The mother of late Love Island star Sophie Gradon has posted a tribute to her on what would have been her 35th birthday.
Sophie tragically died by suicide in June 2018, having risen to fame two years earlier on the 2016 series of Love Island.
Now her mother Deborah Gradon has taken to Twitter to share a sweet message for her late daughter.
In the tweet, Deborah shared an image of a radiantly smiling Sophie on horseback.
Deborah captioned the image: “You didn’t want to leave us
“You didn’t want to die
“You wanted the pain to stop. [Heartbreak emoji]
“Happy celestial birthday Darling Sophie.”
She signed off: “I love you and this is how I remember you. Always happy, always smiling #SophieGradon “.
Sophie had been found by Northumbria Police at her parents’ home in June 20, 2018.
Her boyfriend Aaron Armstrong subsequently took his own life on July 10, 2018, just 20 days after Sophie’s death. He was only 25.
Back in June, Sophie’s friend and Love Island 2016 co-star Malin Andersson posted a touching tribute of her own for Sophie.
Sharing an image of the Love Island girls – including Olivia Buckland, Kady McDermott, and Zara Holland – from their series on Instagram, Malin penned: “Always right beside me. Then, now. Forever. I know you’re dancing with my girls. Love you Soph.”
The post also referenced Malin’s heartbreaking losses of her late mum, who died in 2017 after a battle with cancer, and her daughter Consy, who passed away in 2019.
The Love Island family was rocked by further tragedy when Love Island 2017 star Mike Thalassitis also took his own life in March 2019.
The deaths of Sophie and Mike prompted ITV to review their policies regarding Love Island an implement new policies to safeguard contestants’ mental health.
February this year saw the show’s longtime presenter Caroline Flack die by suicide, prompting a wave of further grief for the Love Island family.