Love Island winner Jess Harding has opened up on her weight gain after cruel trolls targeted her while in the villa.
The 22-year-old aesthetics practitioner was on this year’s series of the ITV reality show, which she won with boyfriend Sammy.
But throughout the show, which aired for eight weeks until the Love Island final on July 31, she was horribly fat-shamed by some cruel viewers.
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Jess Harding fat-shamed by cruel trolls
Now, after being asked on an Instagram Q&A whether she lost weight in the villa, Jess has posted a candid reply. She said on a video: “No, I put weight on when I was in the villa.” Jess explained: “We were just eating and not moving around, just sitting in the sun.”
The, turning to her boyfriend Sammy, who was in the driver’s seat, she added: “But oh well, I found a boyfriend.” Sammy cheered, with Jess laughing fondly at his response.
She’s the most out-of-shape size 8 I’ve ever seen. Like a slightly thinner Gemma Collins.
Slim and healthy Jess was consistently mocked for her appearance during her time in the villa.
One Twitter user cruelly posted: “Jess is actually the reason why I’m fat phobic.” While another wrote: “I mean, how can Jess be both fat AND slim? She’s the most out-of-shape size 8 I’ve ever seen. Like a slightly thinner Gemma Collins.”
ITV reacts
As reported by Glamour, an ITV spokesperson urged viewers not to offend “islanders and their families”.
A rep said: “It is incredibly irresponsible that any Islander would be body-shamed in this way and we would always discourage anyone from making appearance-based comments that could be hurtful to the islanders and their families.”
Jess and Sammy Root won this year’s series, beating runners-up and favourites Whitney Adebayo and Lochan Nawacki.
But despite being in a relationship, they don’t want to take things too quickly. Speaking to OK! magazine, Sammy said: “It’s just a case of having had an intense two months, we don’t want to rush anything. We want to do some travelling, have some fun together and take things as they come. We’re not going to rush anything, we’re very secure with each other.”
Read more: Love Island star Molly Marsh brutally snubbed from girls’ trip as co-stars share holiday plans
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