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STEELING HERSELF
Love Island’s Georgia Steel reveals secret fears for her relationship with Toby Aromolaran after villa backlash
The villa star has also revealed why she feels 'hurt' by winners Molly Smith and Tom Clare
LOVE Island's Georgia Steel has revealed she feared the intense backlash and trolling she has received would spell the end of her romance with Toby Aromolaran.
The 25 year-old has been targeted by death threats and online hatred so severe, she has had to step away from social media.
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And in an exclusive chat with The Sun, Georgia admitted she feared Toby might be swayed by what people were saying about her when they returned to the real world.
Georgia says: “I was a bit worried that all the hate would affect our relationship. I thought, ‘I hope Toby is not reading that, I hope it won’t influence how he feels about me.’"
Luckily, her fears have proved unfounded.
She breaks into a smile as she discusses her man.
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Georgia reveals: “Me and Toby are doing really really well. We are looking forward to celebrating his birthday at the weekend. He is my best friend. His support is just amazing, and that’s all I feel like I need.
"He takes me at face value. He has known me a long time and if anything, this has probably made us stronger."
The 'L' word
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As for whether the pair are officially boyfriend and girlfriend, they haven't taken that step yet.
“We aren’t official yet. We are ‘locked in’ still. I like it that way at the moment. I want to embrace our time on the outside together and have fun. I think it’s definitely going in that direction, I couldn’t imagine him not in my life, but I just want to not put pressure on it.”
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Has she dropped the L bomb?
“Nooo! We haven’t said the L word. I would never say the L word before him. I’d be too scared! It’s way too soon to say he is The One - ask me again in a year and I will let you know.”
While Toby has kept Georgia smiling since she left the villa, she admits that the horrific online abuse she received after appearing on All Stars has taken its toll.
Trolls slammed her as a 'snake' online after she got to know both Callum Jones and Tom Clare, before ultimately ended up back with Toby after they were paired together in the early days of the series.
'I felt like the most hated woman in Britain'
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Georgia says: “I felt like the most hated woman in the country. I had no clue it would be that bad. I had a feeling I would get some stick when I got out but never did I know that the trolling would be so intense.
“I’ve had death threats, my family and friends have had death threats and I feel slightly responsible for that. It was an entertainment show at the end of the day, and coming out of it, I have felt down. I don’t want people I love to go through that.
“It’s not something I knew I would be signing up for. I was signing up for a reality show that I did when I was 19 that was fun, and I thought maybe I would come out of it with a partner.
" I didn’t sign up for death threats and hate and all this negativity. I actually came out really happy and then hearing all of this has really taken a toll.
While Georgia insists she is doing OK and hasn’t felt suicidal, she admits the vile trolling she has made her also feel wary when she is public.
Secret struggle
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“I’m a very strong girl and I’m surrounded by amazing family and friends, so I will get through it. I am OK, but I do I feel anxious when I leave the house,” she admits.
“I’m always thinking, ‘Will anyone say anything to me?’ I’m determined to still live my life though. I know I signed up to be in the public eye and I know I’m controversial and that I’m never going to please everyone, but I didn’t expect this to be so intense.”
Looking back, Georgia is still mystified about why she was made out to be the villain.
“I haven’t watched the show back but I don’t think I did anything wrong,” she says. My friends and family have told me I didn’t. I don’t regret anything. I was just embracing the Love Island experience.
"Yeah, I might have gone about things the wrong way but people have to appreciate I am a 25 year old girl navigating things in the villa, and I’m not going to be perfect.”
'I'm hurt by Molly and Tom'
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As for her fellow All Stars cast, Georgia said her pals Georgia Harrison and Hannah Elizabeth “have been amazing”, but she’s aware show winners Molly Smith and Tom Clare had some choice words to say about her in public.
The pair appeared on Sophie Habboo and Melissa Tattam’s Wednesdays podcast this week, where they claimed Georgia was the “snakiest” islander and said she made digs that were unaired on screen.
“I haven’t heard from Molly or Tom since leaving the villa but, yeah, that’s upsetting,” Georgia says of their comments. “I think it’s disappointing as we all know how it is coming out of the villa, we know the heat we get and it’s been shown that I got a lot of hate.
" It does make me sad for sure. I feel some people I went through that experience with are still targeting me and that’s rubbish. I am a bit gutted about it to be honest.
“With what’s gone on in the press with Molly and Tom, I will be taking a step back now [from those relationships]. I am just hurt. It’s like kicking someone when they are down a bit, and people kicking me when I am down is just not helping the situation.
"People should know better, especially being in the industry themselves.
She adds: “I don’t hate Molly and Tom and I don’t think they are a bad couple. I actually really like the guys, that’s why I am probably quite hurt by it.”
Future plans
For now, though, Georgia is focussed on leaving the drama behind, getting herself back on her feet and turning a brutal experience into a positive.
“I will go back to social media when it feels right, but I want to be back in the best mindset first,” she explains.
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“I also want to use my platform and not allow this vile trolling to happen anymore. I would love to go to parliament and speak to them about it because we need to set up a system where anonymous trolling is not allowed.
“It’s the modern day form of bullying and it needs to be stopped because everyone in the public eye gets it. Some people won’t be as resilient as me and that’s who we need to look after. I really want to do something about it to be honest, before it is too late.”
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