Siânnise Fudge of Love Island has celebrated her new figure with fans after overcoming sadness and anxiety.
Siânnise was wearing a black bikini on a spa day in the photo, which was released on Sunday.
Alongside it, she wrote of being ‘so proud’ of her weight gain journey, and that last year she was ‘very underweight’.
‘Took me a while, but I did it,’ she said.
The star opened up about her mental health struggles in summer last year, which she said resulted in ‘insomnia, extreme mood swings & losing two stone in weight’.
She continued: ‘I was insecure, lost all my confidence & I lacked love within myself. I couldn’t bare to look at myself in the mirror because I didn’t recognise myself both physically & mentally.
‘I completely lost myself and I wasn’t sure who I was as a person anymore. It affected my everyday life, my work & my relationships with friends and family. I felt like I wasn’t in control of my body, I lost interest in things I loved the most and I found it impossible to socialise.’
The 28-year-old described social media posts telling her she was “too skinny” and that she should “eat some burgers” as particularly upsetting.
She went on to say that, despite her fear of needles, she ‘begged’ the doctor to draw her blood to figure out what was wrong, but the results revealed nothing was medically wrong.
Siânnise was diagnosed with severe anxiety at the time.
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On getting better, the Love Island runner-up wrote: ‘I was lost, depressed and unhealthy, but somehow I developed the strength to work on myself. I turned every negative comment into fuel and motivation to get better and today I stand here, healed with a healthy mind & a happy heart.
‘I feel beautiful, confident & I love my body now more than ever.
‘I never understood mental health until I experienced it myself and how important it is. I urge everybody to be kind because you never know what someone is going through, everyone has a story.’
This came more than two years after Siânnise finished second in season six of Love Island with her ex-boyfriend Luke Trotman in 2020.
After rising to fame while meeting on the show, the couple lived together for around a year before splitting in 2021.
The reality show has a long history of competitors suffering from mental health issues, with Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis both tragically committing suicide after leaving the show.
Caroline Flack, the former Love Island host, also committed suicide in 2020, prompting the hashtag #BeKind to remind people that what they post on social media can have real-life effects.
This year, the producers of the new winter season, which begins on January 16, are taking extra precautions to protect competitors and their families, such as suspending social media for the duration of their time on the show.
Siânnise’s future appears to be bright as she emerges from what appears to have been a tumultuous few years.
