Where is the Aftercare for Reality TV Stars?

Love Island's Sophie Gradon and her boyfriend Aaron Armstrong

Remember Susan Boyle? One of Britain's Got Talent 2008 semi-finalists? I only know her through social media, but I gather she did well. She was lauded as a 'never-been-kissed' cat lady who lived alone in her 50s by the mainstream press, something she was quick to deny. 

After half a decade, it emerged that she had Aspergers, a form of autism. When this was revealed, I was at first relieved for her but also infuriated for her too. Granted, when she was going through school most teachers wouldn't have heard of autism, and would have put her down as a difficult child failing to use their full potential. But for her to have been in the public eye in the 21^st century, in front of millions of viewers, and that not one person in her circles thought to refer her to a psychologist, is a complete failure on behalf of the whole of Britain. Not one person working on BTG, nor anyone watching it, thought to suggest that she seeks help.

The positive is that she's getting that help now and, as of 2012, was worth £22 million. But it took a show with 13 million viewers and a number of breakdowns for that to happen. The guy on the street should be able to go to his GP an ask for a referral to neuropsychology to get the support she eventually got.

A different music star and a different psychological problem: Avicii. Tim Bergling. House music producer who, in his early days, made some of the best piano house tracks this century. Avicii took his own life in April. On 26 April, his family released an open letter stating that Bergling 'really struggled with thoughts about meaning, life, happiness. He could not go on any longer. He wanted to find peace.'

A different star again, this time focussing on reality TV: Love Island's Sophie Gradon. Gradon appeared in Season 2 of the ITV2 hit show, broadcast in 2016. She took her own life this June. A month later, her devastated boyfriend took his own life too.

Reality TV personalities rarely receive sympathy from the general public. The comments section of most articles, and releases over Twitter and Facebook, are usually awash with -you-made-your-bed type comments from unempathetic, boring nobodies. Keyboard warriors with no experience of mental health issues, or of the media industry. I'm going to buck that trend, though.

To a lot of teenagers and young adults, Love Island participants and musicians are role models, like it or not. They've been pushed out through the medium of TV into millions of homes on some of the most popular shows in the last 10 years. Author Neil Strauss, formerly of Rolling Stone magazine and author of hit advice book The Game, once described fame as like a big magnifying glass: it blows up all your qualities, but your insecurities and weaknesses are magnified along with it. His advice: 'fix your issues now, because the older you get, the worse they become.'

My advice for the TV industry, if for some reason you'd listen to a business support officer with memory difficulties and depression, is learn about mental health and how to support people who are struggling with it. Otherwise, the worst case is that your PR team has to deal with a contributor's suicide.

My advice for the everyday person with a mental health issue is to at least start working on those problems now. You can't turn down every opportunity forever. Something good could come knocking at any moment, so don't put things off until you're a better person. But work on your problems. Don't shelve them. And if TV comes knocking, deal with it a day at a time.