Former “Love Island” host Caroline Flack took her own life after learning she was facing an assault trial — that she feared would end her career and put her at the center of unbearable media scrutiny, a British coroner ruled Thursday.
Flack, 40, was found dead in her London home in February, weeks before she was set to be prosecuted for a bloody attack on her 27-year-old boyfriend Lewis Burton.
“I find the reason for her taking her life was she now knew she was being prosecuted for certainty,” North London Coroner Mary Hassell said in an inquest verdict.
“She knew she would face the media, press, publicity,” Hassell continued. “It would all come down upon her.”
The UK celebrity’s death came following a long struggle with “fluctuating mental health” that was made worse by the stress of fame, the coroner found.
“In spite of the fact she may have led — to some — a charmed life, actually the more famous she got, the more some of these difficulties increased – she had to deal with the media in a way most of us don’t,” Hassell said.
Flack’s family accused police and prosecutors of going after the TV host because of her celeb status when they charged her with assaulting Burton in December 2019, including by smashing a lamp over his head.
Burton had said he did not want her to be prosecuted.
Following the inquest — proceedings held in Britain to determine the facts of sudden, violent or unexplained deaths — Flack’s mother Chris and sister Jody thanked the coroner for her compassion, The Guardian reported.
“She treated Caroline with dignity and respect and allowed us to ask questions and finally get answers to things that have been giving us sleepless nights ever since Caroline felt she had no choice but to take her life rather than face the humiliation of a show trial.”
Days before taking her own life, Flack had penned an emotional apology where she called the incident with Burton an accident and said she had since lost everything.
“The reason I am talking today is because my family can’t take anymore. I’ve lost my job. My home. My ability to speak,” Flack wrote. “The truth has been taken out of my hands and used as entertainment.”