Love Island’s Zara McDermott says being victim of revenge porn was ‘hardest thing ever’

‘I’ve been a victim of revenge porn twice in my life’, says reality star

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Zara McDermott has opened up about her experience of revenge porn and said that appearing on Love Island “damaged” her.

On Friday, the 24-year-old appeared on Loose Women, where she spoke about being a victim of revenge porn twice, with one instance taking place while she was on the ITV2 dating show.

Speaking to the show’s panel, McDermott said: “I’ve been a victim of revenge porn, or what is called Image Based Sexual Abuse, twice in my life.

“Notably, when I came out of Love Island, and came out to images of me, what felt like, circulating around the whole world. It was one of the hardest things I went through in my whole life.”

McDermott, who appeared on the 2018 series of Love Island, went on to say that given the opportunity, she would not go on the show again after the impact it had on her.

“I wouldn’t do it again personally, just because of my experience and how it has damaged me,” she said. “There’s probably millions of other people who would.”

Now, the reality star is working with domestic violence charity Refuge in a bid to overhaul laws surrounding revenge porn.

On Thursday, she joined officials from the charity in Parliament Square to lobby for anyone who threatens to publicly share intimate photos of another person to face prosecution.

A law against sharing intimate photos came into force in 2015, but Refuge wants this to be strengthened.

When discussing the best way to combat revenge porn, McDermott said she believes it is ”naïve“ to tell people not to send videos or photos of themselves to partners as we now ”live in a hugely digital age“.

She continued: “Educating people who would share the images about the implications of their actions and them knowing it's illegal and is an offence, I think could change a lot.”

Speaking about the project on Instagram, McDermott said: “I'm going to speak to you guys about a very serious topic, something that's really, really close to me and something I've been a victim of myself and that is revenge porn, or as other people like to call it image based sexual abuse.

“Some of the messages I've had have shocked me to the core. I can't even begin to tell you what women are going through now.”

In March, it was revealed that the Love Island star is teaming up with BBC three to create a documentary on revenge porn.

She wrote on Instagram at the time: “My main aim is to bring awareness to this issue, and be a voice for those who have suffered in silence and to help make a change.

“I am sharing my story and being my most vulnerable, emotional and raw.

”This has affected my life and me as a person tremendously, and for the first time I'm confident enough to properly speak out and share my story.”