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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Victoria Johns

Love Island mums speak out about dramatic impact ITV2 show had on their daughters

Finding out your daughter's going on Love Island is many parents' worst nightmare.

The overnight fame may be appealing for some contestants, but there is a high price to pay according to the mums of two of the series' stars.

Savanna Darnell, 26, and Arabella Chi, 31, went on the show in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

They had mixed fortunes in the villa with Savanna only lasting five days in Casa Amor before she was booted off.

The actress' mum, Karen, 56, has spoken out about her daughter's experience - claiming it had a damaging effect on her mental health.

Recalling the moment her girl found out she was going on the show, Karen said: "I took Savanna shopping for bikinis! But I was so naive; I didn’t know what could go wrong."

Arabella Chi with her mum Eunice (instagram.com/arabellachi)

Karen claims her daughter spiralled when she left the programme, which she was on for just five days.

"On the second day, I came into the bedroom one morning and she was crying," she told Mail Online.

"She’d been up all night, scrolling through all the things that had been said about her, criticising her hair, saying she should just die. It was horrendous."

The daughter of 80s singer Kid Creole suffered vile online abuse and thought her career had 'died' after the show, according to her mum.

Although happily Savanna is now said to have got her confidence back and is focusing on her career as an actress.

Savanna Darnell's mum Karen said her daughter was bombarded with vile messages (instagram.com/_savannadarnell)

Someone whose confidence never seemed to waiver on the show was Arabella Chi.

The blonde went in as a bombshell and caused quite a commotion with the boys - not to mention the girls.

Arabella's mum Eunice, admitted she found it hard to watch when her daughter was treated "harshly" by the group.

"Because she went in as a bombshell, different friendships and relationships had already been formed and I think the others were quite hard on her. That was difficult to watch, but she’s a strong cookie," she said.

The actress is the daughter of Kid Creole (ITV)
She went on the show as a bombshell (ITV)

However, like Savanna, the bombshell was trolled online.

Eunice says she found the online abuse "terribly hard".

Arabella was slated when she picked contestant Danny Williams because the Love Island audience was rooting for Yewande Biala.

Karen said the show left a lasting effect on her daughter (instagram.com/_savannadarnell)
Arabella is a "tough cookie'" according to her mum (arabellachi/Instagram)

Much has been made of the level of care on Love Island but Eunice reckons the team were "always on the end of the phone".

When approached by the Mirror for comment, ITV pointed out its Duty of Care protocols, which include the "extensive welfare measures remain in place to provide support to programme participants before, during and after filming".

It also said that while it can "never discuss individual islanders' duty of care in order to adhere to medical confidentiality", there are a number of testimonies from previous contestants praising the show for its conduct.

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