Following her public heartbreak after splitting with Curtis Pritchard in the Love Island villa, many people questioned what ITV were doing to look after Amy Hart’s mental health.
But while she admits she left the show as a way of protecting herself from spiralling into a depression, in a candid chat with heat for part of our mental health campaign Where's Your Head At?, Amy also tells us just how much support and aftercare she’s had from the show who have promised all contestants a minimum of 18 months therapy (plus more if they need it).
And in the wake of the heart-wrenching Jesy Nelson documentary ‘Odd One Out’, she admits she’s been in tears from trolls herself and shares important tips on how to cope when you’re feeling anxious...
Watch Amy Hart open up about her mental health struggles:
What’s your experience with mental health issues?
I have had mental health issues in the past but I was reluctant to accept it. I didn’t admit that I had anxiety until a couple of years after I first started my job flying at British Airways.
What were your symptoms?
My previous anxiety issues manifested within food. I would order the biggest dinner you’ve ever seen and take one bite and start shaking, crying and saying I can’t eat this anymore. I felt like wasn’t in control of the rest of my life - I was convinced I was going to get sacked, so food was my control thing.
Did you lose a lot of weight?
I lost a stone in my first six months in BA and when Curtis finished with me I wasn’t hungry and wanted to control my [diet] again but ITV stepped in and made me eat as the psyche was watching me all the time.
How did being on love island affect your mental health?
It started way before being in the villa - I applied for love island in October so I had this goal of Love Island, everything in my life was centred around love island, the Instagram wanted the ultimate picture, borderline obsession I would say with getting on love island, because I thought it would solve all of my problems.
What was your lowest point in the villa?
After the breakup, there was a day where the day beds were full and the swings were full, and Curtis and Molly-Mae were sat by the pool and I didn’t know where to put myself. It was the loneliest I’ve ever felt in my life. There were 17 other people in the villa and I was so lonely and I just went upstairs and said I want to go home.
Scroll to discover the Love Island 2019 contestants' jobs before they went on the show:
Love Island 2019: jobs before they went on the show SLIDER
1 of 37Amy Hart
Amy is the 26-year-old Islander from Sussex who has never had a boyfriend before.She worked as an air hostess and cabin crew manager for British Airways for eight years.On launch night, Amy announced on Instagram that she had left her old job to "start a new adventure."Amy has also taken part in beauty pageants and was crowned Miss United Kingdom in the Miss Beautiful International Pageant in 2017.
2 of 37Anna Vakili
Anna Vakili, 28, is a pharmacist from London, recognised for her 'Kardashian-like' features. Anna studied hard with her education and achieved a masters before becoming a pharmacist. The Islander has a Middle Eastern background and is a popular figure on Instagram (according to Sherif).A source told The Mirror, "Anna is well known in the London clubbing scene. She loves the attention of nights out and you'll always find her in the VIP section surrounded by men".
3 of 37Joe Garratt
Joe is a 22-year-old sandwich maker from South East London.He owns his own catering company, but used to be a semi-professional rugby player.Joe even brought his own sandwich platter to his photoshoot for the Love Island press day, made up of his signature filling, called the "Joe Special".
4 of 37Michael Griffiths
Michael is a straight-talking Scouser and real life hero who saves lives for a living. The 27-year-old firefighter from Liverpool entered the iconic Spanish villa on the opening night and revealed that he also has a degree in bio medical science.
5 of 37Yewande Biala
Yewande is the 23-year-old scientist from Dublin who is in the villa to find her dream man. Yewande has specialised in finding a cure for cancer after starting her degree at the age of 16. She used to work 60 hours a week as an oncology vaccine specialist.
6 of 37Sherif Lanre
Sherif Lanre, 20, is from Lambeth and worked as a chef and semi-pro rugby player before entering the Love Island villa. The London lad regularly shares videos of himself on Instagram coaching a gym class.He said, "I'm upbeat and cheeky and outrageous with my own friends so hopefully that continues in the villa. I'm always on a mission to make people laugh."
7 of 37Anton Danyluk
Anton claims to be the first ever Scottish man to appear on the ITV2 dating show. The 24-year-old is a proud gym owner who displayed his self-confidence in his Love Island introduction video. He confessed, "That's a medical condition that I have... a wandering eye! "I've never really been loyal in any of my relationships."
8 of 37Callum Macleod
Before going on the show, Callum worked as an aircraft engineer in South Wales. The 28-year-old hunk shares his name with a British racing car driver and a cricketer, but strangely is related to neither of them. Callum enjoys playing rugby in his free time and appears to be a family man, regularly sharing snaps of his loved ones on social media. He also enjoys luxury holidays and nights out, with Instagram snaps showing various nightclubs and shots from Ibiza, Marbella and Dubai.
9 of 37Lucie Donlan
The blonde beauty from Newquay, Cornwall worked as a surfer and glamour model before entering the villa.Lucie likes the "typical surfer look" and previously dated last year's Islander Charlie Frederick.The male contestants are going to have to 'graft' hard to keep Lucie interested, as she confessed she gets bored easily and doesn't usually stay in relationships longer than six months.
10 of 37Tommy Fury
The 20-year-old professional boxer from Manchester is most well-known for his famous brother and former boxing World Champion Tyson Fury. Tommy Fury was trained by boxing legend Ricky Hatton and made his boxing debut in December in 2018.The fighter is pretty self-confidence and described himself in his opening video as, "honest, charismatic and charming".
11 of 37Amber Gill
Amber Gill worked as a beautician in Newcastle before strutting into the Love Island villa on the first day.The 21-year-old specialised in lashes and facials, but also worked as a model for online clothing brand Fash1.UK.She also seems to be pals with former Geordie Islanders, Ellie Brown and Adam Collard.
12 of 37Curtis Pritchard
Curtis Pritchard is most well-known for being the brother of Strictly Come Dancing professional, AJ.Curtis is an amazing ballroom and Latin dancer too, and has featured on Dancing with the Stars Ireland as a professional dancer. The 23-year-old dancer from Shropshire recently hit headlines in December 2018, when he and his brother AJ were assaulted in a nightclub in Cheshire. Curtis had surgery on his knee and suffered injury to his eyes and face while AJ suffered from bruising.
13 of 37Molly-Mae Hague
Molly-Mae Hague was the first bombshell to enter the villa this year.The 20-year-old from Hertfordshire claims her occupation is a social media influencerand she is really proud of how far she has come in her career. Molly-Mae believes she has done really well for herself and said, "considering the small town I come from, I've moved out, got my own flat and grown my Instagram following to over 150,000 to make it my job."
14 of 37Danny Williams
Danny Williams was the third male bombshell to arrive at the Love Island villa. The six foot two model from Hull caught they eye of another mega stature housemate, Arabella Chi.Danny is 21-years-old and has already made his mark in the modelling industry, having worked with GymShark, Moschino and Mr. Porter. The popular model has also featured on the cover of a popular magazine with Little Mix stars Jade Thirlwall and Perrie Edwards. Lucky him!
15 of 37Elma Pazar
Elma Pazar is a beautician and was surprisingly the first Essex resident to appear on the ITV2 dating show in the 2019 series.Her claim to fame is that she has done eyelashes on some of the girls from The Only Way Is Essex.
16 of 37Maura Higgins
Maura Higgins, 28, was the third female bombshell to enter the Love Island villa. The Irish grid girl and model is from County Longford and has worked with famous faces through her modelling work, including former One Direction star, Liam Payne. In 2017, Maura starred in Liam Payne's music video for his single Get Low.
17 of 37Tom Walker
Before entering the villa Tom was a model and has shared plenty of snaps from shoots on his Instagram page. He's even previously appeared on TV and billboards. He rates himself a "solid 8" out of 10 and says he "appreciates" he's "been blessed" in the looks department.
18 of 37Jordan Hames
Manchester born Jordan Hames is a 24-year-old model who starred alongside David Beckham during Adidas' World Cup campaign. Talk about claim to fame, ey?
19 of 37Arabella Chi
Arabella became the fourth female bombshell and she just happens to be a model. She's worked for ASOS and has even modelled maternity clothes.Despite her job, the 28 year old has admitted she's reluctant to date other models because arrogance is a turn off for her and according to the star "you meet a lot of them in modelling".Her claim is previously dating Charlie Frederick and she's pals with Montana Brown who has revealed her sneaky motive for the show.
20 of 37Belle Hassan
Belle was a Casa Amor bombshell and the only lady who managed to get it on with Anton. She's 21, from Bromley and if you think she's great at doing makeup it's probably because she's a makeup artist.
21 of 37Joanna Chimonides
Joanna, 22, managed to turn Michael's head in Casa Amor. She's from London and before entering the villa she was a recruitment consultant.
22 of 37Jourdan Riane
Danny was unlucky in love - both Yewande and Arabella were booted from the villa - but he quickly got over it when 24 year old Jourdan arrived. Before going on the ITV show, Jourdan was a model, actress and influencer.
23 of 37Lavena Back
Lavena didn't last long in the Love Island villa - bless her - but on the plus side she has 50k followers and is a business developer, so she can always go back to doing that...
24 of 37Maria Wild
Another Casa Amor bombshell that we barely saw was Maria Wild. The 22 year old is from Cheltenham and if reality TV doesn't work out for her she can go back to VIP hosting.
25 of 37Nabila Badda
Before Nabila, 29, entered the Love Island villa during the Casa Amor stage she was a hostess in London.
26 of 37Dan Rose
Dan barely got any screen time, can you actually remember seeing him in Casa Amor? Us neither. Oh well, the 21 year old from Essex gained a few thousand followers and can continue being a bathroom salesman.
27 of 37Dennon Lewis
Dennon from Watford almost managed to steal Maura's heart in Casa Amor but it didn't work out. Luckily, the 22 year old is a professional footballer so we reckon he flew straight back to his regular job after being dumped from the villa.
28 of 37George Rains
Ahh George. He barely said anything during his time in the villa but he did spill the team when Closer Online caught up with him... The 22 year old is from Essex and if he's had enough of reality TV then he's got his job as a builder to go back to.
29 of 37Marvin Brooks
Marvin, 29, tried to luck with Maura but it wasn't meant to be. The personal trainer and ex royal navy officer from Bournemouth then tried to crack on with Amber Gill but she wasn't feeling it.
30 of 37Ovie Soko
Ovie. He rivals Maura when it comes to the best Love Island 2019 contestant. The 28 year old from London was a professional basketball player before entering the villa and we doubt he'll completely give up his career for reality TV.
31 of 37Stevie Bradley
Stevie is a 21 year old student from Isle of Man. The Casa Amor bombshell snogged Lucie but things didn't work out in the end.
32 of 37Harley Brash
Harley, 20, from Newcastle managed to turn bombshell Chris' head. The estate agent was booted from the villa days after entering it but she walked out with Chris on her arm, so not a complete loss.
33 of 37Harley Brash
Harley, 20, from Newcastle managed to turn bombshell Chris' head. The estate agent was booted from the villa days after entering it but she walked out with Chris on her arm, so not a complete loss.
34 of 37Greg O'Shea
Greg is the Jamie Jewitt of Love Island 2019. The 24 year old professional rubgy player (err, hello hun) is from Ireland. Obvs. His Irish accent is everything.
35 of 37India Reynolds
India won Ovie over straight away, maybe being the same age - 28 - had something to do with it? Or maybe the fact that the star from Reading is a model.
36 of 37Chris Taylor
Chris is perfect for reality TV; he's hilarious, unique and we can all relate to him - tbh. The 28 year old is from Leicester and is a business development manager. After entering the villa he revealed he had been creating a website alongside his friend: "The idea of it is a social support network for new and upcoming dog owners".
37 of 37Francesca Allen
Essex bombshell Francesca is 23 and she's a clothing store manager and co-owns her own Boutique. You go girl!
Did you feel like you were being looked after?
Definitely. The welfare girl came in every single lunchtime apart from one day a week to check how much water we were having, how much we’d eaten and how we were. And when it all went tits up for me and I was lying in bed crying at lunchtime, she would get into bed with me and just stroke my head and talk to me and now I speak to her on the phone twice a week to check how I am. I would see the psyche twice a day and we would go to a cabin just outside the villa, mics off, where I could say whatever I wanted, everything was confidential, and was a really nice away space.
What’s the aftercare like now?
ITV’s aftercare is very, very thorough, I still speak to [my welfare rep] all the time and she’s a friend now.
How often do you see a therapist?
We’ve been given 18 months of sessions as mandatory from ITV and then we can have more if we want them afterwards. I’m very unorganised and busy at the moment so I let my psyche sessions go and [my welfare rep] ended up phoning my manager and saying ‘we need to get a date in Amy’s diary when she’s free’ so they are really on it.
How do you cope with trolls?
It’s like someone pushing down on you all the time. I just try and block a lot of words on my comments so I don’t see them – [words like] fat and ugly. I was going to block ‘teeth’ as well as I got a lot of [stick] about my teeth.
How does trolling affect you?
There’s one particular [follower] and every single Instagram story that I’ve put on since leaving the villa she has replied to. Some of them are just like ‘sort your teeth out’ and some of them are ‘seriously Amy, you’ve got money now just sort your teeth out they look awful and you’re really ruining yourself - you could be such a big celebrity but your teeth are just awful’. I had my veneers done when I was 17 and I was fine with them before I went onto Love Island but now I’m thinking ‘well if I have my teeth done that’s one less thing they can troll me about’ but they will just find something else!
To get help on mental health issues and find out how you can support our campaign so that mental and physical health are given equal treatment in the workplace please go to www.wheresyourheadat.org.