A fair warning, Love Island lovers, this story really is 'heartbreaking' – we're not just being heat with that headline.
Love Island 2025 finalist Yasmin Pettet – who finished series 12 in third place with Jamie Rhodes – has taken to her Instagram story to tell her 400K followers that her beloved cat, Miaow Miaow, who she frequently discussed during her stay in the villa this summer, has sadly passed away. The very same cat Yasmin described as 'her child' on the show time and time again 💔.
On Wednesday (8 August) evening, the finalist wrote, 'As I’ve spoken about her on the show I’m sure a lot of you will know I have a cat called Miaow Miaow who’s been by my side for 11 years now.
'When I was filming Love Island I had a bad gut feeling something was off and when my mum and sister came into the villa I asked them and still felt like something was off. Rightfully they didn’t tell me because I was still in the villa but after the final I called my sister and she told me that Miaow Miaow had cancer and died whilst I was away filming Love Island.
'I’m trying to be as active as I can be on socials but am taking time for myself to process this heartbreak.
'RIP to my beautiful baby girl, you were so loved and will always be in my soul ❤️🥺🐈.'
Bless Yas, and BLESS her mum and sister – that can't have been an easy decision to make.
Yasmin's deep love for her her beloved cat became a defining characteristic of her personality on the show this summer, with her frequently expressing that Miaow Miaow was like her child and that she didn't want human children because her cat fulfilled that maternal role in her life. FAIR.
Yasmin's devotion to Miaow Miaow also became a point of connection with her bae Jamie. Their shared love of cats created an additional layer of compatibility for the popular couple.
Yas, if you're reading this, the heat team is sending you so much love right now ❤️ We hope you're leaning on your ride or dies Toni and Shakira right now, and of course, Jamie.
WATCH: Love Island's Billykiss speaks out amid rumours she dated Dami Hope BEFORE their villa stints 👀
Ben Pulsford is a digital writer and producer at Bauer Media, creating content for heatworld and Closer online. Beyond his journalism, he dazzles as London drag queen Beary Poppins, co-hosting the Spill the Fizz podcast with Traitors series 2 star Diane Carson. If RuPaul asked grown-up Ben what he’d say to his seven-year-old self, it would be: 'Don’t worry, you grow up to score the gayest jobs on the planet — so hang in there, you little legend.'