Maura Higgins gives mental health update after admitting she had 'dark thoughts' and 'didn't want to be here anymore' following Love Island stint

Love Island star Maura Higgins says discussing her mental health struggles in public for the first time felt like a 'weight had been lifted.'

The TV personality previously admitted she struggled with 'dark thoughts' after leaving her native Ireland and relocating to London, where she soon established a career in the media. 

During an emotional interview with Paul C. Brunson's We Need To Talk podcast in October, Higgins, 34, said she was thrust into the public eye with 'no-one she could trust' after her first appearance on Love Island in 2019. 

But she believes the decision to discuss her mental health battle so openly has been beneficial, despite her initial fears about opening up.   

She told Heart radio: 'I was absolutely petrified to open up about my mental health. I can be quite a closed book with like stuff like that, but I’m glad I did it. 

'I was very, very nervous to do it, but now I’m like ‘oh my God I should have done that a long time ago.’ It’s like a weight lifted. 

'I feel like it’s good to talk like everyone says this, but it actually does really, really help. You know, about any little thing in your life, it’s just good to open up.'

Higgins also credited her mother Sharon for giving her an opportunity to offload whenever she's feeling low.  

She said: 'Mammy’s just always been an amazing support, like bless her, that woman is like my therapist. She has to hear it all. 

'But it’s good, it’s good to have that close relationship, so you can just talk about whatever you want and let everything out.' 

Speaking in October, Higgins admitted she 'didn't want to be here anymore' after struggling to adjust to life outside the Love Island villa. 

'I was chased by the paps everywhere I went. I had no clothes. I had a suitcase with just Love Island bikinis that were probably crusty,' she said. 

'I had nothing, absolutely nothing. I was living out of a hotel in London because that’s where all my work was and it was way overloaded. There was no break.

'It was going from one thing to the next, like, to radio to this photo shoot to you've signed with brands.'

She added: 'I had a breakdown. I had dark thoughts, very dark thoughts. And it got to a stage where I don't even think I told my mam. I tell my mum everything. I didn't tell her how bad it was.

'I didn't want to be here anymore. I thought that was going to be the best thing.

'There was so much expected from me. And because I was there on my own, I was like, "I've just nobody to help."' 

The TV personality, who finished in fourth place on the fifth series of the UK show in 2019, is now the social media ambassador for Love Island USA. 

She has since appeared on Dancing on Ice, This Morning and I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!