Caroline Flack's friend: 'If you've got nothing good to say, shut your mouth'
Kevin Adams, who'd been friends with Caroline Flack for years, says she craved marriage and children, but didn't get the chance.
Saturday 22 February 2020 19:56, UK
The death of ex-Love Island presenter Caroline Flack has led to an outpouring of emotion for the 40-year-old star.
A friend of the presenter, who trained her to dance when she was a teenager, says negative comments on social media affected her "in different ways on different days".
Nutritionist and presenter Kevin Adams tells Sky News why he thinks people need to take responsibility for their words.
Caroline was a great dancer, a great actress and a great singer - what we call in the business a 'triple threat'. She was bright and vivacious.
When I heard the news, I couldn't believe it, I thought someone had made a mistake. But then my brain went into re-call mode, and I thought back to the times I'd seen her.
This is a girl who's 40 years old. She's experienced nothing that she wanted to experience. She's not had children. She's not been married. These are things the girl craved, and she didn't have the opportunity to do this.
I'd spoken to Caroline over last few weeks, and she had been going through a lot.
The difficult thing for any human being is when you have people that will condemn with one hand, then forgive with the opposite hand and not think about what's going to happen in between.
It's so easy to pick up a phone, go on social media and say something detrimental to someone. If you've got nothing good to say, shut your mouth.
These teenagers on social media have a way of just being so detrimental to someone. And then they say, 'I was only joking'. It's not it's not a joke.
:: Listen to the Daily podcast with Dermot Murnaghan on , , ,
I think the thing with Caroline was that there was a lot of things going on. It was a lot to handle. And she was trying to deal with it as best she could.
It affected her on different days in different ways, as it would any human being.
Whether you're in the public eye and not in the public eye, you're still a human being and hurtful things hurt.
I think the thing we need to learn is that you don't need to be kind. You need to just leave people alone. If you've got nothing good to say, say nothing.
If you're on Instagram for example, it's a photo album of all your best points of your life. People complain a lot, that all you do is post nice pictures. That's the point. It's a photo album you don't put bad pictures on there.
Social media has taken it from a playground when people would say horrible things and you can remove yourself from the situation to your house, to your bedroom, to your kitchen. It's there 24/7 and we're losing control.
I came from Fame Academy, and reality TV is not responsible for Caroline's death. You can't blame a television company or a television show because they're not responsible.
As individuals, we have to take ownership. If we helped to make someone's situation worse or if we've done that in the past, we need to think about that.
But I do think that there isn't enough duty of care, and it should be enforced rather than optional.
When you leave a reality TV show, you should be made to see a psychotherapist at least once a week for a period after you leave.
You never know how bad you are until you're at the end of the road, so we need to give these people a helping hand.
The contestants are on a show for a certain amount of time, but when they come back to reality it's such a bump. To adjust to that you need some help.
I've known Caroline for over 22 years and I'm going to remember her as the bright, vivacious teenager she was when I met her.
She was at the top of her game, she was doing so well. But everyone has highs and lows.
This is the thing within our life. I've never met a perfect human being, and I think that's the one thing the public should take away.
Remember, no one is perfect. If you've got nothing to say, say nothing.
:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email [email protected] in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.