LOVE Island’s Mike Thalassitis was in what his friend Montana Brown called an “unhealthy relationship” with a “toxic person”.
The Love Island star tragically took his own life in March 2019 at the age of 26.
His friend and co-star Montana opened up about her pal saying there was “so much to the story that people did not know”.
Speaking on Mouthing Off with Olivia Caridi, Montana said: “For me this was a really tricky time, not just because of his death but because I was focused around his death press wise.
“There was so much to the story that people didn’t know. If there is a story that comes out about someone close to you and it’s fake and it’s lies and it’s not true.
“If the truth involves somebody else and throwing somebody else under the bus even though it’s the truth you can’t say it. And this is something that I really struggled with.”
The Love Island beauty explained that her friend was in an “unhealthy relationship” which she believed impacted on his mental health significantly.
She explained: “Mike was in a relationship, a very unhealthy relationship before he passed away and that had massive massive massive implications on his mental health and I think nobody really knew that.
“I knew he was struggling because of the situation because he was in a very toxic relationship with a very toxic person and this never came to light and I knew that was a contribution to what happened to him.
“Not saying it was all on that because we all have toxic relationships that get us in a very dark place but I know that was a big contributing factor.”
Montana also opened up about her mental health struggles since she appeared on the dating show in 2017.
She said: “It can affect you long-term, I had never suffered with anxiety before I went on that show and I don’t no anybody from the entertainment industry from the show that doesn’t suffer with anxiety.
“It’s really hard because I feel like so many people say ‘you’re so lucky, what do you have to feel anxious about?’”
Speaking about her pal Mike, Montana said: “I think they see people as disposable. With Mike specifically the way he came across on TV was not how he was.
“It’s just the saddest thing because I wish people had more of a chance to see him for who he truly was and he was such a beautiful person and I honestly loved him to bits, he was such a good friend to me.
“The stress and the pressure of having to keep up the appearance of having a certain lifestyle, that is where the pressure comes for people who come off reality TV shows, because people are afraid to admit defeat.”
