Although they left the Love Island villa very much an item, Mary Bedford surprised fans when she appeared to put Aaron Simpson firmly in the friend zone during an appearance on Aftersun just days after they were dumped.
When host Laura Whitmore asked what the future held for their relationship, Mary said, “I think we’re just gonna go home, when we’re back in the real world again and things are more normal. We’re going to see how it goes, but I’ve definitely made a best friend in here.”
The Leeds lass has now opened up more about her split from Aaron as she revealed the heartbreaking reason their romance didn’t continue in the outside world following the death of her grandma while she was in the villa.
Mary was taking part in an Instagram Q&A with fans when one of her followers asked, “Why did you and Aaron split?!”
She replied, “Coming out of the villa and finding out the news about my grandma completely threw me, I’ve never lost anyone close to me so it has been really hard to be honest…
“A result of this my head is all over the place, and all I knew is I wanted to be back home surrounded by my loved ones.”
CHECK OUT Love Island 2021 cast - their jobs before the show
Love Island 2021 cast: their jobs before the show - slider
1 of 12Kaz Kamwi - fashion influencer
Before heading into the villa, Kaz was already an influencer (with 71k followers) and could have been earning up to £1,000 per post. So annually she could have been making £57,200.
2 of 12Teddy Soares - senior financial consultant
Teddy already had a pretty stable career before his time in the villa. He was a senior financial consultant in Manchester means he could have been earning around £42k a year.
3 of 12Jake Cornish - water engineer
OG Islander Jake was a water engineer in Weston-super-Mare before going into the villa which means he could have been making £38k a year.
4 of 12Chloe Burrows - marketing executive in financial services
Chloe, the most iconic bombshell from Love Island 2021, was a marketing executive in financial services before going into the villa. She could have been earning £36,700 a year.
5 of 12Abigail Rawlings - tattoo artist
Abigail was a tattoo artist in Bournemouth before her stint on Love Island and she could have been earning £35k a year.
6 of 12Tyler Cruickshank - estate agent
Bombshell Tyler was an estate agent in Croydon before going on the ITV show. Who knows whether he'll return to his job but he could have been earning around £29k a year.
7 of 12Millie Court - fashion buyer assistant
Millie is arguably the best dressed in the Love Island 2021 villa and that may be because of her job as a fashion buyer assistant for ASOS. At her old job in London, Millie could have been earning £26k a year.
8 of 12Hugo Hammond - trainee PE teacher
Because Hugo only completed part of his teacher training, he wasn't actually a full-time PE teacher but nevertheless he could have still be earning £25,750 a year.
9 of 12Faye Winter - lettings manager
Faye was a lettings manager in Devon and she could have been earning around £25k a year.
10 of 12Liam Reardon - bricklayer
As a bricklayer in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, Liam may have been earning £22,800 a year.
11 of 12Toby Aromolaran - semi professional footballer
Toby is a semi professional footballer, who plays for Hashtag United, and he could have been earning £18k.
12 of 12Liberty Poole - Nando's waitress and marketing student
As a waitress at Nando's Liberty could be earning around £18k a year.
She continued, “Aaron is an amazing person who has been supportive about everything since we left the show but right now there’s no pressure on us.
“I will always be so grateful we met as he’s a massive part of my Love Island journey, but I’m focusing on getting my head back in the right headspace which is why I haven’t been crazy active since coming out.”
However, Mary didn’t rule out a reunion as she added, “But who knows about the future 🤍.”
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Mary announced her grandma sadly passed away while she was in the villa as she returned to social media last week.
Alongside a sweet snap of the reality star and her gran, she wrote, “Our angel on earth is now our angel in heaven 🕊🤍.
“Coming off the show has been bitter sweet for me as I flew home to go to the funeral of my beautiful grandma who passed away whilst I was in the villa. I’ve been taking the time since the show to mourn, reflect, and be back with my loved ones before returning to my social media.”
Mary added, “I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of the support I have received at this difficult time, I truly appreciate everything 🤍.”