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Laura Whitmore, former host of Love Island UK, reflected on her friendship with Caroline Flack with fond memories. On February 14, Whitmore shared an Instagram post featuring photos of the two together. Flack was found dead in her London flat on February 15, 2020. She was 40 years old, and the cause of her death was deemed a suicide.
In her post, Laura included screenshots of their text conversations. She explained that she got a new phone and was trying to download old WhatsApp messages from her iCloud. Instead, a lot of older messages popped up, including her conversations with Caroline. Whitmore shared these messages to show a different side of Caroline.
“She wasn’t perfect and I didn’t know her as well as others but I knew she had her demons,” Laura wrote.
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Laura remembered Caroline as a supportive friend. The two first met in 2011 when Laura took over as host of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here Now. Caroline was supportive of Whitmore's new role back then, just as she was when Laura started hosting Love Island in 2020.
Former Love Island UK host Laura Whitmore honors Caroline Flack's memory amid new documentary
Laura Whitmore revealed that she had always declined requests to speak about Caroline Flack's death or participate in documentaries. She felt she had already said everything she could and didn't want her words to be misinterpreted. She also wanted to protect her own mental health. As previously mentioned, Whitmore shared a text message exchange she had with Caroline.
In their last conversation, Laura told Caroline that she hoped she was doing well and looked forward to seeing her soon. Caroline responded with heart emojis. Reflecting on their conversation, Laura expressed hope that Caroline was now at peace. She was saddened by how the media and social media treated Caroline before her death.
"We still haven't learned from Caroline's treatment before her death when it comes to women in the spotlight," the former Love Island host stated.
Laura felt that people still hadn't learned from how Caroline was treated. In 2020, a coroner ruled that Caroline had taken her own life while facing trial for allegedly assaulting her boyfriend, an accusation she denied. The coroner found that the media had been harassing Caroline, which worsened her mental health.
Caroline Flack's mother, Christine, is now making a documentary about her daughter's life. Titled Caroline, the film will explore the events leading up to her death and highlight her career. After Laura Whitmore shared the messages, several of her celebrity friends thanked her and supported her decision. Ashley James, a presenter and model, was among them.
She told Laura that before Caroline's death, she had spoken to Caroline about Laura taking over as the host of Love Island UK. Ashley said that Caroline was happy it was Laura who got the job. Other friends, including former Love Island star Laura Anderson, also showed their support.
Caroline stepped down as Love Island host in December 2019, with Laura taking over. Caroline publicly supported the decision. In one of the private conversations that Laura posted, on December 18, 2019, Caroline wished her well and expressed her hope that she would do a good job hosting the reality show.
Currently, Peacock is airing Love Island: All Stars at 9 pm ET.
