Speaker
Olivia Bowen
Appearances over time
1 episodes
Episodes
1
Podcasts
Quotes & moments
Olivia experienced self-harm from around age 14 and again in her late 20s following postnatal depression, far later than most people assumed.
Olivia avoided eating in front of anyone from the start of secondary school until she entered Love Island, spanning her entire teenage years.
Entering Love Island acted as unintentional exposure therapy, and Olivia's disordered eating resolved completely during the six-week show.
Olivia's labour with son Abel lasted 38 hours, ending with forceps delivery after Abel was born not breathing having swallowed meconium.
After leaving her toxic ex-boyfriend, Olivia barely ate for three months and lost approximately two stone in a matter of weeks.
Olivia grew her Instagram following from around 300,000 immediately after Love Island to nearly 3 million followers today.
Alex Bowen proposed to Olivia just six months after they left the Love Island villa, partly because he wanted her to believe he truly loved her.
In Olivia's case, the vanishing twin had no heartbeat from around nine weeks but remained in the womb until around 19 weeks before disappearing into her body.
Olivia discovered she was carrying twins at her second pregnancy scan. By nine weeks, one baby had no heartbeat — but unlike a miscarriage, there was no bleeding, no pain. The baby simply stayed inside until 19 weeks and then vanished. She calls it her sunset baby. Sienna is her sunrise.
Olivia simply wouldn't believe Alex loved her. He FaceTimed, texted, defended her publicly — and still the self-doubt won. Six months after Love Island, he bought an engagement ring. He later told her straight: I partly did it because you need to take me seriously. What else could I do?
Paul had sourced a private letter from Alex Bowen. Reading it aloud on camera, Olivia dissolved into tears as Alex wrote that he doesn't believe they have a perfect relationship — and that's exactly why it works. He said she was an incredible wife and an even better mother, and he was proud of every word in her book.
Olivia first self-harmed at around 14, overwhelmed by emotions she had no tools to process. What she hadn't told anyone is that it returned in her late 20s — in the middle of new motherhood, post-traumatic birth, and postnatal depression. The shame kept her silent for years.
When Alex found out about Olivia's self-harm relapse after postnatal depression, he didn't shout. He just held her. That silence and that hug became her turning point — the moment she realised this had to stop and they both needed therapy immediately.
Olivia describes a childhood she considered idyllic — dancing from age three, safety found in sleeping between her parents — until they divorced when she was 10 or 11. She suppressed the pain by controlling her emotions, not realising this would lay the groundwork for everything that followed.
Paul produced a letter Olivia's father had written — an unprompted, heartfelt apology for the years when he was in and out of her life and not the parent she deserved. Reading it on camera while fighting tears, Olivia immediately wanted to absolve him: he never failed her, she insisted. The relationship they have now is everything.
Something shifted in year seven and Olivia was suddenly gripped by an overwhelming shame around being seen eating. She wouldn't queue for food, wouldn't put a fork to her mouth in public, and went full school days hungry rather than let anyone watch her eat. This lasted her entire teenage years.
The moment Love Island finished, Olivia's inbox filled with one message on repeat: you are not good enough for Alex. 'Punching' was the dominant narrative. Coming from a place of pre-existing low self-worth, she absorbed it all. Meanwhile Alex was receiving unsolicited explicit images on Snapchat every day.
Olivia watched Love Island with her toxic ex-boyfriend and thought: I'm going on that. They split up. She saw the application. Six months later she was in the villa. It wasn't about fame — it was a change of scenery and a way to prove something to herself.
When Olivia spoke about vanishing twin syndrome on Loose Women, thousands of women messaged her saying they had never felt so seen. One woman, aged 65, came up to her after the show and revealed she had experienced it 40 years ago and never even known it had a name until that moment.
Olivia couldn't eat in front of anyone for her entire teenage life. Then Love Island gave her no choice. Week by week she pushed through the terror of putting food on her own plate until it simply stopped being a thing — and a disorder that defined her youth just vanished.
Almost a third of 17–24 year olds have self-harmed. Among young people with a mental health condition, that rises to nearly 70%. UK incidents have tripled since 2000. And 83% do it to regulate painful emotions — not for attention. Olivia's reaction: an epiphany, because she had felt utterly alone for years.
Olivia's boyfriend before Love Island controlled what she wore, isolated her from friends, and on Christmas Eve left her waiting at a pub before she came home to find herself locked out on the doorstep at 1AM. The final confirmation came from his own mother: please never come back to him.
After Abel's traumatic 38-hour labour and forceps birth, Olivia spiralled. She became obsessed with baby-tracking apps, dreaded being called 'mum', stopped getting out of bed, and eventually the self-harm she thought was behind her returned. Alex was struggling too — and for the first time, neither of them could hold the other up.
Analysis
What they talk about
- Health & Fitness 100%
Connections
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