Shaughna Phillips ' struggle to find love was watched by millions when she entered the
Love Island villa in 2020 - but what viewers didn't know at the time was that she was also secretly grappling with something much tougher behind the cameras. The reality TV star has admitted that her confidence was at an all-time low while filming the show in
South Africa and recalled feeling "consumed" with fears over her physical appearance and body image. "I was a size 6-8 yet I thought I was the ‘fat girl’ in the villa", Shaughna said. "It shows the level of body dysmorphia I had. I was consumed with the way I looked, breathing in and getting the right angles." Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), or body dysmorphia refers to a serious mental health condition where a person exceedingly worries about their physical flaws which often go unnoticed by other people. The NHS explains on its official website that "people of any age can have BDD, but it's most common in teenagers and young adults. Shaughna Phillips detailed her battle with body dysmorphia in the Love Island villa ( Image: Instagram/ @shaughnaphillips) The bombshell gained fame in Winter Love Island in 2020 ( Image: Instagram/ @shaughnaphillips) Remembering one particular time her body dysmorphia played tricks on her, Shaughna continued to Closer magazine : "When they gave me the outfit to wear for the Dirty Dancing challenge, I thought, ‘God must really hate me!’ I felt some girls knew I was insecure and would strut past me. I’d think, ‘How do they have this confidence?’ I look back and feel sorry for myself." But after giving birth to her daughter Lucia in late 2023, Shaughna has had a different approach to beauty standards as she stated: "Being thin didn’t bring me happiness. I now know it’s not the be-all and end-all, and there’s freedom in knowing happiness has nothing to do with a certain size." Shaughna, who worked as a
Democratic services officer in
London before finding fame in Winter Love Island, embarked on a relationship with Billy Webb, with whom she shares Lucia. Despite being a self-proclaimed over-sharer, Shaughna kept their romance largely hidden from prying eyes on
Social Media but her world was turned on its head when Billy was arrested. At the time, Shaughna was 30 weeks pregnant and getting ready to welcome their daughter but she was eventually forced to accept the single mum life as Billy was given a nine-year-long
prison sentence for drug offences. After remaining tight-lipped, Shaughna accepted to divulge how she coped with Billy being behind bars on her podcast Oh Baby!, alongside Holly Connolly. Shaughna Phillips explained she had a different approach to beauty standards since giving birth to her daughter Lucia ( Image: Instagram/ @shaughnaphillips) Shaughna Phillips has had to be a single mother for her daughter as her partner Billy was incarcerated for drug offences ( Image: Instagram/ @shaughnaphillips) Shaughna explained that she'd felt terrified to share details about her personal situation and pleaded with her fans to be "gentle" with her. She then revealed that, to keep Lucia and Billy's bond strong, she made the decision to take the tot to him during occasional visits - a situation she still appeared to be wrapping her head around. "Before I was in this position, before I had a baby, if you had asked me would I ever, ever take my child into a prison, the answer would be absolutely not", Shaughna confessed. "Anyone that does that is crazy. And then, lo and behold, I'm now in this position. And I think the thing is, we're always going to be co-parents. And I know that me and my dad had the best relationship ever, and to me, my dad is the best person in the world. And I don't want Lucia to think differently of her father." For help and support on eating disorders contact Beat Eating Disorders on 0808 801 0677. Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat ,
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