Caroline Flack thought Love Island exit would help conquer personal issues, reveals Laura Whitmore

Caroline Flack believed it was the right decision for her to step down from Love Island, her friend Laura Whitmore has said.

The 34-year-old, who took over from Flack for the reality series’ first ever winter edition, recounted one of the final conversations she had with the 40-year-old before she tragically took her own life in February this year.

Speaking on Frankie Bridge’s Open Mind podcast, Whitmore explained: “I’ve never told anyone this, but one of the last things she told me is that this is probably good that it’s happened this way as I have a lot of things I need to deal with and work through.”

Flack stood down from Love Island after she was arrested and charged following reports of an assault on her boyfriend Lewis Burton in December last year. While both Flack and Burton, denied the assault took place, the Crown Prosecution Service looked to pursue the charges.

ITV stated the door “had been left open” for Flack to return to Love Island in the future.

ITV director Kevin Lygo said in a statement: “After Caroline stepped down from the show, ITV made it clear that the door was left open for her to return and the ‘Love Island’ production team remained in regular contact with her and continued to offer support over the last few months.”

Whitmore added she also believed Flack was always going to return to the show.

“I remember thinking she’ll come back with a bang, maybe I was being naive but I didn’t think it would go the other way. My brain still hasn’t computed it,” she said.

“The decision was made to not talk about Love Island after the winter series. It’s weird as there’s so many ups and downs, there were some wonderful time working on the series.”

Flack was laid to rest by her family and close friends last month in a private funeral in Norfolk.

It has since been reported Whitmore will now take over as the permanent host of Love Island for future series, with a source telling The Sun that she had impressed bosses while hosting the show.

“The package is worth £1 million, which includes Laura’s salary and expenses for both the summer series of Love Island this year and the winter series next year,” a source claimed. “It is expected to be signed off in the coming weeks.”