18 July 2023 , 11:00
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Liberty Poole has revealed her stunning transformation and said she’s happier than ever after learning to love herself since leaving the Love Island villa.
The 23-year-old appeared on the 2021 series of the ITV2 dating show, and was coupled up with Jake Cornish – but his behaviour and negative comments about her appearance forced her to dump him just days before the final, and she left the show with her head held high.
Liberty has since spoken about the significant impact her relationship with Jake had on her body confidence, and said she went on a “journey of choosing to love myself” on Love Island.
“I was masking a lot of insecurities on the show,” she told Closer, as she sadly added she “never expected (Jake) to really fancy me”.
Liberty was 'masking insecurities' during her time in the villa (ITV)
Now, she wants to help others be body confident (@libertypoolex/Instagram)And it was during Movie Night, when Jake said he was “lying to himself” about liking her, that made Liberty realise she deserved better.
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“It was a key moment for me,” she explained. Liberty revealed she was affected by comments made by fans after she left the villa, with one telling her she “looked a lot skinnier in real life than you did on the show”, prompting her to rethink what she was sharing on social media, and “be real about it”.
“I want to spread this positive message about self-love and acceptance,” she said, as she vowed to stop editing her snaps on Instagram “as it was so extreme”.
Now, Liberty’s embraced her gorgeous curves, and wants to help “people love themselves a little bit more”.
She said the trend of “changing your figure or your skin tone” in pictures was “so toxic”, and is using her platform to plead with other influencers to show “what we actually look like” rather than hiding insecurities behind filters.
Despite going on Love Island looking for a long-term relationship, Liberty has now decided she’s happy to be single for a while, and is more concerned with loving herself rather than anyone else right now.
“I used to be looking for love and validation,” she confessed, but now she’s “so focused on me and my career and securing my future”.