Love Island’s Kady McDermott admits “I never understood my anxiety”
Kady shares her personal battles to mark Mental Health Awareness week
Published 16th May 2019
She was catapulted into the limelight on the second season of Love Island in 2016, and while she’s been offered countless opportunities on the back of her popularity – and amassed 1.2m followers on Instagram – Kady McDermott understands better than anyone the darker side of fame.
And while many reality stars admit to struggling to cope with online trolls, 23-year-old Kady – who temporarily joined the TOWIE cast in September alongside boyfriend Myles Barnett – reveals that it was the pressure of attending glitzy celebrity parties that impacted her most.
Swipe to check out which Love Island couples are still together...
Hannah Elizabeth and Jonathan Clark (2015): SPLIT
Remember when they, like, got engaged on the show? That one didn't quite last...
Love Island’s Kady McDermott admits “I never understood my anxiety”
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Jack 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).
Hannah Elizabeth and Jonathan Clark (2015): SPLIT
Remember when they, like, got engaged on the show? That one didn't quite last...
Katie 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.
Gabby Allen and Marcel Somerville (2017): SPLIT
Gabby dumped Marcel after he was spotted cheating as they holidayed TOGETHER. Blimey.
Scott Thomas and Kady McDermott (2016): SPLIT
Scott and Kady managed a year before splitting in 2017.
Nathan Massey and Cara de da Hoyde (2016): STILL TOGETHER
They've got their little Love Island baby and everything.
Jamie 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.
Sam 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.
Olivia 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.
Malin 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.
Rykard Jenkins and Rachel Fenton (2016): SPLIT
At least they lasted 18 months. Not bad going...
Jessica Hayes and Max Morley (2015): SPLIT
Still fancy Max in a huge way, not gonna lie.
Alex 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.
Jordan Ring and Zoe Brown (2015): SPLIT
Absolutely DID NOT work IRL. Neeext.
Luis 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).
Tyla Carr and Jonny Mitchell (2017): SPLIT
Oh it was never gonna last, was it?
Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies (2017): SPLIT
The Love Island 2017 winners split in December 2017; five months after the finale.
Montana Brown and Alex Beattie (2017): SPLIT
These two split just weeks after returning to the UK. Sad times.
Dom 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.
Sam 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.
Zara McDermott and Adam Collard: SPLIT
Zara and Adam have called it quits. WAH.
Megan 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.
Josh 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."
Samira Mighty and Frankie Foster: SPLIT
Frankie reportedly cheated on Samira and that was that. Done. Over. thank u, next.
Laura 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.
Jack 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).
Hannah Elizabeth and Jonathan Clark (2015): SPLIT
Remember when they, like, got engaged on the show? That one didn't quite last...
Katie 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.
Gabby Allen and Marcel Somerville (2017): SPLIT
Gabby dumped Marcel after he was spotted cheating as they holidayed TOGETHER. Blimey.
Scott Thomas and Kady McDermott (2016): SPLIT
Scott and Kady managed a year before splitting in 2017.
Nathan Massey and Cara de da Hoyde (2016): STILL TOGETHER
They've got their little Love Island baby and everything.
Jamie 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.
Sam 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.
Olivia 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.
Malin 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.
Rykard Jenkins and Rachel Fenton (2016): SPLIT
At least they lasted 18 months. Not bad going...
Jessica Hayes and Max Morley (2015): SPLIT
Still fancy Max in a huge way, not gonna lie.
Alex 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.
Jordan Ring and Zoe Brown (2015): SPLIT
Absolutely DID NOT work IRL. Neeext.
Luis 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).
Tyla Carr and Jonny Mitchell (2017): SPLIT
Oh it was never gonna last, was it?
Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies (2017): SPLIT
The Love Island 2017 winners split in December 2017; five months after the finale.
Montana Brown and Alex Beattie (2017): SPLIT
These two split just weeks after returning to the UK. Sad times.
Dom 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.
Sam 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.
Zara McDermott and Adam Collard: SPLIT
Zara and Adam have called it quits. WAH.
Megan 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.
Josh 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."
Samira Mighty and Frankie Foster: SPLIT
Frankie reportedly cheated on Samira and that was that. Done. Over. thank u, next.
Laura 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.
Jack 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).
She says, "Before Love Island, I didn’t understand what mental health issues were. After the show ended, I’d get invited to a lot of showbiz events and parties, but I’d go into a complete panic about it.
"I couldn’t explain why, or the feelings I was having. I didn’t realise I was suffering from anxiety, because I didn’t know very much about it.
"Nobody in my family has struggled with their mental health – it was other people who told me about anxiety, and I thought, that’s what I’ve got."
"When I was younger, I was always out doing things, whereas now I’m more paranoid. I don’t know where it has stemmed from.
"Everyone thinks I’m really outgoing, but I’m actually quite the opposite."
WATCH: Megan Barton-Hanson speak about mental health
Kady has previously revealed how exercise helped her through her break-up with Love Island co-star Scott Thomas and anxiety struggles, revealing after their split in September 2017, "For the first month, I literally couldn’t get out of the house.
"I lost so much motivation. I couldn’t deal with it, and I was turning down events as I didn’t want to answer questions about Scott.
"There was a lot of change, and I guess I did shut myself off. I have always suffered with anxiety, I just never mentioned it. Once I was back in the gym, it really helped me, but it was the initial returning that was hard."
Now, following the death of former Love Island star Mike Thalassitis, who tragically took his own life in March, Kady believes an important conversation around men and mental health has opened up.
She says, "Of course, the circumstances around why we’re all speaking about mental health isn’t good, but mercifully, it’s making more people get help.
"There have been a lot more men talking about their struggles, like Love Island’s Chris Hughes and TOWIE’s Tommy Mallet. I feel that men in general aren’t good at discussing their feelings, so celebs doing it encourages others to follow suit."
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 toWheresyourheadat.org.
