Love Island star Sophie Lee has broken her silence on her "tough" dumping, teasing: "Summer's not over".
The 29-year-old from Darwen became the first contestant of the 12th season to be dumped from the island, with the star having to pack her bags after Shakira Khan opted to couple up with Harry Cooksley during Tuesday's (10 June) episode.
The elimination, which was dubbed "tough" by Shakira on the show, shocked fans. Sophie only got to spend 48 hours in the famous villa, though the motivational speaker and author admitted she didn't harbour any regrets.
"I know for me, what I make of my life is down to me. I don’t regret anything I’ve done. I did everything that I wanted to do. And summer’s not over!" she teased, adding she backed Harry's decision to stand up for Shakira as long as it made him "happy".
"It’s Love Island — even the people that think they’re safe aren’t!" she continued. "If you’ve not mixed and mingled, or you’ve mixed and mingled too much… all of a sudden you might not have a strong connection and you could leave," the reality star said.
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She continued: "Basically, you can’t be a slow burner and you can’t be a fast runner. In this case you’ve got 24 hours. What are you going to do?... You can’t just go in there and go, 'That’s my guy, all cards off the table', and not speak to anyone else."
Sophie, who was partnered with Harry following a twist in the season premiere, also spoke about her wider experience in the villa, admitting she felt a mixture of emotions prior to her arrival.
"I was so ecstatic, [yet also] nervous [and] intrigued," she recalled. "You’ve never met any of these people. It’s a surreal moment because you’ve never experienced that in your life. I was so excited to meet people [as] I’m a people person, especially with my job.
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"I have such a passion for learning people’s stories, getting to know people and this is why I think my dating experience is so different; I’m automatically tuned to not judge people by what they look like and to know about their stories before judging them."
Sophie, who stated that she wants a "fun-filled crazy house" in the future with children and a family, concluded by declaring that she had been true to her "silly, wonderful and little bit cautious" self in her short stint.
Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
