Laura Whitmore stunned fans with her decision to quit Love Island after just two years.
The Irish presenter announced the decision just days after the summer series wrapped.
Taking to Instagram, Laura spoke of elements she found 'difficult' after a turbulent time on the dating show.
Laura had taken the reigns back in January 2020, when original host - the late Caroline Flack - stepped aside as she awaited court proceedings after being accused of assaulting her former partner.
In the years since, Laura has married partner Iain Stirling, Love Island's resident voiceover, and welcomed her first baby.
Here's a look over Laura's short time with the show - including her reasons for quitting and what she's up to now.
Why did Laura Whitmore quit her role as Love Island host?
Back in August, Laura officially announced that she would not be returning to Love Island as host.
The presenter, 37, and mother-of-one took over the mantel from Caroline Flack back in 2020, but decided to step down as presenter after three seasons.
Laura explained that she had found certain aspects of the hosting role 'very difficult', and so, she decided to call time on her ITV presenting duties.
Laura announced her news on Instagram - just days after detailing about how she was struggling with the backlash she faced from fans during the summer series.
"Some news! I won’t be hosting the next series of Love island," she penned at the time. "There are certain elements of the show I’ve found very difficult that cannot be changed some due to the format, including the flying back and forth to South Africa along with my new conflicting projects.
"I wish it was still possible but know you’ll be in safe hands. I was only planning to fill in for Caroline for a series and it turned into 3 series. I hope I did you proud Caroline."
At the time, ITV added in a statement: "Laura has been a fantastic host across the last three series of the show. We are so grateful for everything she has brought to the programme but understand and respect her decision, and we look forward to working with her on upcoming ITV projects."
Dig at ITV bosses
Since her initial announcement, Laura has spoken further about working on Love Island and her departure.
The former Love Island host suggested in a recent interview that she was forced to 'stay quiet' when it came to sharing her opinions with the islander.
Admitting that she struggled remaining impartial, she said: "There was only so much I can do as a host. I couldn't support the islanders or not support them."
Laura said that not being able to speak freely with the islanders was 'hard' for her, as she said that she likes to be able to 'have those conversations'.
"If I could have done things the way I wanted to, I'd probably still be doing it," she explained.
Elsewhere, Laura seemingly made another dig at ITV when she explained that she was 'proud' of what she did on the show.
Speaking about her exit from the ITV show, she said: "Love Island is a show that I love to watch, and I always want to work on shows that I enjoy. But there’s nothing more that I can do with it. There are parameters.
"When you work on the show, you can’t really talk about certain things. But I’m really proud of what I did, and proud to leave on what I think has been a brilliant series, with great winners."
Laura supports new Love Island host Maya Jama
Laura previously vowed to watch Maya Jama on the new series of
after spectacularly quitting the role.
After her shock exit from Love Island, Laura explained how she wanted to challenge herself with her new role - however, she vowed to tune in to watch the new series of the ITV show when it returns with Maya as the host.
Speaking to Christine Lampard on ITV's Lorraine in October, she said: "There are some similarities to live TV slightly. There's four main characters and we're on stage together for most of it so it's nice to have the support.
"I don't know where there's more drama. I think there's more drama in the villa. I love challenging myself and I think that's really important to keep doing things that make myself better."
"Like you, I'm a huge fan of Love Island. I'm always gripped. It's always there; otherwise what can you talk about?"
What is Laura doing now?
Laura Whitmore has decided to stay in the TV industry, but has made the move to investigative journalism after sharing that she is working on a new TV project called 'Laura Whitmore Investigates'.
The show is set to launch on ITV's new free streaming platform, ITVX, and takes on a series of controversial issues that have an impact on lives across the UK and further afield.
Speaking of the project, Laura recently said: "It’s a dream come true to have this platform and work with a brilliant team at ITV through this series of investigative films.
"Getting back to my journalistic roots, I hope we can shine a light on some really important topics and issues, and delve into a variety of serious and interesting real-life subjects."
Laura also starred in a West End stage show, 2:22 A Ghost Story, at the Criterion Theatre following her departure from Love Island.
She played the role of Jenny, and was joined by Felix Scott, Tamsin Carroll and Matt Willis in the production.
The show follows a couple who have recently moved into a new house, where Laura Whitmore's Jenny hears a noise every night at 2:22 am.
The Winter series of Love Island kicks off on Monday January 16 on ITV2.
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