Sophie Gradon death: Love Island star spoke about ‘horrific’ online trolls in last interview

Sophie Gradon opened up about the “horrific” effect online trolls had on her mental health, months before her death.

The former Love Island contestant was found dead, aged 32, at her home near Newcastle on Wednesday.

In an interview with Radio Aire, Gradon revealed she struggled to deal with the “negative comments” from trolls following her time on Love Island in 2016, saying it affected her mental health.

Speaking to the station three months ago she said: “It was horrific. I think when you get so many comments on the scale we did coming out of thousands of followers.

“There are fans and positive comments but people would focus on the negatives. Sometimes I would look for it. There would be so many negative comments. They are commenting on the way you look, the way you talk.

“They would come up with an opinion of you on a TV show where they’ve watched you for 45 minutes. And you’ve probably only be on ten minutes and its cut down from 24 hours.”

She continued: “It was very hard to deal with because you take it like you’re being judged. It can really get into your mind and really affect you.

“The harsh reality is, it can end up with that victim taking their own life. And as you’ve seen in the media, that has happened. Can you imagine being responsible for that?”

Gradon was joined on the radio show by fellow contestant Zara Holland who was stripped of her Miss Great Britain title after getting intimate with Alex Bowen.

Gradon – who had been open about her mental health struggles on Twitter – received an outpouring of tributes in the wake of her death.

Her boyfriend Aaron Armstrong posted a picture of himself with his “baby” while former Love Island stars said they had been left “heartbroken” and in “shock”.

The ITV2 reality show paid tribute to Gradon at the start of Thursday night’s episode by showing her picture alongside the words: “In loving memory of Sophie Gradon.”

Gradon made Love Island history when she coupled with Katie Salmon for the show’s first ever same-sex pairing.

She voluntarily decided to leave the villa on day 39.