Shaughna Phillips has been accused of having a secret boyfriend whilst appearing on Love Island last year. She shared a selfie with an unidentified topless man to her Instagram, captioned ‘Starting 2021 with the same people I started 2020 with, and feeling very lucky’ and fans were quick to question how this was possible.
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‘It’s television lol’
When fans pointed out that Shaughna was on Love Island at the start of 2020 (and Celebs Go Dating before that), screenshots of since-deleted comments show Shaughna responding ‘it’s television lol.’ When another fan questioned her motives of going on a dating show whilst in a relationship, the screenshots seem to suggest Shaughna went on the shows for financial gain.
In them, she wrote:
If you had the ability to potentially change your mum's/ parents' life, would you? For me, personally, being able to help my mum in anything she financially would need outweighed ANY other scenario. That's the relationship that means everything to me, and I would do anything to give her the life she deserves. We may not agree, but I hope you understand my decisions.
Shaughna Phillips’ rep denies secret boyfriend claims
Although these comments from Shaughna seem to be an admission that she WAS already in a relationship whilst on Love Island, a representative for the reality star has since denied the claims in an official statement, insisting that Shaughna has only recently gotten into a new relationship and was single whilst on Love Island.
The rep said:
Over the past few weeks Shaughna has met someone who she is currently dating. Prior to this Shaughna has been single since before her appearance on Love Island–so in total has been single for two years until now. Love Island has given Shaughna many fantastic commercial opportunities which she is so very grateful for.
