As festive family selfies go, it’s nothing special.
Beautiful young mother and influencer Lottie Tomlinson and her fiancé Lewis Burton, with their angelic son Lucky in her arms, took to Instagram to wish their millions of followers a Happy New Year.
“Our last was three,” Lewis wrote, referring to the impending arrival of their second child, a girl, due in a few weeks.
The post, which was shared by both Lewis and Lottie, sparked thousands of comments from well-wishers showering them with compliments.
One person who did not join in the congratulations was Christine Flack, the mother of television presenter Caroline who committed suicide five years ago next month.
The loved-up 40-year-old had a turbulent relationship with Lewis – a model and former professional tennis player – who was 13 years her junior.
It was this relationship, Caroline’s mother openly stated on social media, that “ended her life.”
Indeed, it was an explosive feud between the two in 2019, after Caroline allegedly found text messages from another woman on his phone, which led to her hitting him with a lamp and being charged with assault – and ultimately resulting in her downward mental spiral and suicide on February 15, 2020.
Caroline Flack had a turbulent relationship with Lewis Burton – a model and former professional tennis player – who was 13 years her junior
It was this relationship, Caroline’s mother Christine openly stated on social media, that “ended her life”
It’s understandable why Christine found Lewis’s new romance so hard to accept: the pair went public six months after Caroline died when they were spotted on holiday in Ibiza.
It is also understandable that Christine has long wondered whether the messages Caroline found on Lewis’ phone that evening might have been from Lottie.
Now Lottie, the younger sister of One Direction bandmate Louis Tomlinson and one of Britain’s most sought-after influencers, with more than four million followers on Instagram, has spoken out about the crude suggestion for the first time to the Mail.
Referring to the text messages Caroline allegedly found on Lewis’ phone that evening, her officer said: ‘It’s not true at all, they hadn’t met before at the time of the incident. I hope this clears up the rumor.’
Today, Lottie, 27, and Lewis, 33, live together in a luxury £800,000 five-bedroom, three-bathroom home in Kent, which they are renovating in the style of a Los Angeles mansion.
The property, which both Lottie and Lewis regularly post about on social media, even has its own Instagram account.
As one of Caroline’s friends tells me: ‘It must be devastating for Christine, she has lost her daughter and now Lewis has become something of an influencer with his girlfriend, living in apparent bliss and about to become a father for the second time .
Caroline had been fired from hosting dating show Love Island in the lead-up to her death on February 15, 2020
‘He’s managed to move on with his life and find happiness, Caroline hasn’t and it’s heartbreaking. No one expected that Lewis would never find love again, of course he had the right to, but it all happened very quickly.’
However, one friend of the couple has jumped to Lottie’s defense to explain how she deserves happiness following the tragic death of her mother, Johanna Deakin, who died of cancer in 2016. Three years later, in 2019, her younger sister Felicite died due to an accidental event. drug overdose. Felicitie was only 18 and struggling with depression after the loss of their mother.
It’s now almost five years since Caroline’s tragic death and as revealed by the Mail last month, her mother is making a second documentary about her suicide, this time for streaming giant Disney+.
In the show, which will be released in just a few months, Christine is determined to discover the truth about Caroline’s final hours and whether her death could have been prevented.
In a statement yesterday, she said: ‘I still have so many questions about what happened to Caroline in her final months, and it is something I feel deeply compelled to explore, even though I know it will be challenging. I’m thrilled to be working with the team at Curious Films again, hoping to bring clarity and understanding to Carrie’s story – not just for her, but for everyone who cared about her.”
There are many targets, including the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and ITV – about whom Christine is said to have “a very dim view” for sacking her daughter from her beloved job as host of dating show Love Island.
Caroline committed suicide after learning her criminal trial for attacking Lewis was going ahead, after initially being told she would only receive a warning.
Caroline feared that bodycam footage taken by police the night the incident occurred would be played in court. In a confession to a friend, she said she would “rather die” than have the recordings played in a public arena.
Lewis was first spotted with influencer Lottie Tomlinson six months after Caroline’s death
The couple, pictured in 2023, have a son named Lucky and are awaiting the arrival of their daughter
Earlier this year, Christine revealed that the Independent Office of Police Conduct has urged the Metropolitan Police to reopen its investigation into the case against Caroline.
The watchdog has recommended interviewing an officer who was present at the time of Caroline’s arrest. He is said to have been involved in the attempt to override the CPS decision to give her a warning.
After the incident, Lewis refused to make a statement to the police, hoping this would lead to the police dropping the charges, but they continued anyway. This decision by the police left Caroline ‘in pieces’, according to her friends.
She feared losing her job, her dignity and the love of her life. She was cared for by her friends Louise Teasdale and Mollie Grosberg, who had rushed to her side after a suicide attempt the day before her death.
Louise was one of Caroline’s best friends, and the pair regularly partied together. And through Louise, Lewis met Lottie: Louise became friends with Louis Tomlinson through her work as a stylist for One Direction in their heyday.
It’s a close friendship that continues today – something Christine finds very uncomfortable.
“Christine could be forgiven for thinking that Caroline’s friends would have set Lewis adrift,” a former friend of the television presenter tells me. ‘But that’s not the case and it’s difficult for her.
‘While no one would try to argue with that, Caroline [wasn’t] at times he was an easy person to get along with, but it was another part of Caroline’s death that was difficult for Christine.
‘Lewis wasn’t always so nice to Caroline and there’s a lot of talk about her giving him money for reasons people don’t know for certain.
‘Christine and Louise are no longer close and her not ditching Lewis would contribute to that. Christine thinks that if Caroline wasn’t dating Lewis, she might be here today.”
Others point out that Louise ‘did so much’ for Caroline and was utterly devastated by her death – something she thinks she will never get over.
“Caroline’s death was a tragedy,” said a source close to Louise, who is now in a relationship with former Newcastle United and England footballer Andy Carroll.
‘She wanted nothing more than for Caroline to get better and get through this terrible time. She is still devastated by her death, but she has known Lottie since she was a teenager.
‘Caroline’s friends are just trying to get on with their lives after the most terrible thing has happened. It is terrible and heartbreaking for them too.’