Scott Staniland has revealed his identical twin Brett has been “relentlessly” trolled since he entered the Love Island villa.
The model joined the dating show last week as a bombshell, and he is currently coupled up with Priya Gopaldas.
Scott, who was running his brother’s social media accounts, has now handed the role over to a friend – after struggling to deal with the online abuse.
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Speaking to BBC News, Scott said: “I’m his identical twin so anything I see about appearance, or what he’s like, I take it so personally.”
“It’s relentless as well, and it’s a really weird space online, this lack of consequence for saying something out in the open online when you’re at home with your piece of plastic in your hand.”
“Honestly after a day, I’ve not told many people this, I handed the login over to a friend who’s used to managing online communities,” he admitted.
“So I was really grateful for that, because I was up until four o’clock on the first night reading every quoted tweet, every reply, every comment, DM, all of that stuff.”
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“I don’t mind a bit of banter… have a laugh but know when to stop, know where the line is,” Scott added.
Brett’s twin said he and his family have been well supported by the Love Island team amid the trolling, and that the PHD student also received support ahead of his stint in the villa.
He explained: “Brett had a lot of phone calls with psychiatrists, psychologists, and they called some of our family just to check in and have a chat about what his life has been like and any stresses and stuff like that.”
“But he’s got a good, solid group of friends that he can definitely lean on for support, and obviously I’m here to take some of that burden too.”
Huge changes were made to Love Island’s duty of care processes back in 2019, following the deaths of two former contestants.
The popular reality show came under fire that year, after former contestants Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis sadly took their own lives.
As part of the show’s newly improved welfare plan, this year’s contestants will be offered “a minimum of eight therapy sessions” after the show, and will receive training on the impact of social media.
Before the new season kicked off, Love Island bosses sent a warning to online trolls, urging them to “think before they post”.
This year’s contestants Aaron Francis, Kaz Kamwi and Priya have received vile racist abuse online, while Chloe Burrows has received death threats.
Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on Virgin Media One and Virgin Media Player.
