love Island to explore new avenues of my career and I’ve met some amazing people in the music industry as a result of the show. I don’t have any regrets, not one.”