Sam Thompson pays heartbraking tribute to Mike Thalassitis

Filiz Mehmedova
Photo credit: E4
Photo credit: E4

From Digital Spy

Made in Chelsea's Sam Thompson has shared a touching tribute to Love Island 2017 star Mike Thalassitis.

Mike's management confirmed the sad news of his death on Saturday, March 16. Sam and Mike joined E4's Celebs Go Dating last year, and Sam has now recalled how they first met on the show.

I wasn’t going to do a post. i don’t think for me anyway that social media is a place to grieve. It makes me sad that to the normal person in todays world, if you don’t do a post then you didn’t care. It makes me scared of where we as a society are heading, but i want everyone to know the kind of guy i saw in Mike. A person just died. A friend just died. Someone that i know in my heart of hearts i could have done more for. I met Mike on celebs go dating. I was told he was joining the show with me and my heart sank. I had heard all of the things said about this so called lothario. This cock sure arrogant guy, who was fresh out of love island and ready to steam roll this dating show that i was so terrified to join. I remember the first time i laid eyes upon him. i remember the words that came to my head…fuck me he’s a greek god. I had genuinely never seen a more perfect specimen of man. He looked like everything i WISHED i looked like. Needless to say an already pretty insecure Sam retreated straight into his shell. That was it. Game over. This Alpha Male had come over, and knocked me for 6. What happened next surprised me. He came over to me, handed me a drink, apologised for not saying hello earlier, told me he was terrified and said he couldn't wait to hang out more. I stood there rather ashamed at how badly i had just judged a book by its cover. Over the next few months, the shame only grew. This guy was one of the most polite gentlemen i had ever met. He had tom bowled over in a day (tom is a very good judge of character in my opinion), and had us in stitches of laughter when he would recount his love island stories. Not once was he crass about anything that happened, or bitter about how it all ended. What i did see that i believe he was trying to hide when he was telling stories of how ‘muggy mike’ was born, was sadness. From what i heard, he went into this show he knew practically nothing about, late, and into a pack of Alpha males who wanted nothing more than to win, and gain all the bonuses that that entailed. It wasn’t easy for Mike in that villa. From what i heard he got ostracised as soon as he went in, and apart from a select few people, was treated

A post shared by Sam Thompson (@samthompsonuk) on Mar 17, 2019 at 1:30pm PDT

"I remember the first time I laid eyes upon him. I remember the words that came to my head… f**k me he’s a greek god... I had genuinely never seen a more perfect specimen of [a] man. Needless to say an already pretty insecure Sam retreated straight into his shell," he wrote on Instagram.

"What happened next surprised me. He came over to me, handed me a drink, apologised for not saying hello earlier, told me he was terrified and said he couldn't wait to hang out more. I stood there rather ashamed at how badly I had just judged a book by its cover."

"This guy was one of the most polite gentlemen I had ever met," added Sam.

Photo credit: Channel 4
Photo credit: Channel 4

Sam added that Mike had Celebs Go Dating's receptionist Tom Read-Wilson "bowled over in a day", and "had us in stitches of laughter when he would recount his Love Island stories".

Chris Hughes, Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies, who appeared on Love Island with Mike, were among the first to share their tributes and memories.

Jonny Mitchell, who became friends with Mike during their time on the ITV2 show, said he was "heartbroken" by the news on Instagram.

I genuinely can’t believe what I’m seeing here. My boy from the villa and one of my best mates from the show coming out. An absolute hero and a legend and someone I looked up to since I met him, always full of so much positivity and charisma.. One of the best people I’ve ever known taken from us far too soon, I’m heartbroken and can’t put into words how much I’m gonna miss you bro! My heart goes out to his family.. Rest in peace Magic Mike ❤️

A post shared by Jonny Mitchell (@jonny_mitchell1991) on Mar 16, 2019 at 12:13pm PDT

"One of the best people I’ve ever known taken from us far too soon, I’m heartbroken and can’t put into words how much I’m gonna miss you bro! My heart goes out to his family... Rest in peace Magic Mike," wrote Jonny.

Mike appeared on Celebs Go Dating alongside TOWIE star Gemma Collins, London Hughes, Sam Thompson, Ollie Locke and Jonathan Lipnicki.

He was also remembered with an "in memory" of title card at the close of last night's episode of the E4 show.

We would encourage anyone who identifies with the topics raised in this article to reach out. Organisations who can offer support include Samaritans on 116 123 (www.samaritans.org), and Mind on 0300 123 3393 (www.mind.org.uk). Readers in the US are encouraged to contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 1-800-273-8255 or visit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

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