Former Love Island contestant Katie Salmon has broken her silence after being found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The 28-year-old, who appeared on the second series of the ITV2 dating show in 2016, attacked her boyfriend's second girlfriend with a hairdryer and a stiletto heel in Kettering, Northamptonshire, in July. She was handed a suspended prison sentence, avoiding immediate jail time.
In an emotional video posted on Instagram, Salmon, who now describes herself as a born-again Christian and OnlyFans influencer, said she had been silent for months due to legal reasons. 'There's been many decisions that have led me to this point over the years and there was a scenario that happened over two years ago,' she stated, her voice trembling. 'Unfortunately I'm not able to speak on that right now due to legal reasons and it breaks my heart that I'm labelled as something that I'm not or never have been.'
Salmon, who made history as part of the first all-girl couple on Love Island with the late Sophie Gradon, said she has learned from the incident and found faith. 'What is important is what I learned from it and how I found God through it,' she added. She also spoke of the difficulty of saying goodbye to her daughter not knowing when she would see her again.
Concluding her statement, Salmon said: 'If you were praying for my downfall I want you to know that this isn't the end of me. This is only the beginning. Jesus is restoring what was stolen from me.' In the caption, she described the post as the 'hardest she's ever had to write' and urged women not to be defined by their past.
