Zara McDermott says revenge porn ordeal has caused '10 years of pain'

Zara McDermott has opened up about the impact of becoming a victim of revenge porn aged 14.

The former Love Island contest shared that it lead her to considering taking her own life when the situation became "unbearable".

McDermott said she took a nude photograph as a means of fitting in at school, where she was being bullied at the time.

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She told The Sun: “It’s been 10 years of pain. It still affects me to this day and I don’t think it will ever go away. I was so scarred from that experience.”

McDermott said she was called “disgusting” and more by people in the street.

She added: “There were a few occasions when I seriously considered ending everything and I looked into ways I could do it.

“My life was unbearable. The idea of not living any more was better than having to deal with the pain I was going through every day. But something stopped me — something told me, ‘This will get better’.”

During her stint on the ITV2 dating show in 2018 she also faced another image sent to an ex being circulated, which she only learnt about after leaving the villa.

However, she said her reaction was one of anger the second time around although she ultimately decided against pressing charges.

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It comes as McDermott is fronting a BBC3 documentary about the issue and has joined campaign group Refuge in pushing for changes in the law regarding revenge porn.

The sharing of intimate images of another person without their consent is a crime, but the threat to share such pictures is not.

With additional reporting by PA.

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