Former Love Island champion Amber Gill has bravely revealed the intense mental health challenges she faced following her sudden rise to fame, including severe social anxiety that left her housebound and a later ADHD diagnosis that explained her ongoing struggles.
The Dark Side of Overnight Fame
The 28-year-old television personality spoke candidly on the mental health podcast Question The Default about the overwhelming pressure of public scrutiny after winning the 2019 series of the hit reality show. Gill described the transition from ordinary life to celebrity status as an "out of body experience" that left her "constantly overwhelmed."
"I started to get really bad social anxiety, I didn't want to leave the house, I didn't want to do anything," Gill told host Harry Corin during the emotional interview. The reality star's life transformed overnight when she entered the Love Island villa with 4,000 Instagram followers and emerged to discover she had gained 2 million followers, causing her phone to crash from the influx of attention.
From Villa Heartbreak to Public Scrutiny
Gill's Love Island journey featured both romantic highs and devastating lows. She initially found love with Michael Griffiths, who ultimately dumped her for fellow contestant Joanna Chimonides in what viewers described as one of the show's most brutal breakups. Irish rugby union player Greg O'Shea later swept her off her feet, helping them secure the series win together.
However, the victory came with unexpected psychological consequences. Gill recalled the surreal moment she visited JD Sports after the show and found people queuing outside just to see her. "I was like – what do you mean they're here to see me? I didn't understand what would happen after and I certainly didn't think I would win the show," she shared.
The Geordie beauty admitted that the contrast between her seemingly "fabulous" exterior life and internal emotional state made it difficult for others to sympathise. "It was really hard for people to sympathise [because] on the outside my life looked fabulous, but I felt so low," Gill explained.
ADHD Diagnosis and Moving Forward
Reflecting on her post-Love Island experiences, Gill revealed how she began noticing signs that would later lead to her ADHD diagnosis. "When I came out, it seemed like everyone was doing so much more than me. I could not get it together to keep up the same momentum that everyone else had," she confessed.
The reality star described experiencing "ADHD paralysis" – a state of overwhelm that prevents sufferers from completing necessary tasks. "I get overwhelmed quite easily. I can be inconsistent. I get hyper fixated probably on the wrong things, or on minor details – like perfectionism," Gill detailed.
She emphasised the seriousness of the condition, stating: "You can have funny content, but if you think it's funny, then you don't have ADHD – because it's not. There's nothing funny about it. It's horrible."
Despite appearing on subsequent television programmes like Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, Gill feels she has now moved on from TV work. Her honest discussion about mental health struggles and neurodiversity provides an important perspective on the psychological impact of reality television fame and the importance of proper diagnosis and support.
