SHE shot to fame as the bombshell on Love Island and has gone on to make millions from flaunting her figure online.
But Megan Barton-Hanson today tears into the reality show that made her famous, saying “unoffensive” stars have become too eager to “sit on the fence” so they can chase brand deals.
Megan Barton-Hanson has torn into the ‘safe’ new breed of Love Island stars
The star, pictured with Wes Nelson, stole the show as a bombshell in 2018
In an exclusive chat with HOAR, the 29-year-old claims too many of the stars who go on Love Island now have become too worried about how they’re perceived.
And she says it’s been like that ever since Molly-Mae Hague went on the show in 2019 and became a huge success, eventually becoming the creative director of PrettyLittleThing.
“I did watch Love Island this year,” Megan says. “Everyone is being too safe. They want to sit on the fence and not offend anyone or steal anyone’s boyfriend.
“I think that because people like Molly-Mae have gone on to make billions of pounds, people are being too sensible because they want to be liked.
Megan believes too many Islanders nowadays want to be the next Molly-Mae Hague, who appeared on the show in 2019
She says today’s stars are too sensible
“Back in the day people would be themselves and be a bit ruthless.”
Megan, who is bisexual, believes an LGBTQ+ version or middle-aged version of the show needs to be made, in order to freshen up the series, which is back again in just eight weeks.
She jokes: “You know the Karens where they tell you their life story and if they want d*ck they are going to go and get it? That’s the kind of energy we need.
“We don’t need these 21-year-olds who are just trying to get a PrettyLittleThing deal.”
Fat-shamed by an ex
Megan has opened up on worries about her weight and being fat-shamed by an ex
Megan opened up as she appears on reality show Celebrity Detox, in which she and other celebrities try out a series of experimental treatments to help improve their physical and mental wellbeing.
She reveals that after leaving Casa Amor she was fat-shamed by an ex and regularly worries about her weight, putting herself through an unhealthy crash diet last year.
Speaking about her body insecurity for the first time, she tells how she was left traumatised – and in floods of tears – when she was groped by a much older man while working as a stripper in her 20s.
Megan says: “Yes, I worry about my weight.
“I never used to at all. I loved myself. But I have had to deal with a fair amount of trolling, mainly based around my image, since entering the public eye.
“I was also fat-shamed after Love Island by an ex-partner, which was hard.
“But I now love exercise so I’m trying to take the positives from what happened.
“I was the smallest and most toned I’ve ever been this time last year. But I can now see that how I got there wasn’t healthy or sustainable.
“I have tried to cut back on alcohol since then and have non-drinking weeks.
“I have fallen in love with weight training and it’s deeper than making my body look cute.
“I’ve always had a bit of a tomboy side and I like seeing how strong I’m getting and the progression in that.
“I try to walk around 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day and eat a high protein diet.
“I’d say I am now the healthiest weight I’ve ever been.”
Groped while working as stripper
Megan was groped when she was working at a stripper
Megan suffered from crushing self-doubt about her figure when she was growing up in Southend.
On a whim, she applied for a job at a local strip club aged 19 and was immediately hired “despite my dad dancing moves.”
But in her first year of the job, she endured a disturbing encounter with a punter after agreeing to a private dance.
Megan said: “I’ve never shared this before, but I actually cried and broke down when it happened.
“I was dancing and there was an older guy. He was in his 60s or 70s and had grey hair and a full suit on.
“I was like, ‘OK, he is super respectable, like someone’s grandad, and he is going to be nice.’
“All the other girls were just going for the people they fancied, but I was all about the money.
“I took him for a dance and I couldn’t believe it because he actually groped me.
“Non-consensual groping was not allowed. I burst into tears. I was naked and had to grab my clothes from the floor.
“I ran out crying. I was like, ‘You are an old man and can’t be behaving like this.’ But I think people from that generation think, ‘She’s a stripper so she must accept it or like it.’
“But we are just out there trying to make money. I must have been about 19 or 20 years old.
“That was the first time it happened and after that I was ruthless. If anyone stepped too close to me, I would lash out. I grew a pair of balls.
“I think it did make me cynical, to be honest. It gave me a proper insight into men.
“They would come in and be so polite and total gentlemen, showing me photos of their girlfriends and wives and then three drinks in they were like, ‘Oh my God, can I take you out, you are the hottest girl I have ever seen.’
“The combination of half-naked women and alcohol is just not a good vibe.
“Working in that environment, you see a different side to people.
“You know it’s just fun, the guys are on a night out. But at the same time you think, ‘You started out the night so innocent and pure and such a gentleman and after three wines you are like, ‘Get your t*ts out.’”
£1m a year from OnlyFans
Megan dated Towie star James Lock
However, Megan credits working with more curvaceous strippers as a key factor in making her feel more confident about herself and in 2018, she was one of the undoubted stars of ITV’s Love Island.
She started seeing Wes Nelson during the show but they separated after just one year and she later dated TOWIE star James Lock and TalkSPORT presenter Chelcee Grimes.
Megan has gone on to make a fortune.
She hosts her own podcast, You Come First, has a lingerie line with Wolf + Whistle, and is estimated to make around £1 million a year from her OnlyFans account, on which she posts glamorous lingerie content.
She refuses to name the ex that fat-shamed her and denies being the star that was reported last month to have claimed tax relief on a boob job.
She said: “If that is true, I do need to change my accountant, because I can’t claim for anything. I would love to have been that girl, that would be amazing, but it wasn’t me. I didn’t think it was a thing.
“I don’t want to comment on how much I make from OnlyFans. I am doing OK but my lifestyle is pretty normal, to be honest.
“I would love to sell the dream and tell you it’s all champagne and caviar, but it’s not. I have a routine, going to the gym and having the occasional night out.
“I moved back to Southend during the pandemic but I am always in London. I think I spend half my wages on Addison Lee taxis.
“Could you imagine trying to turn up to events in heels and switching on the train? I would look like the night is over before I have turned up.
“The dream for me is to buy my parents and my brother a property and then I will think about having more holidays and flying first class.”
‘Let me see some boobs’
Megan was dating Chelcee Grimes
Megan was recently linked to fellow reality star Demi Sims but insists that she is single.
She said: “I’m not dating right now. I was kind of talking to Demi Sims again but I’m not really seeing anyone at the moment.
“There’s no one serious. I’m like a kid at the sweet shop and the pick and mix. It’s like Demi Sims here and this person there. I’m not settling down. I would like to but it’s not my priority. My priority is work.”
And she added: “I am honestly such a midlife crisis man on a night out and, ‘Oh my God, let me see some t*tties.’
“I just love looking at naked women so that’s how I end every night out, by going to a strip club. I’m being serious, is that bad?
“Some of my friends work in Browns (in Old Street, east London) and I always end up there on a night out.
“It’s hot to watch someone that is attractive get naked, it’s not that deep. I won’t lie, I have fancied some of the dancers at Browns.
“They’re at work so I will just take their number and we will go on a date after. It’s happened once or twice only. I’ve seen strippers but I try to take it out of work, because I don’t want them to see me as a customer.
“From what I’ve seen, everyone seems super happy in there and they’re making loads of money.
“Because it’s not a traditional job, people try to make it seem seedier and more corrupt than it is.
“I don’t understand why it’s seen like that. If you are a woman and have a good body, men are going to sexualise you anyway.
“If you walk down the street in a pair of shorts and a tank top, men are going to stare at you, so if you can make money out of that, why wouldn’t you?
“It’s the same with OnlyFans. If you are going to be watched by people and post bikini pictures, why would you not get paid for it?
“If you’re Kim Kardashian and posting a bikini picture on Instagram, but you can post it on OnlyFans and make three figures from it, why wouldn’t you?”
