Love Island father experience of trolling while his daughter was in the villa Who we are Contact Advertise Tips UK Write Tips News Trash Agenda Trends Opinion Guides UK Belfast Birmingham Bournemouth Bristol Brookes Cambridge Cardiff Coventry Durham Edinburgh Exeter Glasgow King's Lancaster Leeds Lincoln Liverpool London Manchester Newcastle Nottingham Oxford Sheffield Soton St Andrews Sussex University of East Anglia Warwick York ‘I warned others off the show’: The fathers whose daughters went onto Love Island Amy Hart’s death threats got so bad the police were involved 4 months ago Katelyn Mensah Love Island 2022 UK One group of people we often don’t think about being affected by Love Island is the parents of the sons and daughters who appear on the show. Two mothers of former Islanders have spoken out about what it was like watching their daughters go onto the reality dating show and the toll it took on their mental health after they had left the villa. Now, two fathers have shared what it was like seeing their daughters on Love Island and the impact the trolling had on them. Season five winner, Amber Gill’s father said the biggest downside to his daughter going on the show was the trolling she faced from “cowards hiding behind anonymous accounts.” Amy Hart’s father Ian says he does not regret his daughter going on the show but has warned people he knows from going onto it in the future. Speaking with The Sun, the fathers of Amber Gill and Amy Hart have spoken about what it was like dealing with the trolling their daughters faced online and the support they received. Amber Gill Love Island winner Amber Gill was on season five of the show in 2019. She was an OG Islander who faced public heartbreak after Casa Amor, when Michael Griffiths coupled up with someone else. Not long after, Amber coupled up with Greg O’Shea who she went onto win the show with. Amber’s father Leon refused to even shake Michael’s hand after seeing him at a Love Island family event after the show ended. While Amber was on the show, Leon did not let anyone talk badly about her if he could help it. He said: “People say it’s just a TV show, but when you see your daughter in tears, as a dad you’re going to react.” Leon remembers being in a pub and hearing someone call Amber names. “I’m not going to repeat the words, but it was all, ‘That Amber is a such and such.’ I went over and said, ‘Amber is my daughter and you’re very lucky I’m an easy-going type of guy because if I wasn’t, you know what would happen.’ He said sorry”, he said. via Instagram @amberrosegill Before Amber won the viewers hearts after staying true to herself after the Casa Amor and Michael debacle, she was subject to awful racist abuse online. Leon recalls that Amber received multiple racist DMs to her Instagram, which were reported by her mother to ITV’s welfare team. He said: “The family had constant contact from producers and felt supported.” Leon says the worst part about Amber being on Love Island was the trolling. He said: “The biggest downside has to be the trolling. And my mind goes back to Caroline Flack, who Amber was close to. We were having a meal out when Amber got the call to tell her what had happened, and she was distraught. If it can happen to Caroline, who had the world at her feet, it can happen to anybody. It’s cowards that do it. Cowards hiding behind anonymous accounts.” via Instagram @amberrosegill When offering advice to Michael Owen and other fathers of the current Love Island contestants, Leon said: “Try not to get too annoyed. It’ll be hard when you see some of the conversations your daughter is having with guys, but you can switch off and just be there for her on the outside.” Amy Hart Amy was another OG Islander on the 2019’s Love Island before she decided to leave the villa following her heartbreak. Amy’s father Ian said he would only watch the show an hour after it was aired so he could be prepared and know what to expect. He said: “I would watch it an hour after the show went out so I could be warned if there were bits I might want to fast forward. That worked well, until someone forgot to tell me.” In a challenge, it was revealed that Amy had slept with 11 men, and Ian said: “You have got to take it on the chin. Amy’s a good-looking young lady, she’s got a lovely personality and I never expected her to live like Mother Teresa.” Ian knows just how important support for the Islanders can be. Towards the end of Amy’s time in the villa, she dealt with heartbreak after finding out Curtis was not faithful to her in Casa Amor, and soon after showed his interest in Maura Higgins which led to her leaving the villa. “Amy went with dignity and class and I was proud.” via Instagram @amyhartxo While she was on the show in 2019, Amy faced abuse and death threats from online trolls. Ian believes nothing could have prepared him and their family for the online abuse Amy faced, commenting on her weight and looks. “Amy had a woman who would post something abusive at 6:30 every morning, knowing she would wake up and it’d be the first thing she saw. We’d report it but she would start another account and then another one and so on. Until legislation makes people accountable, it’s going to happen”, he said. He continued: “When the death threat came through, ITV got the police involved and kept us in the loop, which was reassuring. They deserve a lot of credit for that.” Ian shared that the aftercare team from ITV2 had been exceptional, and Amy checks in with them. When Amy first told her parents she was going into the villa, they weren’t too bothered. Ian said: “It was her ambition, and you can’t stifle that. Over the last 35 years doing my job as a funeral director, I’ve talked to a lot of families of people who never had the chance to realise their dreams, so we supported her. I’ve always told my children that providing it’s legal, tasteful and you don’t upset anybody – go for it.” via Instagram @amyhartxo Since Amy appeared on the show, Ian found out a local boy he knew had been lined up for Love Island and he warned him off going on the show. He said: “I said to him, ‘Please don’t do it. You’re a lovely lad but I don’t think you’re mentally strong enough.’ Thankfully, he didn’t go in.” Ian Hart has offered advice to Michael Owen, telling him not to watch the show. He said: “Don’t watch! Seriously, though, just make sure you’re there for them when they come out. See Amy kiss on camera was a bit like being eight again and watching Dr Who and the Daleks from behind the sofa!” Despite everything their daughters faced, neither Ian nor Leon regrets Amber or Amy going on the show. Ian said: “Love Island put Amy in the public eye. It gave her an opportunity and she’s making the most of it. She went in there for the right reasons – to fall in love – and she left on her own terms.” Amy is now in a relationship with mode Sam Rason, who Ian approves of. He said: “Curtis was a lovely lad. But he is a bottle of prosecco, Sam is a bottle of Veuve Clicquot.” Featured image credit via Instagram @amberrosegill and @amyhartxo. Related stories recommended by this writer • ‘I wouldn’t wish it on any parent’: The mothers whose daughters went on Love Island • Photo dump! Here are all the pictures the Islanders have taken on their phones so far • Everything Michael Owen has said about Gemma being on Love Island Katelyn Mensah Love Island 2022 UK RECOMMENDED READ So here’ s how to get into HUNDREDS of museums art galleries and exhibitions for free All you need is a fiver Art Fund Sponsored BRANDS ‘If I’m not winning, no one should’: Sminty Drop on her shock early exit from Drag Race UK Harrison Brocklehurst Trash UK ‘They had to get rid of me to give somebody else some airtime’ Kwasi Kwarteng only lasted 38 days, but these memes will live on forever Izzy Schifano Agenda UK ‘I’ve had some cheese in my fridge that’s lasted longer than him as chancellor’ This is where the real life family from Netflix’s The Watcher are now Georgia Mooney Trash UK They suggested Netflix include a scene where the house burns to the ground MAFS UK was the wildest show of the year and these 22 memes from the final prove it Harrison Brocklehurst Trash UK Kwame’s bench will haunt us all forever This is what everyone is dressing up as for Halloween, according to Google Georgia Mooney Trends UK Going as anyone from the cast of Euphoria is so pick me x George has been ‘ruled out’ of the Married at First Sight UK reunion by Channel 4 Harrison Brocklehurst Trash UK The rest of the cast will reunite on Monday and Tuesday next week Guys Francis Bourgeois has his own show coming out next week Hayley Soen Trash UK Chloe Burrows from Love Island features too! These 20 Russell Group universities are officially the best in the UK right now Izzy Schifano News UK Brb applying to Edinburgh right now x Real Broaddus family was paid by Netflix for The Watcher and made demands about the show Hayley Soen Trash UK They’ve said they won’t be watching the thriller series about what happened to them Who lives at 657 Boulevard now What happened to real house from The Watcher on Netflix Hayley Soen Trash UK The Broaddus family sold up in 2019 Every cast member of Married at First Sight UK 2022 definitively ranked from worst to best Harrison Brocklehurst Trash UK I will remember the drama they gave us til the day I die Meet the iconic cast full of famous faces in Netflix’s The Watcher Georgia Mooney Trash UK Jennifer Coolidge AND Hannah Montana’s grandma omg The creepy letters in The Watcher are real – here’s what they each said in real life Hayley Soen Trash UK ‘Will the young blood play in the basement? If you were upstairs you would never hear them scream’ People are making their houses into Stranger Things sets for Halloween and it’s incredible Hayley Soen Trash UK HOW do people make them look this good?! Omg, apparently the MAFS UK reunion is so explosive producers had to step in Harrison Brocklehurst Trash UK ‘The previous dinner parties have nothing on what’s about to happen’ As a student with OCD, this is what my university experience has been like Amy Varley Guides UK It’s changed my approach, but I’m still capable Just every single type of seller you will encounter on Vinted Ella Dickson Guides UK 3. The one who should get back to Depop Brianne Howey says season two of Ginny and Georgia is ‘done’ but explains its delay Hayley Soen Trash UK Finally some news! Here’s the chilling true story behind The Watcher, Ryan Murphy’s latest Netflix show Georgia Mooney Trash UK This is my idea of hell Rex Orange County fans are straight up burning their merch and removing tattoos Georgia Mooney Trends UK ‘Who wants to cut my arm off?’ An ode to Adrian: How the world fell in love with MAFS UK’s ‘Captain Curtains’ Harrison Brocklehurst Trash UK The nation cheered when he told Whitney to f*ck off Most Read Who lives at 657 Boulevard now What happened to real house from The Watcher on Netflix Hayley Soen Trash These 20 Russell Group universities are officially the best in the UK right now Izzy Schifano News All the 2022 MAFS UK cast s first Instagram posts compared to their most recent Katelyn Mensah Trash The creepy letters in The Watcher are real – here s what they each said in real life Hayley Soen Trash Meet Ruth Codd The 26-year-old who went from TikTok fame to The Midnight Club on Netflix Harrison Brocklehurst Trash Right just how successful are the millionaire cast of Bling Empire really Hayley Soen Trash The full true story behind the disgusting meat sandwich scene in the Jeffrey Dahmer series Hayley Soen Trash George has been ruled out of the Married at First Sight UK reunion by Channel 4 Harrison Brocklehurst Trash Guys Francis Bourgeois has his own show coming out next week Hayley Soen Trash Real Broaddus family was paid by Netflix for The Watcher and made demands about the show Hayley Soen Trash