Ex-Love Islander's caring role with animal charity

A former contestant on Love Island has made the 'biggest lifestyle change ever' and has opened up about his tough time after the hit TV show. He spoke to Indigo Jones

- Indigo Jones

ONE day, I walked into an animal centre in Swansea and was looking at one of the men who worked there and wondering “why do I recognise you?”.

The man in front of me was Tom Powell from the second season of Love Island.

In an interview with the former islander, he opened up about everything, and I mean everything. Before the show, he had been a personal trainer, worked seasons in Zante, managed a bar in Greece and later did personal security for the cast of Geordie Shore, where he was scouted to be on Love Island.

The 33-year-old said: "One of the producers messaged me, saying, 'Hey, Tom I think you'd be great for this series that we've got, would you like to fill out an application?'

"So I filled out the application, and within 20 minutes he was asking me to come to London for the interview. By the time I had the interview, left London to get back on the train, they rang me and said 'you're going in two weeks."

When asked how he prepared to go on the show, he joked: "I got in the gym for two weeks."

Tom, who was 24 when competing on the dating series, said he had no regrets going on the show and had no bad moments on the series. However, he said the period after Love Island was an extremely difficult time, after the loss of Sophie Gradon.

Sophie, who was 32 years old, was found dead at her home in Ponteland, Northumberland, by her boyfriend and his brother in June 2018.

An inquest found she had committed suicide. Despite claims that the show was not doing enough for their participants at the time, Tom said: "Everyone had their own issues. Love Island looked after us mentally and physically massively after the show.

"They genuinely did look after us. I had a phone call off the show's psychiatrist every week after I got kicked out, then it went down to once every month, and then once every six months."

He said they even phoned him after the passing of Sophie.