She says the show was just about ‘pitting the Islanders against each other’
Former Love Island contestant Bethany Rogers has claimed she suffered from drug addiction and domestic abuse following her stint on the reality show.
Rogers was just 19 when she appeared on the 2015 series of the ITV2 show, but was dumped from the island just 10 days later.
She has accused the show of portraying her as a “monster,” and said she was met with a bombardment of abuse and death threats from viewers when she left.
Rogers says she “quickly realised” the show was just about “pitting the islanders against each other.”
She said: “Producers would come in every day and direct us to talk to a certain person – to stir the pot. They were manipulating us to fit their narrative. But everything shown of me was negative and aggressive.”
Rogers claimed she was made out by producers to be “so aggressive,” adding that she is “not this monster they made me out to be.”
Rogers appeared on the dating show in 2015 (ITV)After her appearance on Love Island she dated Laurence Edwards, whom she claims became abusive towards her.
She told the Sun: “At the time I was very vulnerable after coming off the show and Laurence knew that.”
In 2018, Rogers and Edwards were arrested and accused of money laundering, with Rogers caught with 0.134g of the Class B drug ketamine.
She fell into a ketamine addiction due to the stress and worry about her upcoming court case and the fact that she felt isolated after breaking up with Laurence.
“I didn’t realise what I was doing to myself, but I just felt like I couldn’t lose anything else because I already lost my reputation from being on the show, I had the trauma of this abusive relationship,” she said.
The charges against her were dropped in 2020, and she was given an absolute discharge regarding ketamine possession.
A spokesperson for Love Island denied that producers had deliberately portrayed Rogers in a negative light.
They said in a statement: “This is not a version of events we recognise.
“As with all Islanders, Bethany was offered aftercare, both at the time and in the years since her appearance.
“Because of medical confidentiality, we do not comment on individuals’ duty of care, but our welfare protocols are widely publicised and we have a robust set of measures in place to ensure support before, during, and after filming is prioritised.”
Related links:
- Love Island’s male contestants face backlash over ‘homophobic reaction’ to two women kissing
- Michael Owen trolled on Channel 4 over teenage daughter’s debut on Love Island
- Love Island viewers feel ‘sick to the stomach’ over Gemma Owen’s new partner
