The family of Caroline Flack have released an unpublished Instagram post that the star wrote in the days before her death, in which she said that within 24 hours her whole world and future had been swept from under her feet.
The 40-year-old former Love Island host, who took her own life, described the domestic incident with boyfriend Lewis Burton as “an accident”.
“On December the 12th 2019 I was arrested for common assault on my boyfriend,” she wrote. “Within 24 hours my whole world and future was swept from under my feet and all the walls that I had taken so long to build around me, collapsed.
“I am suddenly on a different kind of stage and everyone is watching it happen.
“I have always taken responsibility for what happened that night.
“Even on the night.
“But the truth is … It was an accident.”
Caroline Flack’s family releases powerful message she wrote days before she died https://t.co/39vHCv4cs4
— Eastern Daily Press (@EDP24) February 19, 2020
Flack’s mother, Chris Flack, shared the message in her local paper, the Eastern Daily Press, in Norfolk where Flack grew up.
She said her daughter was advised not to share the post on social media, but that her family “want people to read it”.
“It was describing how she was feeling and what she had gone through – no more than that,” her mother said. “It was not blaming anyone or pointing any fingers.”
She said Flack, whom she calls Carrie, sent it to her “at the end of January but was told not to post it by advisers”.
In the post, Flack wrote: “For a lot of people, being arrested for common assault is an extreme way to have some sort of spiritual awakening but for me it’s become the normal.
“I’ve been pressing the snooze button on many stresses in my life – for my whole life.
“I’ve accepted shame and toxic opinions on my life for over 10 years and yet told myself it’s all part of my job.
“No complaining.
“The problem with brushing things under the carpet is … they are still there and one day someone is going to lift that carpet up and all you are going to feel is shame and embarrassment.”
Flack’s inquest is due to be opened on Wednesday morning, four days after the television presenter was found dead at her home in east London.
The hearing at Poplar Coroner’s Court at 10am is expected to be brief, with the coroner likely to adjourn proceedings to allow the police investigation to continue.
Flack’s death, confirmed on Saturday evening, was the latest connected to ITV2’s Love Island and prompted a tidal wave of grief from celebrity friends and members of the public.
Flack stepped down from presenting the current winter series after the alleged assault on Mr Burton.
She pleaded not guilty at a court hearing in December and was released on bail.
But she was ordered to stop having any contact with Mr Burton ahead of a trial, which had been due to begin in March.
The troubled dating show did not air on Saturday or Sunday as a mark of respect to her family and returned on Monday with a tribute to Flack, who started hosting the programme in 2015.