I'm A Celeb Maura Higgins' 'dark thoughts' after Love Island and 'horrendous' call from dad
Latest I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here contestant Maura Higgins has previously spoken out on 'dark thoughts' suffered following her appearance on Love Island.
The Irish TV personality, 33, first appeared on our screens as a surprise 'bombshell' contestant on the 2019 series of the reality dating show alongside Tommy Fury and Molly-Mae Hague.
She is set to repeat the trick of a bombshell entry as a campmate on I'm A Celeb, with presenters Ant and Dec suggesting she will be tasked with a special challenge upon her arrival.
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Maura has previously spoken out about struggles with her mental health following her original stint on ITV2's Love Island.
Speaking on Married At First Sight expert Paul C Brunson's podcast, she revealed finding herself in the public eye became an incredibly difficult time in her life.
Following the show, she found herself far from home and living out of a suitcase as she tried to begin a new career. She told the We Need To Talk podcast: "Life after Love Island was a very hard time in my life… I was just dropped to the UK. It was like someone just picked me up, dropped me to the UK and I was in the public eye. I had nowhere to live. I had no friends, no family, nobody I could trust.
"I had a breakdown. I had dark thoughts, very dark thoughts… And it got to a stage where I don't even think I told my mam. I tell my mum everything. I didn't tell her how bad it was… I didn't want to be here anymore. I thought that was going to be the best thing.”
She added: "There was so much expected from me. And because I was there on my own, I was like, ‘I've just got nobody to help’."
That wasn't the only aspect that Maura found herself struggling with after leaving the villa, as she also revealed that following the show, her already strained relationship with her father got worse.
Maura revealed that her dad 'wasn't around' when she was younger and the situation didn't improve following her parents divorce and following a 'horrendous' phone call, they no longer speak at all.
She said: "It's kind of weird. We haven't spoken in a few years now. My dad spoke to me not very nice. I'm not saying it was just a bit of an argument. It was horrendous where I physically couldn't breathe after the phone call.
"I thought to myself, 'I wouldn't let a partner talk to me like that. I wouldn't let a friend talk to me like that. I'm not going to let my dad talk to me like that.' But also, I think if I dig deep, I don't think I've ever forgiven my dad for not being there for me when my best friend passed away. And he wasn't there for me."
I'm A Celebrity continues at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX
