Kristina Rihanoff has admitted she regrets not reaching out to Caroline Flack before her tragic death.
The Love Island host sadly took her own life last February 15, at the age of 40.
Five years before her death, Caroline appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, where she became good friends with pro dancer Kristina Rihanoff.
Speaking about her time on the show, the 43-year-old said people knew Caroline was struggling.
“During Strictly she had a lot of difficulties, coming out of a relationship and so on,” she said.
“She had a few wobbles on the tour and didn’t want to perform, so we knew there were a lot of things going on with her emotional state.”
“But she said then, ‘I’m in a better place, I’m focusing on new things’ and I was saying to her, ‘I really am happy for you.’”
Kristina and Caroline remained friends after Strictly, and they even met up in Los Angeles.
The former Strictly pro said the TV presenter seemed “alright” then, before adding: “But we’re all very good at covering our sorrows.”
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Kristina continued: “Maybe it wouldn’t make a difference, but looking back I think maybe I should have reached out and I felt really sad about it.”
“It didn’t leave my head for a long time.”
The Love Island host was found dead on February 15, months after she was arrested for allegedly assaulting her boyfriend Lewis Burton.
The presenter took her own life just hours after she was told she would face trial for the alleged assault – despite the fact that Lewis didn’t want to press charges.
Following her death, the presenter’s management slammed the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for pursuing the ‘show trial’, knowing how vulnerable she was.
After Caroline sadly took her own life, her family released an unpublished Instagram post the presenter wanted to share before the died.
In the heartfelt statement, the TV star denied being a “domestic abuser”, and said the incident between her and Lewis was simply an “accident”.
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