Caroline Flack’s death ruled suicide, coroner says

Coroners have ruled that former “Love Island” host Caroline Flack died by suicide, officials said Wednesday.

Flack, 40, who left the British reality television show in December 2019 after she was charged with assault, was found dead at her apartment Saturday, People reported.

Though no official cause of death when Flack was found, at Wednesday's inquest the Poplar Coroner's Court ruled the cause of death as suicide by hanging, Variety reported.

"On Tuesday, an autopsy was performed at Hackney Mortuary by Professor Michael Shiff who gave a provisional cause of death as one by suspension by ligature," Coroner's officer Sandra Polson told People.

Polson said police and paramedics attempted to revive Flack at the scene, but were unsuccessful, the magazine reported.

Flack hosted "Love Island," a dating series, from its debut in 2015, CNN reported. She was removed as host in December after she pleaded not guilty to assaulting her 27-year-old boyfriend, tennis player Lewis Burton, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She was replaced by Irish TV host Laura Whitmore, the website reported.

Flack's family released an unpublished Instagram post the TV host had written shortly before her death, Variety reported.

In the post, Flack wrote that her “whole world and future was swept from under my feet.” She added she “took responsibility for what happened that night,” but that she “was NOT a domestic abuser,” the website reported.

"My heart is broken," Burton wrote on Instagram. "We had something so special. 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."

"Love Island" temporarily went off the air over the weekend out of respect for Flack, E! News reported. The show was back on the air Monday and presented a tribute to Flack.

“We are all absolutely devastated by the tragic news that Caroline, a much loved member of our Love Island family, has passed away,” narrator Iain Stirling said during the show. “Our thoughts are with family and friends at this dreadful time.”

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