When Caroline Flack tragically committed suicide almost five years ago, she did not know the extent of the consequences.
To the outside world, the former Love Island presenter, who had just turned 40, seemed overwhelmed with love.
She had a large group of friends and a loving family who had faithfully stood by her as she faced a humiliating day in court following her arrest in December 2019 after allegedly hitting boyfriend Lewis Burton with a lamp.
The trial, due to take place in March 2020, would likely include police bodycam footage of a distressed Caroline, nearly naked and covered in her own blood, which, some feared, would be too much for her to bear.
Unfortunately, their fears came true. Within hours of learning she would be finally prosecuted, Caroline was found dead in her north London flat on February 15, 2020.
The fallout continues – most recently with a controversial television documentary that, before filming has even completed, has caused a rift between Caroline’s heartbroken mother Christine and her closest friends.
Former Love Island presenter Caroline Flack was found dead in her flat almost five years ago
Caroline pictured with her heartbroken mother Christine, who is the focus of a new documentary about her daughter on Disney+ to coincide with the fifth anniversary of her death
Last week, The Mail revealed how Christine will take center stage in the new documentary about Caroline on Disney+, which coincides with the fifth anniversary of her death. It will forensically chronicle her last 24 hours and attempt to provide answers to why she died – and whether her life could have been saved.
At its heart is the question of why Caroline’s most loyal friends, Louise Teasdale and Mollie Grosberg, who had been so concerned about Caroline’s well-being after a suicide attempt the previous day that they rushed to her side, left her alone in her flat on the edge of the city. the day she finally committed suicide.
And while it’s understandable that every mother would want to know the truth about the events that led to their daughter’s death, Christine’s decision to participate in the documentary — and seemingly question the actions of her friends on that fateful day pulling – led to anger.
“Why was it up to Caroline’s friends to take care of her?” a good friend of Louise’s, a stylist, asked me this week. ‘Where was her family? Louise had to return to her young daughter, she could no longer stay. They had been with Caroline for hours and hours trying to get her to the hospital, but she wouldn’t let them. They stayed at her flat to make sure everything was okay, but they couldn’t stay there indefinitely, so they left.
‘It’s devastating that Caroline’s mother is now blaming them. Christine was once so close to Lou, but not anymore.
‘Caroline’s death has haunted her friends and changed their lives, and it is felt she should rest in peace. But this documentary is going to lump everything together and, whether it is intended or not, runs the risk of laying the blame in certain places.’
Caroline with her good friend Louise Teasdale, right, who left her alone in her flat on the day she killed herself
Caroline’s other close friend Mollie Grosberg has openly said she will never get over her death
Mollie, a production manager, who was also staying with Caroline that night, has openly said she will never get over her death. “She was a good friend of Caroline’s,” said a friend of hers. “She would have done anything.”
Curious Films, the production company that made the 2021 documentary Caroline Flack: Her Life & Death, is behind the new program. I have heard that several people who were in the star’s life have been approached – many of whom declined to be involved, feeling that it would ‘bring up’ elements of the past that were best left untouched to stay.
It was indeed a tragic end for Norfolk-born Caroline, who struggled with mental health problems since her teenage years.
Despite this, she managed to carve out an illustrious career in showbusiness, winning Strictly Come Dancing in 2014 and then presenting ITV2’s dating reality show Love Island – a role she loved – before being forced out in 2019. to act after her arrest.
At the same time, Caroline was addicted to social media – and not in a good way. She was said to closely monitor fans’ comments and was fascinated by the press, befriending a number of showbiz journalists to whom she often told personal details. These tapes are believed to be another area of exploration in the film.
ITV, the network that screened Love Island but fired Caroline as soon as she was arrested and charged, is also under scrutiny. Network bosses didn’t see how they could keep her as a dating show host after she allegedly attacked her own boyfriend.
Whether they are right or not, Christine has criticized them in the past. At the time, the network released a statement saying Caroline had resigned, although well-placed people assure me she was forced to resign, leaving her “absolutely distraught.”
The photo is said to be the last one taken by Caroline on Valentine’s Day, hours before she committed suicide. Her friend Mollie posted the photo on her Instagram story
“She was in pieces,” said a friend. ‘She couldn’t understand why they wanted to get rid of her but keep Ant McPartlin, who injured a child while driving under the influence.’
Friends of Caroline are clear that there were a number of factors causing her distress, including men. It’s no secret that she wasn’t always successful when it came to matters of the heart.
There were several famous suitors, including Harry Styles and (briefly) Prince Harry chef. But when she met tennis player Burton, who at 27 was 13 years her junior, she immediately fell for him and they started dating in August 2019.
Yet he was also the catalyst that sent Caroline’s life into a spiral of destruction. Four months later, police visited her flat in Islington, north London, after Burton called them to say she had hit him with a lamp while he slept.
At the time, she had also cut her wrists, leaving blood all over her bedroom.
Those close to her say she “went ballistic” when police arrived – all of which was recorded on their bodycams.
After a visit to hospital, she went to a police station in north London, where she was told she would not be charged. However, three months later the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision was overturned following an appeal by the Metropolitan Police and a tearful Caroline called a friend to say she would face criminal charges after all. And it’s that decision that Christine has vowed to fight to the end.
Earlier this year, Christine revealed that the Independent Office of Police Conduct had urged the Met to reopen its investigation into the case.
“We won’t stop until we get the truth,” Christine has said. ‘Something very unusual happened to Carrie at the police station that night, but no one kept a good file explaining why. I have now filed a complaint to force the officer to make the statement we believe he should have made four years ago.
‘As a family we have important unanswered questions.’
The watchdog has recommended that the Armed Forces Professional Standards Directorate interview an officer who was present at the time of Caroline’s arrest. He is said to have been involved in the move to appeal the CPS decision to give her a warning.
After the incident, Burton refused to make a statement in the hope that it would lead to police dropping charges, but they continued anyway.
Friends of Caroline have told me that they ‘fear’ this documentary. It takes them back to the ‘hell’ of the day when she committed suicide.
“We all have such fond memories of Caroline,” said one. “Yes, she worked hard, but she was kind, she was beautiful and we loved her so much.”