Greg O’Shea reveals his secret mental health struggles after winning Love Island

The reality star and rugby player was at one point contemplating suicide as everything became “overwhelming.”

Greg got candid about his mental health with friend Doireann Garrihy in a preview of her Laughs of your Life podcast.

“I was alone in London and I didn’t have a career, didn’t know what I was doing,” he said.

The star was under pressure to “sell” himself after appearing on Love Island in 2019 and stealing the show with fan favourite Amber Gill.

"I remember one time I was back in Dublin and I was driving around and it got really, really bad,” he said. "It got overwhelming at one stage, I was behind the wheel of the car and I was like, ‘alright this is going one of two ways.’

"I don’t want to get too dark on the podcast but it was basically a decision of, alright, either this is all over, or bring yourself to the doctor right now.”

The rugby Olympian sought professional help and went on “pretty heavy medication”.

He told Doireann that no one but his mother knew what he was going through.

“I sat down with a piece of paper and I started writing down the things I cared about, my family, my friends, fitness, presenting,” he said.

"I decided those were my pillars, I’m going to surround myself with my family and friends, I’m going to do my best presenting and hosting and I’m also going to create a fitness app and I’m just going to go hell for leather.”

The Limerick man arrived in the late stages of Love Island as a ‘bombshell’ in 2019. He coupled up with Amber Gill and went on to win the show.

They split five weeks later and viral rumours alleged Greg had ended their relationship over text message.

"It got brutal for a while,” Greg told MailOnline when everything blew over in 2021. He said “it was very scary” when Amber’s fans turned on him.

“Everyone flipped on me thinking I was a bad person.”

Since his return from the villa, Greg has played for Ireland in the Rugby World Sevens and the Tokyo Olympics, tried his hand at TV presenting and teamed up with Bank of Ireland as an ambassador.

The full episode of Doireann Garrihy’s Laughs of your Life with Greg O’Shea launches on podcast platforms on Monday.