LOVE Island legend Liberty Poole broke down in tears as she revealed a devastating health battle.
Liberty, 25, originally competed in series seven of Love Island in 2021, later returning for All Stars.
Liberty Poole opened up to her social media followers[/caption]
The star admitted she “got welled up” while recalling the memories[/caption]
She rose to fame on Love Island – and returned for All Stars last year[/caption]
The TV personality was visibly emotional as she opened up to her social media followers.
Speaking in a video shared on TikTok, Liberty said: “In the year of 2023, in November, I went through depression.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever gone through severe depression in my life.
“I went to Abu Dhabi to be with my family and be off social media.
“Basically, it felt like it went on forever.”
Continuing, Liberty recalled feeling like she “couldn’t talk to anyone” and her energy “was all over the place”.
Liberty went on to highlight her faith and how it helped her through this time.
She added: “All I had in that moment, because I had nothing left, was just to hold onto God, his presence and his words.
“This is what I mean. I get welled up when I talk about this.
“Basically, he showed me the story of the Israelites, where they could have been in and out of the desert in 11 days.
“But they were in it for 40 years because they wasn’t listening to God.
“Even though it felt like I was gonna go through that depression forever and I would never get out of it, I did.”
Liberty added: “When I looked back on the days I had been in the depression and the day I came out of it, I counted it exactly.
It had been 11 days. So God showed me that story and it was exactly 11 days that I was in depression.”
She concluded: “So that was quite a lot for me to speak about, so please be kind and gracious.
“I’ve been scared to speak about it because I don’t want backlash online.
“There’s a lot of presumptions about Christian faith and they get a lot of hate because they don’t conform with modern day views.
“I just want to say I’ve got nothing but love in my heart for everyone out there.
“I don’t always share my side of the story and I’ve been quiet on a lot of things, but I feel like my faith in God is something I can no longer be quiet on.”
Help for mental health
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support.
The following are free to contact and confidential:
- Samaritans, www.samaritans.org, 116 123
- CALM (the leading movement against suicide in men) www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858
- Papyrus (prevention of young suicide) www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41
- Shout (for support of all mental health) www.giveusashout.org/get-help/, text 85258 to start a conversation
Mind, www.mind.org, provide information about types of mental health problems and where to get help for them. Call the infoline on 0300 123 3393 (UK landline calls are charged at local rates, and charges from mobile phones will vary).
YoungMinds run a free, confidential parents helpline on 0808 802 5544 for parents or carers worried about how a child or young person is feeling or behaving. The website has a chat option too.
Rethink Mental Illness, www.rethink.org, gives advice and information service offers practical advice on a wide range of topics such as The Mental Health Act, social care, welfare benefits, and carers rights. Use its website or call 0300 5000 927 (calls are charged at your local rate).
Heads Together, www.headstogether.org.uk, is the a mental health initiative spearheaded by The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales.
One of Liberty’s followers commented: “This is soo encouraging.”
Another penned: “I love the vulnerability Liberty. God is really working through you.”
While a third penned: “Never keep it to yourself!
“You’ll touch the many sis, making an influence in even one person is more than enough, a chain reaction follows!”
Liberty featured in the first 16 days of last year’s All Stars[/caption]
