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RIP, Caroline Flack.
By Bernadette Giacomazzo — Written on Feb 18, 2020
The death by suicide of former Love Island host Caroline Flack has shocked the entertainment world.
There was, perhaps, no one more heartbroken than Flack's boyfriend Lewis Burton. Even though the couple had their share of ups and downs, he took to his Instagram to share an impassioned post in memory of his beloved.
"My heart is broken we had something so special," he wrote. "I am so lost for words. I am in so much pain. I miss you so much. I know you felt safe with me, you always said I don’t think about anything else when I am with you and I was not allowed to be there this time — I kept asking and asking"
But before Flack dated Burton, she had a brief affair with Prince Harry.
Though Harry had no shortage of women to choose from in his younger, more halcyon days, his affair with Flack was short-lived. However, there's been a renewed interest in their brief relationship since Flack tragically died by suicide a few days ago, leaving her family, friends, and fans heartbroken.
Here, then, are the 6 revelations that have come forth about Flack's affair with Prince Harry.
1. It was allegedly a rebound relationship.
Back in 2009, Flack was 29 and Harry was 25. Flack's star was just beginning to rise, as she'd gotten a gig as the host of Gladiators (the British version of American Gladiators), when she began Harry. At the time they started dating, however, Harry had just broken up with his then-girlfriend, socialite Chelsy Davy.
2. They were introduced by one of Harry's ex-girlfriends.
Caroline Pinkham, one of Prince Harry's ex-girlfriends and a fellow television presenter herself, was the one who introduced the pair to one another. Pinkham reportedly spoke highly of the Prince, and that gave Flack the courage to begin dating him in earnest. "I knew (Caroline Pinkham) was friends with Prince Harry and I’d never met him, so I thought, ‘Oh that’s quite exciting’, and for a moment I perked up,” Flack said at the time. “So I was just sitting there and he arrived with a few others in tow and we all spent the evening chatting and laughing.”
3. But they broke up after the press found out about it.
When the press found out about Flack's fling with Prince Harry, she immediately broke up with him because she didn't want to just be known as "a bit of rough."
"To meet a prince is so unlikely, it would be weird not to acknowledge it. However, once the story got out, that was it. We had to stop seeing each other,” she wrote in her 2014 memoir, Storm in a C Cup. “I was no longer Caroline Flack, TV presenter, I was Caroline Flack, Prince Harry’s bit of rough.”
4. She went from one Harry to another.
Shortly after Flack broke up with Prince Harry, she took up with another infamous Harry: Harry Styles, the former lead singer of the boy band One Direction. Their relationship — like her other one with the other Harry — made the news for yet another reason: because Styles was nearly 15 years Flack's junior. Needless to say, that relationship didn't last very long, either.
5. Flack is the third person from Love Island to die by suicide.
After Flack's long-forgotten affair with Prince Harry was revealed, there was yet another disturbing revelation that came to light: the fact that Flack was the third person from Love Island to die by suicide. Prior to Flack taking her own life, Love Island cast members Mike Thalassitis and Sophie Gradon also died by suicide (though they didn't die by suicide together, they died by suicide within the same year).
6. Prince Harry hasn't commented about Flack's death — but Styles has.
As of this writing, Prince Harry hasn't commented about Flack's suicide. However, we will keep you posted if and when that changes.
However, Flack's other ex Styles did share his thoughts about Flack's death, albeit in a wordless way — he wore black ribbon to the BRIT Awards, which many think was a tribute to his late girlfriend.
Our thoughts are with Caroline Flack's family and friends during this difficult time.
If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, publicist, and photographer whose work has appeared in Teen Vogue, People, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, BET.com, and more.