Georgia Steel says Love Island abuse awful for family

Love Islander Georgia Steel says online trolling got so bad during her time in the All Stars villa that she's had to take a break from social media.

Her account was run by her family while she was on the ITV show and they had to release a statement calling out "vile threats" they'd received.

Since leaving the villa last week, the 25-year-old says she's had to step back from the apps for her mental health.

"I needed to take some time out to clear my mind," she tells BBC Newsbeat.

"That's the best thing for my mental health and then I'll come back when I feel better, when I've decompressed over everything that's been going on."

Last year, ITV introduced a social media ban after islanders were faced with online trolling.

That was reversed for the returning contestants, meaning friends and families could post on their accounts while they were in the villa.

Despite receiving abuse, Georgia thinks it was the right decision.

"I'm already on social media and it's my way of life," she says. "I don't think it's necessary to take that away from me."

Instead, she feels more should be done to limit abuse.

"People can't be trolling anonymously," she says.

"People need to have a name to what they're saying and take a bit more responsibility.

"Because these are real people, even though you're on TV it is a real person and I think people forget that sometimes."

Media watchdog Ofcom received dozens of complaints about the latest series of Love Island and told Newsbeat the majority of them expressed concern for Georgia's wellbeing - although some also related to her behaviour towards other islanders.

Concerns mostly focused on the "PDA awards" episode where Georgia was shown appearing to mislead Callum Jones about her feelings for other islanders.

"There was obviously a lot of comments on social media," Georgia says. "My family and friends had loads of things to read.

"I've been in the industry since I was 19, so they do know how it works, however, it's obviously awful to see and for me to have my family go through that, I just don't think it's OK."

During the series, a post on Georgia's Instagram Story to her 1.7 million followers said some episodes had "been difficult" for her family to watch, "but what's far worse is the hate Georgia is receiving online".

Comments were turned off on her posts and although the feature has since been restored, anyone looking to comment is met with a message asking them to "treat other people with respect".

ITV says it has an "incredibly thorough" screening process that is "constantly evolving" to make sure islanders are able to cope with the pressures of the show and Georgia says the team has continued to be supportive.

Compared with her debut in 2018, the villa has been a totally different experience, Georgia says.

Although islanders were reportedly paid far more than those entering the show for the first time, Georgia insists she did it for love.

"I had a lot of followers anyway so I didn't necessarily need the exposure," she says.

"I'm now 25, I'm actually in a place to meet someone. I've got all my ducks in a row except a boyfriend. So I thought, yeah, why not? Give it a go, we'll see what happens."

She ended up in a couple with Toby Aromolaran but they're said to be "taking it slow".

Just over a million viewers tuned in for the Love Island All Stars final - a new format aimed at breathing life into the struggling series.

That figure represents a big drop from its record final in 2019, the fifth series that catapulted the likes of Molly-Mae Hague and Amber Gill to fame, which saw six million tune in.

Despite falling audience numbers, Georgia thinks "there could be another" All Stars series.

"I know there was a lot of people that wanted to do the show that didn't really get the opportunity this time round," she says.

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