A bomb-disposal expert who used to date Prince Harry, Camilla Thurlow isn't your typical reality TV contestant. Indeed, when she entered the show, it was easy for her to get lost amongst the louder, more run-of-the-mill contestants. We even thought she might be one of the first cast members axed. Yet somehow she defied the odds and managed to come second on Love Island, becoming the nation's sweetheart in the process.
Now, in an exclusive interview in this week's Grazia, she opens up about what led her to apply for the surprise hit of the summer and leave her high-pressure job behind for 8 weeks in order to find love.
'I'd become quite socially dislocated,' she tells Elizabeth Day. 'If you're out of the country for most of the year, it's very difficult to maintain anything... I wanted to confront the fact I didn't have a personal life.'
Elsewhere in the piece she also addresses her famous feminism debate with former love Jonny Mitchell. The disagreement between the coupled-up pair arose when he told her it would make him feel 'emasculated' if a woman offered to pay for him and that feminism is almost about being 'more than equal'. He also cited the fact that we have a female Prime Minister in Theresa May as proof that feminism is 'complete'. The tense argument between the two led to Camilla breaking down on screen, something which won her legions of fans, yet it was her who first held out an olive branch, reigniting their doomed relationship (he would later 'dump' her for newcomer Tyla).
In classic Camilla style, her take on the situation is refreshingly diplomatic, as she refuses still to throw shade at her ex, instead focusing on the matter of feminism itself: 'My main concern after that was whether I'd done the cause justice'. Could you get a more Camilla response?
The rest of the interview, which was conducted at her parents home in Scotland, she discusses her budding romance with intellectual, seemingly perfect Calvin Klein model Jamie, plus what's next for the pair - including a trip to a refugee camp rather than a holiday in Ibiza. Don't miss it.
To read the full interview, buy this week's Grazia - on newsstands now.
Picture: Ed Miles
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