Laura Whitmore shares heartbreaking final messages from Caroline Flack five years on from star's death
15 February 2025, 15:12
Former Love Island host Laura Whitmore has shared the last text messages between her and Caroline Flack on the five-year anniversary of her death.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Flack, who was also known for presenting ITV's Love Island, took her own life on February 15 2020 at the age of 40.
On Saturday, Whitmore, 39, shared screenshots of messages that showed her telling Flack she had just been offered the presenting role on the ITV series.
In the messages, Flack said it was "perfect" that Whitmore would be doing the show alongside her husband Iain Stirling, who narrates the series, and followed up this message with a series of love hearts.
Flack hosted the reality dating show between 2015 and 2019 with Whitmore taking the reigns in 2020 and leaving the role in 2022.
In an Instagram post, Whitmore said: "I got a new phone this month and as I was trying to download WhatsApp messages from my cloud loads of old messages came up.
"Ones I thought I lost a few years ago and no longer had. It really hit me hard.
"Looking at messages I've never publicly shared as they were private messages. Media outlets wrote a lot far from the actual truth.
"I think they show a side to Caroline which is nice to remember. Hence I'm sharing now."
Whitmore said she had met Flack when she took over hosting duties for I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! NOW!.
"She was as supportive of me doing that role back then as she was when she supported me doing Love Island in 2020," she said.
"Both were great shows with hundreds of people working on them and relying on the show going ahead.
"I will always be so thankful of the last messages between me and Caroline."
She continued: "Every time I've been asked to speak about the situation or be part of a documentary I decline.
"I've already said all I can say on the tragedy and don't want words to be misconstrued and need to look after my own mental health.
"This was the last correspondence I ever had with her."
"The last message from her to me were love hearts," she said.
"I'd like to think wherever she is now, she's at peace and somewhere lovely like I hoped.
"I'm sad when I see the press and social media be so divisive and that we still haven't learned from Caroline's treatment before her death when it comes to women in the spotlight.
"Today I choose to remember these messages and thank the cloud for giving them back to me."
After Flack's death, a coroner ruled she took her own life after learning prosecutors were going to press ahead with an assault charge over an incident involving her boyfriend, Lewis Burton.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can reach out to Samaritans for help by calling 116 123 or emailing jo@samaritans.org in the UK.
