Living Under the Lens: “I did not want to be here” Speaking with Jack Fincham about his attempted suicide
With over 160 podcast episodes behind him, Steven Sulley has become a bit of an expert of interviewing people and gaining a real insight into their thoughts, feelings and emotions. It is then not so much of a surprise that Love Island Winner, Jack Fincham opened up to him in his latest episode, revealing for the first time that he attempted to take an overdose less than a year ago.
Jack has had to deal with many personal struggles since he left the Island, including a difficult break up with Dani Dyer, his Nan’s death and the rollercoaster of emotions that comes along with becoming a dad. These are all hard things to deal with personally but were made all the more difficult by being in the spotlight. Jack couldn’t just be left alone to process the many changes that surround being a Dad, he had to read headlines about himself, the mother Casey Ranger and nasty rumours whilst trying to cope.
Jack talks about the aspects of the show that are perfect for holiday romance. You don’t have to worry about who is taking the bins out, or even making the bed. You get to just spend time with someone you like, all day, all night with no other responsibilities or cares to think about. It’s easy to form a relationship and fall in love in this situation, but once you get back into the real world the challenges of life come back and it’s not a love story anymore – this is one of the biggest reasons his relationship with Dani Dyer failed.
We must remember that Love Island is not real life and in creating these situations does it then have a responsibility for the contestants afterwards when they are back in the real world? It’s been a hotly discussed topic in recent times due to the many headlines of mental health problems following being on the Island but it isn’t just the Love Island ‘fakeness’ contestants have to contend with but social media too. Imagine having to deal with life’s usual ups and downs but having the entire world being able to comment about it, comments that you can see and read. It was almost too much for Jack and this type of online trolling is widely recognised to be one of the causes of Love Island host Caroline Flack’s tragic suicide. The Be Kind campaign followed Caroline’s death but has it really changed anything? A year on Jack was spiralling downwards and did not feel like he could live anymore. A sad and devastatingly common thought to have for the many influencers online. Is it not us, the platform users, that have a real responsibility to think before we comment, or message, these very ‘real’ people in an often ‘fake’ world?
Thankfully Jack recognised that although he had hit rock bottom, the only way was up. He decided it is time for him to reinvent himself, he is currently focusing on his boxing as this gives him the accountability, structure and resilience he needs to build his life back. It shouldn’t have taken suicidal thoughts to get him on the path he is now but he recognises that often these things happen for a reason.
Video Links: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1GyTXJtIMSZh3e1u1FH6MwCduIRg548Oa