Mother's Day: Love Island's Malin pens emotional letter following the death of her baby daughter

'I salute anyone that has lost their mother, or daughter'

(Instagram: @missmalinsara

Former Love Island star Malin Andersson has penned an emotional letter for what would have been her first Mother’s Day.

Andersson’s daughter, Consy, passed away in January when she was just four weeks old, after being born seven weeks premature.

The 26-year-old is also mourning the loss of her mother, Consy, who died in 2017 after a battle with cancer.

Writing for OK! Online, Andersson explained how difficult Mother’s Day is for her, and anyone suffering from grief, describing emails, television adverts and even trips to the supermarket as “painful triggers” and “reminders of a relationship that you no longer have”.

The reality TV star explained that she often responds to questions about how she's spending Mother’s Day by awkwardly giggling but that really she feels like she’s “dying inside”.

In an "ideal world", Andersson said she would be celebrating the day by waking her mother up with breakfast, a homemade card and cuddles with her baby daughter.

“However, we don’t live in an ideal world,” she wrote.

“Things don’t always go to plan how we like it, and we are made to adjust to daily struggles and awful things that life throws us.”

Andersson continued by admitting she finds it hard to cope on Mother’s Day, describing the strength a person needs to overcome the kind of trauma she has experienced as "tremendous”.

"You need every bit of bone in you to survive the grief and heartache; and you have to be able to look to the future and live life as if nothing ever happened," she said.

On special occasions such as Mother's Day, Andersson said she does her best to keep busy and makes sure to surround herself with friends and family so she doesn’t feel alone.

The Love Island contestant also opened up about what she does to deal with her grief, revealing she turns to everything from self-help books and meditation to therapy to get through each day.

“There are a lot of charities available and who are there for you to talk to any time,” Andersson wrote.

“It’s not good to bottle your feelings and thoughts, I always know I feel better when I talk to my therapist or a friend about what’s going on in that hectic mind of mine.”

Andersson concluded her note by asking people to remember that they “are never alone” and to “be very kind to yourself”.

For more information and support on grief and child bereavement, you can contact the following organisations: Cruse Bereavement Care, Winston's Wish, Tommy’s, Mind, Child Bereavement UK, Sands, The Lullaby Trust and Aching Arms.