Caroline Flack’s former co-star Matt Richardson has opened up about their friendship, explaining the late star was often ‘suspicious’ of people.
The Love Island host died by suicide on 15 February, aged 40.
And, speaking about their ‘complicated’ relationship, the Xtra Factor host recalled the ‘complicated’ time they spent together, branding her death a ‘shame’.
‘It’s such a shame that it ended the way it did. I always thought she was dealing with it all, but obviously not,’ he told Barnaby Slater during a stint on the Almost Famous podcast.
‘I can’t sit here and pretend our working relationship was plain sailing. We argued a lot and fell out a lot.
‘But we sit down and we’d really talk it out. She could be difficult and stubborn sometimes. We pushed back against each other.
‘She was a complicated person. She was very loyal, she was super kind. ‘
The 28-year-old continued: ‘She was very suspicious of people. There were a few times I would be out and she would text me.
‘I would say, “come out” and she’d be a bit offish with my mates because she didn’t trust them. I said, “look I’ve known them since I was six, it’s okay” and then she’d be fine.
‘But it was because she’d been messed around so much, she could be stand-offish with people.’
Matt also claimed that, during their time presenting Xtra Factor together in 2013, Caroline would become sucked in to reading feedback about her performances on Twitter.
And, despite advising her to keep clear of social media, she would constantly check comments.
‘Even back then I would really disagree with her with it because as soon as the break happened, she would be on her phone and looking,’ he said.
‘Caroline always found it and it would really ruin her night, even if we had a great show.
‘It was frustrating, she’s always had a thick skin, but there’s only so much you can take before it wears you down.’
The late host took her own life earlier this month, with tributes and messages of support flooding in from around the world.
And the BBC was recently forced to defend themselves over the coverage, after unhappy viewers complained that they focussed ‘too much’ on the tragic news.
According to the website, it received several complaints from viewers ‘who felt there was too much news coverage of the death of TV presenter, Caroline Flack’.
The number of complaints has not been disclosed, but Metro.co.uk understands they have received more than 100 from viewers.
Defending the coverage, the corporation said: ‘We believe this was a considerable and newsworthy story, given Caroline Flack’s notable career in the media industry, and the circumstances leading up to her tragic and sudden death.
‘We recognise that not everyone will agree with the decisions taken by our news editors, but would stress other major stories were also given prominence including Storm Dennis and coronavirus.’
