Love Island's Lucinda Strafford reveals she was cast just three hours before getting a flight to South Africa as she speaks out on 'bullying' drama which sparked 11,000 Ofcom complaints

Lucinda Strafford has spoken out on her turbulent stint on Love Island: All Stars.

The reality star, 26, made it all the way to the final with boyfriend Sean Stone, also 26, but her journey in the villa wasn't easy as she was at the centre of a bullying row which sparked 11,000 Ofcom complaints.

The controversy involved fellow Islanders Belle Hassan, Samie Elishi and Jessy Potts, who were branded 'mean girls' by viewers for their perceived 'ganging up' on Lucinda. 

Appearing in Paul C Brunson's latest We Need To Talk podcast episode, Lucinda reflected on her time on the show and how she was only cast at the last minute. 

The All Stars series marked Lucinda's fourth time on the programme, with the reality star deciding to catch a flight to South Africa just three hours after being asked if she wanted to appear on the show.  

Lucinda recalled: 'I got a call in January and it was from one of the casting people and they said, what are you doing? And I said, !I'm just lying in bed editing a TikTok. What are you doing?'. 

'Bearing in mind I haven't had my hair done in ages, I haven't had my nails done. You know, obviously the important things. I haven't planned anything. 

'I haven't bought one single piece of clothing for this show at all. Right. And, he just said, "well, there's a flight tonight to Cape Town, do you want to get on it?"

Lucinda said she called everyone asking for their advice, before ultimately deciding to go on the show.

She added she initially felt unsure because she had just starred on Love Island Games and didn't need to go on for social media engagement.  

The conversation then moved on to Lucinda's isolation in the villa, with the star admitting sometimes she wouldn't speak to Samie Elishi for days on end. 

The former friends fell out when Lucinda picked Ciaran Davies to couple up with, leaving Samie 'blindsided'. 

Tensions only worsened during a game of Snog, Marry, Pie, when Lucinda chose to pie Samie with 'full force,' which Samie described as feeling like a 'slap in the face'. 

Lucinda also found herself at loggerheads with Belle Hassan over Sean, as well as Jessy, who claimed she was putting on a 'fake baby voice'.   

On one episode, Lucinda stormed off in tears after a huge showdown - and host Maya Jama had to step in to comfort her sparking 8,594 complaints in one night. 

Fellow islander Whitney Adebayo asked Lucinda whether she felt she was being bullied, to which the 26-year-old replied that she hadn't been.

When asked by Paul if she now thinks she had been bullied in the villa, Lucinda said: 'In that moment when I was talking to Maya, I genuinely had no one to look to at all, apart from Sean. There wasn't one single person in there that I felt like was my friend. It was literally just Sean. 

'And even that night I went to sleep. I didn't want to talk to anyone. I woke up the next morning. I looked around the bedroom and I was like, there's no one to even talk to. This isn't fun. 

'And I remember I went outside and I just cried my eyes out on my own. But it wasn't shown because it was just outside the front door.'

Lucinda said while production was 'amazing' at looking after her welfare, she felt she didn't even want to go into the girls' dressing room because she felt 'no-one liked me'. 

She added it hurts now to watch the clip of Belle imitating her walk. 

Lucinda said: 'They would never do that to my face, and they never really did. So, you know, they did it when I was walking away. Obviously I have seen that clip online and it's not nice whatsoever. I think that was where the line was. It was just getting completely out of control.

'I don't know what was seen and what wasn't, but, there were times where I spent a lot of time on my own.' 

Paul asked: 'What would you say your relationship with Samie was before you got into the villa?'

Lucinda revealed she had a friendship with Samie before they went in after spending time in Tulum on a brand trip. They previously met on a shoot in Vegas. 

Paul asked: 'So it was that moment, though, when you chose Ciaran, you think that's really what created that divide between the two of you?'

Lucinda replied: 'Yeah and obviously with Belle and Sean, it was like Belle and Samie then kind of, you know.'

Elsewhere in the interview, Lucinda addressed the claims she's in a relationship with clothing CEO Huayi Huang who is funding her lifestyle. 

Lucinda was hit with the accusation by Jack Keating, who implied he had seen online that Lucinda was involved with the clothing company CEO of a brand called Peppermayo.

Clarifying the rumours, Lucinda said: 'This is absolutely not true. This has been an ongoing rumuor for a long time and is actually about one of my friends. I haven't actually spoken to him in a long time, but, I work closely with his brand, and people keep saying that we're dating and this, that and the other, and that is just absolutely not the case. Like we are genuinely just friends.'

You can listen to the episode on Spotify or watch it on YouTube.