The showbiz world was left in shock over the weekend, when the news broke that Love Island 2017 star Mike Thalassitis had been found dead in woodland near his home in Essex.
After Mike's friends and Love Island co-stars paid tribute to the reality star, with some even slamming Love Island bosses for their after care procedure, Mike's ex-girlfriend, Celebs Go Dating star Megan McKenna, has now spoken about the tragic news.
Taking to her Instagram page, Megan apologised for not being active on social media, writing, 'Sorry I haven't been on social media but I'm in complete shock and trying to come to terms with this. I can't believe I'm writing this post.'
The former TOWIE star then added, 'My thoughts and prayers are with Mike's family. Rest in peace Mike.' [sic]
Fans were quick to show their support for Megan, one user wrote, 'You don’t need to explain yourself. Everyone knows how much you loved him! And it doesn’t matter if you weren’t part of each other’s life. What matters are all the memories you had together. ❤️'.
Another added, 'Thinking of you megs ❤️', with a third writing, 'Thinking of u Megan at such a difficult time xx💗💗'. [sic]
Following her split from Pete Wicks, Megan dated Mike for seven months after his stint on Love Island, with reports suggesting they'd even discussed marriage they were 'so close'. However, things didn't work out and the couple announced their split in 2018.
Despite this, just a few weeks ago, Megan broke down in tears on Celebs Go Dating about her relationship with Mike, telling Anna Williamson and Paul Carrick Brunson that she had been in love with him.
Megan's post comes after the Met Police released a statement, confirming Mike's cause of death.
A Met Police spokesperson said, "Police were called to a park near Latymer Way, N9 at 0928hrs on Saturday, 16 March to reports of a man found hanged.
"Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended and found a man, aged in his 20s deceased. At this early stage, the death is not being treated as suspicious. Police are in the process of informing the man's next of kin. A file will be prepared for the coroner."
Our thoughts are with Mike's family and friends at this time.
If you're struggling with your mental health, Samaritans can provide 24/7 confidential support on their free helpline. Dial 116 113.
love island couples heat slider
1 of 25Hannah Elizabeth and Jonathan Clark (2015): SPLIT
Remember when they, like, got engaged on the show? That one didn't quite last...
2 of 25Katie Salmon and Adam Maxwell (2016): SPLIT
Adam claimed he was '100 percent single' shortly after leaving the villa and, um, that was that. #Kadam; gone but never forgotten.
3 of 25Gabby Allen and Marcel Somerville (2017): SPLIT
Gabby dumped Marcel after he was spotted cheating as they holidayed TOGETHER. Blimey.
4 of 25Scott Thomas and Kady McDermott (2016): SPLIT
Scott and Kady managed a year before splitting in 2017.
5 of 25Nathan Massey and Cara de da Hoyde (2016): STILL TOGETHER
They've got their little Love Island baby and everything.
6 of 25Jamie Jewitt and Camilla Thurlow (2017): STILL TOGETHER
An absolute success story of Love Island 2017, Jamie and Camilla and Jamie are still the CUTEST of couples.
7 of 25Sam Gowland and Georgia Harrison (2017): SPLIT
Sam seems to be doing alright for himself on Geordie Shore, so we don't think he's too gutted.
8 of 25Olivia Attwood and Chris Hughes (2017): SPLIT
The couple were plagued with cheating rumours throughout their relationship (who can forget that whole Chris Hughes and Katie Price debacle?). Since their ITVBe show Crackin' On ended, Olivia's confirmed she's back with ex-boyfriend Bradley Dack.
9 of 25Malin Andersson and Terry Walsh (2016): SPLIT
He did date fellow Love Island-er Emma-Jane Woodhams eight months in actual real life before calling it a day. AH WELL.
10 of 25Rykard Jenkins and Rachel Fenton (2016): SPLIT
At least they lasted 18 months. Not bad going...
11 of 25Jessica Hayes and Max Morley (2015): SPLIT
Still fancy Max in a huge way, not gonna lie.
12 of 25Alex Bowen and Olivia Buckland (2016): MARRIED
Alex and Olivia are married and literally as strong as ever. We like to live vicariously through them, to be honest.
13 of 25Jordan Ring and Zoe Brown (2015): SPLIT
Absolutely DID NOT work IRL. Neeext.
14 of 25Luis Morrison and Cally Jane Beech (2015): SPLIT
They had the first ever Love Island baby, but things later took a sour turn, with Cally accusing Luis of 'cheating' on her whilst she was pregnant with their daughter. (Oh dear).
15 of 25Tyla Carr and Jonny Mitchell (2017): SPLIT
Oh it was never gonna last, was it?
16 of 25Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies (2017): SPLIT
The Love Island 2017 winners split in December 2017; five months after the finale.
17 of 25Montana Brown and Alex Beattie (2017): SPLIT
These two split just weeks after returning to the UK. Sad times.
18 of 25Dom Lever and Jess Shears (2017): MARRIE
Jess and Dom are so together, in fact, they got 'married' on Good Morning Britain on Valentine's Day 2017. They then got, y'know, properly married.
19 of 25Sam Bird and Georgia Steel: SPLIT
You know how this one went. Sam accused Georgia of cheating on him with her ex, which she denied. It's safe to say they didn't split on the best of terms.
20 of 25Zara McDermott and Adam Collard: SPLIT
Zara and Adam have called it quits. WAH.
21 of 25Megan Barton-Hanson and Wes Nelson: SPLIT
Megan and Wes did move in together, but announced their split in January 2019 following rumours Wes was getting close to Dancing on Ice partner Vanessa Bauer. Uh oh.
22 of 25Josh Denzel and Kaz Crossley: SPLIT
Josh and Kaz announced their split in February 2019, with Kaz saying: "Sometimes things don't go the way you planned, but you have to be grateful for the journey. Thank you for everything especially showing me how to love myself again."
23 of 25Samira Mighty and Frankie Foster: SPLIT
Frankie reportedly cheated on Samira and that was that. Done. Over. thank u, next.
24 of 25Laura Anderson and Paul Knops: SPLIT
There's no bad blood between Laura and Paul, but they split months after making it to the final of the show.
25 of 25Jack Fincham and Dani Dyer: SPLIT
Although they briefly split in 2018, in April 2019, Jack Fincham announced he was no longer in a relationship with Dani, just hours before her book launch. (OUCH).