Caroline Flack’s mother has said she feels ‘really hurt’ seeing people who were not close to her daughter grieve publicly about her as if they were.
The Love Island presenter took her own life at the age of 40 in February 2020, and friends and colleagues recently marked what would have been her 42nd birthday in November with social media tributes.
Her mother, Christine Flack, said she expects this Christmas to be challenging.
She told The Sun: ‘It’s been worse this year because it’s become real.’
She added: ‘It’s hard. I saw someone on the telly this week calling her a friend and it really hurt.
‘When a death is in the media you can’t just grieve quietly. There’s lots of people grieving that don’t know her personally, so you’re looking after them, as well as all her friends.’
Flack’s mother and her twin sister, Jody, helped produce the documentary Caroline Flack: Her Life And Death for Channel 4 earlier this year.
The documentary tells the story of her life and death, as well as her mental health issues.
Christine Flack said: ‘There was so much going on last year, with everything, people talking, and that documentary really helped.’
Before its release, her mother spoke out against social media companies for failing to protect her daughter from abuse on their platforms.
She also previously revealed how ‘horrible’ it was to catch adverts for Love Island on TV and see host Laura Whitmore in in similar shots and outfits to her late daughter, revealing that she wished ITV2 had done things ‘differently’.
Flack, known for her TV work on shows including Love Island, The X Factor and winning Strictly Come Dancing, was found dead at her home in Stoke Newington, north east London, on February 15, 2020.
A coroner ruled she took her own life after learning prosecutors were going to press ahead with an assault charge over an incident with boyfriend Lewis Burton.
Flack’s death prompted an outpouring of sorrow from celebrity friends, colleagues and fans, who referenced one of the star’s social media posts in which she urged people to ‘be kind’.
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