As she awaits her assault trial on 4 March, Caroline Flack is understandably finding life very difficult at the moment.
The 40-year-old presenter had to quit her job on the winter series of Love island and has been banned from contacting her boyfriend Lewis Burton after she was arrested and charged with assault by battery following an altercation with him at her home in December. And while they have vowed to stay together, last week they were hit by claims they had split as Lewis had been sending flirty messages to other women, prompting speculation he had been cheating on her.
“The communication ban and distance between them over Christmas and New Year has done Lewis good. He is ready to move on with his life now,” an insider told a newspaper.
“Lewis is single again and ready to get back out there on the dating scene. He has been thinking about going on dates and it would be fair to say he has put the feelers out there. He’s definitely got his eye on someone else already and been flirting with her over messages. He is letting her know he’s ready when she is.”
When approached by the paper's reporter, Lewis apparently said, “I don’t want to answer any of your questions, I’m sorry.”
However, he then soon put up an instastory of a picture of him and Caroline, saying. “We ain’t split. Can’t wait to see you.”
And we’re told that although Caroline trusts Lewis – who claims his girlfriend is “harmless” and isn't supporting her prosecution – and can’t wait to rebuild their life together when all of this over, she has her fears that they might not survive.”
WATCH heat's Under The Duvet with VOXI and special guests Eve Gale, Michael Griffiths and Arabella Chi below:
“Being banned from seeing or communicating with boyfriend Lewis is the hardest thing Caroline has ever faced, and she's admitted to friends that it's killing her not knowing how he is, what he's thinking and how he's feeling about her,” our insider says.
“She says she trusts him 100 per cent and believes him when he swore that he would wait for her – but Caroline has never needed more reassurance in her life that he still loves her than she does now. Of course, during her dark times, she can't help but feel worried that he's going to change his mind and decide it's not worth all of this hassle – that she's not worth all of this hassle.”
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Caroline and Lewis got together last summer and quickly fell in love. But in the early hours of 12 December, six police cars arrived at the presenter's London home and she was arrested. When she appeared in court on 23 December, it was alleged she had hit Lewis over the head with a lamp after fearing he was cheating on her when she found messages on his phone.
As part of her bail conditions she cannot contact him and recently spent time in LA, but she knows that this hasn’t been easy for Lewis either.
“She knows it's a lot on him – that a few months ago he was living a normal life and then got catapulted into all of this,” our source adds.
“Her biggest worry right now is that Lewis is starting to step back from things, that the time apart could have him thinking that life could be easier without her or that he will just get used to doing his own thing again. Or that he may even meet someone new while they are apart. She is positive about their future together but of course there are some doubts because of what they’re going through at the moment.”
The star – who was pictured looking great in new snaps taken back in London, days before the cheating rumours surfaced – has also used this time to reflect on her life and work out what she really wants.
And our source says she is willing to change everything because the main things she wants are Lewis and her career back. There are already calls for her to return to Love island for the summer series and she's hoping that will happen.
“She's had a lot of time to reflect these last few weeks, as she's taken time out of what was her crazy life – she can now see that it was mayhem at times, she worked so hard and partied so hard, and tried to keep up with this public image of her as the girl who had it all. She hadn't realised how sucked into the lifestyle she got,” we’re told.
“She's now using this time to get her head together and get her life together and start figuring out how to lead a better life and how to handle the stress and pressures differently. Caroline is desperately hoping that her and Lewis can get through this and she can also get back to work.
"She just wishes that she could talk to him and tell him that she is already a changed woman and that they can have a great life together if he waits for her. She knows it was a lot for him, and that all the stress and pressure could get to her at times – and she just wishes she were able to tell him that it will all get better and that things are going to be fine.”
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