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Like the good Samaritans they are, the producers at ITV jumped in to save us from our collective January blues this year, with an additional series of Love Island that kicked off some five months before the usual scheduling.
No longer forced to wait until the summer months to sit indoors and watch tanned, svelte wannabe celebrities lie around in the sun, many of us tuned in to the sixth series of the reality dating show on the 12 January, the winter edition of which sees contestants live in a villa in South Africa for around eight weeks, instead of the usual Mallorca.
Sadly, though, the newly-launched winter series has failed to dominate our Whatsapp group chats and instead delivered a lacklustre display of drama, with only faint traces of chemistry between fame-hungry contestants.
And the viewing figures attest to this; an average of 2.5m viewers tuned in to watch the season premiere, compared with around 3.3m for the series before and 2.9m for the series before that.
For many of that 2.5m, scrolling through Twitter and demonstrating their support – or disdain – for particular contestants as they vie for each other’s affections, coin corny catchphrases and attempt to form authentic connections in a matter of weeks is part and parcel of the viewing experience.
During Thursday evening’s episode, viewers watched as police officer Mike Boateng strived to woo student and VIP hostess Jess Gale, having been dumped just a couple of days prior by Leanne Amaning, claiming that he and Jess “have a good connection”.
The hashtag “Muggy Mike” soon began trending on Twitter, as some accused Mike of acting in a disingenuous manner towards Luke Mabbott, with whom Jess is currently coupled.
Originating during the 2017 series of Love Island, Muggy Mike was the harsh nickname given to contestant Mike Thalassitis by fellow islander Chris Hughes, when Mike coupled up with Chris’ love interest, Olivia.
When it was announced in March 2019, that Mike had taken his own life at the age of 26, reality television personality Sam Thompson, who starred alongside Mike on Celebs Go Dating, shared a heartfelt tribute to him on Instagram, in which he recalled Thalassitis speaking with “sadness” about the origin of the “Muggy Mike” nickname.
The revival of the “Muggy Mike” hashtag on Twitter this week prompted scores of criticism, with several people stating it demonstrated a complete lack of respect for Mike and his family.
“The fact that Muggy Mike is trending in the UK… did y’all not learn from the last time? People get carried away so quickly. It’s sickening,” one person tweeted. “People bringing back the nickname ‘muggy Mike’ is so disrespectful, people advocate for mental health but do things like this wtf,” another wrote. Luis Morrison, who competed in Love Island in 2015, described the use of the term as “sick and twisted”.
The deaths of Mike; Sophie Gradon, who died in 2018 two years after taking part in Love Island; and Steve Dymond, who died shortly after appearing as a guest on The Jeremy Kyle Show, sparked conversation about the care Love Island contestants receive when they are thrust into the spotlight upon leaving the villa.
Pleas made by former islanders following Mike’s death for Love Island to improve its treatment of participants’ mental wellbeing prompted the show’s producers to update their duty of care rules. Before the start of the 2019 series of Love Island, ITV announced that all contestants would receive a minimum of eight therapy sessions when they returned home. Psychological and medical assessments of all islanders were carried out before filming commenced, and they were given “bespoke training” on how to cope with social media, handle their finances and adjust to life after the show.
But while the producers of Love Island have taken positive steps towards better safeguarding the mental wellbeing of participants on the show, the same cannot be said for the millions of people who tune in to watch the show every night. What can be done to stop social media trolls from spewing hate and making malicious remarks that Love Islanders will likely be bombarded with when they leave the show?
1/16 Stormzy
Stormzy told Channel 4 in 2017 that by opening up about his depression he hoped to help others. “I think for them to see I went through it would help,” the BRIT-award-winning musician said. “For a long time I used to think that soldiers don’t go through that. You know? Like, strong people in life, the bravest, the most courageous people, they don’t go through that, they just get on with it…and that’s not the case.”
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2/16 Robert Pattinson
Twilight star Robert Pattinson told The Telegraph he struggled with depression for a period of time. “’I had a bit of a struggle at first because my life really contracted and I couldn’t do a lot of the stuff I used to be able to do.” He advised aspiring Hollywood actors to “take care” of your mental health. “If you get as famous as quickly as I did, your personal growth stops suddenly.”
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3/16 Michael Phelps
Former American swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history, experienced periods of depression and suicidal feelings. He told Today in 2018: “After years and years and years of just shoving every negative, bad feeling down to the point where I mean, I just didn’t even feel it anymore…and for me, that sent me down a spiral staircase real quick and like I said, I found myself in a spot where I didn’t want to be alive anymore.”
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4/16 Zayn Malik
Zayn Malik told The Sunday Times Style magazine about suffering with an eating disorder and anxiety. “We’re all human. People are often afraid to admit difficulties, but I don’t believe that there should be a struggle with anything that’s the truth,” said the former One Direction singer. “If you were a guy, you used to have to be really masculine, but now expressing emotion is accepted and respected.’
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5/16 Will Young
Singer Will Young has spoken about his experience with suicidal thoughts. “There’s a part of my brain that is telling me that you’re about to die, [so] you either shut down, freeze or you run. The only thing I can do is go to bed.” He said that without the help of his therapist he probably would have been successful in his suicide attempts. “I have so many mental thoughts in my head: ‘You’re never going to sing again’. ‘That was a s*** dance move.’ ‘They’re hating you.’”
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6/16 Professor Green
After his father took his own life in 2008, rapper Professor Green started speaking openly about his mental health problems and the pressure on men to be strong. “We have to figure out a way that men can talk to one another and figure out how to make themselves feel better,” he told theiNews. Although he is pleased to “start conversations” Green warns how becoming a mental health spokesperson can be high pressure. “It’s difficult because sometimes you’re having a great day, then someone comes up and tells you something absolutely horrific; I’m not a psychologist and it’s really hard.”
Rex Features
7/16 Donald Glover
American actor, comedian, writer and musician Donald Glover, who performs under the name Childish Gambino told Vice in 2013 he’d been through periods of depression following the end of his tour. “I was just super depressed. I mean, I tried to kill myself. I was really fucked up after that [tour], because I had this girl that I thought I was going to marry and we broke up. I didn’t feel like I knew what I was doing. I wasn’t living up to my standard, I was living up to other people’s standards, and I just said ‘I don’t see the point’.”
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8/16 Shawn Mendes
Shawn Mendes told People magazine that talking about his mental health problems was the “scariest” thing he’s ever done. “I still struggle with it but just remember every day that everyone deals with some level of anxiety or pressure; we’re all in it together.” He told The Sun in 2018: “All pain is temporary, and the thing is with anxiety, and why it’s such a hard thing for people who don’t have it to understand.”
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9/16 Jim Carrey
Comedian and actor Jim Carrey told iNews that he had struggled with depression throughout his life. “At this point, I don’t have depression. I had that for years, but now, when the rain comes, it rains, but it doesn’t stay. It doesn’t stay long enough to immerse me and drown me anymore.”
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10/16 Pete Wentz
Fall Out Boy frontman Pete Wentz has spoken openly about his bipolar disorder diagnosis and other mental health problems. He said that it took him to reach breaking point before asking for help. “My best piece of advice, more than anything, is that there’s other people out there that feel [suicidal], or are feeling that right at that time,” he said. “Maybe your favorite actor, or a guy in a band, or whoever, there are people who feel that exact same thing and have made it through that. I would say more than anything, you’re not alone in it.”
Rex Features
11/16 Jon Hamm
“I struggled with chronic depression,” Mad Men star Jon Hamm told The Guardian in 2010. “I did do therapy and antidepressants for a brief period, which helped me.” Hamm said medication helped change his “brain chemistry” enough so he could get out of bed. “I don’t want to sleep until four in the afternoon. I want to get up and go do my shit and go to work,” he says.
Rex Features
12/16 Rob Delaney
Catastrophe actor and comedian Rob Delaney, who lost his son Henry to brain cancer in January 2018, said he has long struggled with depression and encouraged others in the same position to seek help. “Asking for help is strong because it leads directly to staying alive,” he says. “Not asking for help is as fear-based a decision as a human being can make and can lead you swiftly in a bad direction. It’s not exaggerating to say that path can end in death.”
Rex Features
13/16 Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson
Dwayne Johnson has spoken on numerous occasions about mental health. On ITV’s Lorraine Kelly he said: “Depression doesn’t discriminate, and I thought that was an important part of the narrative if I was going to share a little bit of my story of the past. Regardless of who you are or what you do for a living or where you come from, it doesn’t discriminate, we all kind of go through it. If I could share a little bit of it and if I could help somebody, I’m happy to do it.”
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14/16 Ryan Reynolds
“I have anxiety, I’ve always had anxiety,” the Deadpool actor told the New York Times in 2018. “Both in the lighthearted ‘I’m anxious about this’ kind of thing, and I’ve been to the depths of the darker end of the spectrum, which is not fun.” Reynolds said he went through a period of partying to try and make himself “vanish” in some way and would frequently suffer with anxiety-related insomnia.
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15/16 Bruce Springsteen
Bruce ‘The Boss’ Springsteen told Esquire magazine in 2018 that although he wouldn’t describe himself as being mentally unwell, he has “come close enough” and takes medication to cope. “I’m on a variety of medications that keep me on an even keel; otherwise I can swing rather dramatically and the wheels can come off a little bit.”
Rex Features
16/16 Prince Harry
Prince Harry has been a vocal supporter of mental health campaigns like ‘Time To Talk’. He also has spoken openly about his own problems following the death of his mother, Princess Diana. He told The Telegraph: “I have probably been very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions when all sorts of grief and sort of lies and misconceptions and everything are coming to you from every angle.” Harry said there was “huge merit” in talking about your issues and keeping quiet only makes things worse.
Rex Features
1/16 Stormzy
Stormzy told Channel 4 in 2017 that by opening up about his depression he hoped to help others. “I think for them to see I went through it would help,” the BRIT-award-winning musician said. “For a long time I used to think that soldiers don’t go through that. You know? Like, strong people in life, the bravest, the most courageous people, they don’t go through that, they just get on with it…and that’s not the case.”
Rex Features
2/16 Robert Pattinson
Twilight star Robert Pattinson told The Telegraph he struggled with depression for a period of time. “’I had a bit of a struggle at first because my life really contracted and I couldn’t do a lot of the stuff I used to be able to do.” He advised aspiring Hollywood actors to “take care” of your mental health. “If you get as famous as quickly as I did, your personal growth stops suddenly.”
Rex Features
3/16 Michael Phelps
Former American swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history, experienced periods of depression and suicidal feelings. He told Today in 2018: “After years and years and years of just shoving every negative, bad feeling down to the point where I mean, I just didn’t even feel it anymore…and for me, that sent me down a spiral staircase real quick and like I said, I found myself in a spot where I didn’t want to be alive anymore.”
Rex Features
4/16 Zayn Malik
Zayn Malik told The Sunday Times Style magazine about suffering with an eating disorder and anxiety. “We’re all human. People are often afraid to admit difficulties, but I don’t believe that there should be a struggle with anything that’s the truth,” said the former One Direction singer. “If you were a guy, you used to have to be really masculine, but now expressing emotion is accepted and respected.’
Rex Features
5/16 Will Young
Singer Will Young has spoken about his experience with suicidal thoughts. “There’s a part of my brain that is telling me that you’re about to die, [so] you either shut down, freeze or you run. The only thing I can do is go to bed.” He said that without the help of his therapist he probably would have been successful in his suicide attempts. “I have so many mental thoughts in my head: ‘You’re never going to sing again’. ‘That was a s*** dance move.’ ‘They’re hating you.’”
Rex Features
6/16 Professor Green
After his father took his own life in 2008, rapper Professor Green started speaking openly about his mental health problems and the pressure on men to be strong. “We have to figure out a way that men can talk to one another and figure out how to make themselves feel better,” he told theiNews. Although he is pleased to “start conversations” Green warns how becoming a mental health spokesperson can be high pressure. “It’s difficult because sometimes you’re having a great day, then someone comes up and tells you something absolutely horrific; I’m not a psychologist and it’s really hard.”
Rex Features
7/16 Donald Glover
American actor, comedian, writer and musician Donald Glover, who performs under the name Childish Gambino told Vice in 2013 he’d been through periods of depression following the end of his tour. “I was just super depressed. I mean, I tried to kill myself. I was really fucked up after that [tour], because I had this girl that I thought I was going to marry and we broke up. I didn’t feel like I knew what I was doing. I wasn’t living up to my standard, I was living up to other people’s standards, and I just said ‘I don’t see the point’.”
Rex Features
8/16 Shawn Mendes
Shawn Mendes told People magazine that talking about his mental health problems was the “scariest” thing he’s ever done. “I still struggle with it but just remember every day that everyone deals with some level of anxiety or pressure; we’re all in it together.” He told The Sun in 2018: “All pain is temporary, and the thing is with anxiety, and why it’s such a hard thing for people who don’t have it to understand.”
Rex Features
9/16 Jim Carrey
Comedian and actor Jim Carrey told iNews that he had struggled with depression throughout his life. “At this point, I don’t have depression. I had that for years, but now, when the rain comes, it rains, but it doesn’t stay. It doesn’t stay long enough to immerse me and drown me anymore.”
Rex Features
10/16 Pete Wentz
Fall Out Boy frontman Pete Wentz has spoken openly about his bipolar disorder diagnosis and other mental health problems. He said that it took him to reach breaking point before asking for help. “My best piece of advice, more than anything, is that there’s other people out there that feel [suicidal], or are feeling that right at that time,” he said. “Maybe your favorite actor, or a guy in a band, or whoever, there are people who feel that exact same thing and have made it through that. I would say more than anything, you’re not alone in it.”
Rex Features
11/16 Jon Hamm
“I struggled with chronic depression,” Mad Men star Jon Hamm told The Guardian in 2010. “I did do therapy and antidepressants for a brief period, which helped me.” Hamm said medication helped change his “brain chemistry” enough so he could get out of bed. “I don’t want to sleep until four in the afternoon. I want to get up and go do my shit and go to work,” he says.
Rex Features
12/16 Rob Delaney
Catastrophe actor and comedian Rob Delaney, who lost his son Henry to brain cancer in January 2018, said he has long struggled with depression and encouraged others in the same position to seek help. “Asking for help is strong because it leads directly to staying alive,” he says. “Not asking for help is as fear-based a decision as a human being can make and can lead you swiftly in a bad direction. It’s not exaggerating to say that path can end in death.”
Rex Features
13/16 Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson
Dwayne Johnson has spoken on numerous occasions about mental health. On ITV’s Lorraine Kelly he said: “Depression doesn’t discriminate, and I thought that was an important part of the narrative if I was going to share a little bit of my story of the past. Regardless of who you are or what you do for a living or where you come from, it doesn’t discriminate, we all kind of go through it. If I could share a little bit of it and if I could help somebody, I’m happy to do it.”
Rex Features
14/16 Ryan Reynolds
“I have anxiety, I’ve always had anxiety,” the Deadpool actor told the New York Times in 2018. “Both in the lighthearted ‘I’m anxious about this’ kind of thing, and I’ve been to the depths of the darker end of the spectrum, which is not fun.” Reynolds said he went through a period of partying to try and make himself “vanish” in some way and would frequently suffer with anxiety-related insomnia.
Rex Features
15/16 Bruce Springsteen
Bruce ‘The Boss’ Springsteen told Esquire magazine in 2018 that although he wouldn’t describe himself as being mentally unwell, he has “come close enough” and takes medication to cope. “I’m on a variety of medications that keep me on an even keel; otherwise I can swing rather dramatically and the wheels can come off a little bit.”
Rex Features
16/16 Prince Harry
Prince Harry has been a vocal supporter of mental health campaigns like ‘Time To Talk’. He also has spoken openly about his own problems following the death of his mother, Princess Diana. He told The Telegraph: “I have probably been very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions when all sorts of grief and sort of lies and misconceptions and everything are coming to you from every angle.” Harry said there was “huge merit” in talking about your issues and keeping quiet only makes things worse.
Rex Features
For weeks, contestants live in a bubble in the villa, mostly unaware of what the public think of them. The shock of discovering that the entire country knows who you are – and has formulated strong opinions about your every move – is an undeniably overwhelming thought.
And before you dismiss Twitter trolls and suggest people “just ignore them” or “block them”, we know cyberbullying is a serious, wide-reaching issue. According to charity Enough is Enough, nearly half of young people have received “intimidating, threatening or nasty messages online”, while more than half of teenagers in the US say they have been “bullied or harassed” on the internet.
A report released by charity Barnardo’s in June 2019 detailed how young people’s mental health is affected by various aspects of social media. On the topic of online harassment, the report stated: “Insight from Barnardo’s services shows that cyberbullying can negatively affect children and young people’s self-esteem and, in some cases, can lead them to consider taking their own lives.”
Despite years of discussions about how to tackle cyberbullying on social media platforms, firms have been somewhat slow to react. This month, Twitter announced it is currently testing new features that could allow users to control who has the ability to respond to their tweets, or give them the option to block all replies. “We want to help people feel safe participating in the conversation on Twitter,” the social media platform stated.
But will this change the amount of offensive comments posted about reality TV stars? Unlikely. In April 2019, the government proposed the introduction of a regulator that would make it legally required for social media companies to protect their users, and yet accepted at the same time that cyberbullying and trolling are examples of behaviours that have “a less clear legal definition”.
No matter what your opinions of the current cohort of Love Island contestants, it’s worrying that less than a year after the death of Thalassitis, a number of viewers have already returned to adopting a hashtag with a troubling past while bashing out cruel tweets without a second thought to how they might impact their subject.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
For services local to you, the national mental health database – Hub of Hope – allows you to enter your postcode to search for organisations and charities who offer mental health advice and support in your area.
