Love Island star Kaz Crossley has opened up about her arrest in Dubai. Speaking to host Grace Barry on the Saving Grace podcast, the reality star gave glimpses into her emotional ordeal.
In Feburary 2023, the former Love Islander was arrested at Abu Dhabi airport on suspicion of drug offences while waiting for a connecting flight to Thailand. The 28-year-old was transferred to a Dubai prison, where she could have faced at least three months behind bars. In 2020, a leaked video of Kaz snorting lines of white powder while holidaying in Dubai appeared online – and it had been reported that this offence was the basis of her arrest. Kaz was later released.
Speaking to host Grace, Kaz Crossley revealed that an 'abusive' ex-boyfriend leaked the video in an act of revenge after she broke up with him. She claimed, 'He was controlling and emotionally abusive - destroying my possessions and manipulating me.' Kaz explained how the video was released, 'He made an Instagram account called "Kaz sniffing" and followed thousands of accounts. It didn't compute in my head that someone could be so evil and calculating.'
She continued, 'At first I didn't believe it was him - I thought it was one of his friends but he denied that too. I was still sleeping in the same bed with him for a year after he had took those videos of me without consent. I had no idea.'
Kaz's arrest in Abu Dhabi and several nights in jail were well publicised at the time and she revealed to Grace that she was transferred to three different prisons in Dubai in a week. She recalled, 'I kept being told I wasn't being arrested - they just told me I was going somewhere to to stay for the night. But then I put in a shared cell with all these other women and it was the scariest thing ever.'
Kaz was then transferred to another jail where she hit her lowest point. She emotionally explained, 'I'm Inside this jail and there was a six-month year old baby with their mother. In Abu Dhabi it's illegal to have kids with someone you're not married to so, the baby was also there.'
Through tears she explained, 'Me being at the lowest point probably in my whole life and holding and hugging this baby in that jail was just horrible. I didn't wash or brush my teeth in three days at that jail and I also had a bald patch on my head - which was when my struggles with alopecia started.'
Kaz was later released without charge which she said was such a 'relief.' However, the reality star held her hands up to her past mistakes admitting, 'Look I know I made a mistake, I was taking drugs in a place where it's super illegal. I was in such a bad place. It was a time of my life where I definitely didn't love myself at all probably, and this is reflected in what I was doing to my body and who I surrounded myself with.'
She explained how her mental health suffered as a result of the scandal. 'On top of loosing brand deals and being depressed it was the blog pages and the abuse - it was constant,' she explained. 'Usually the negative comments don't effect me, but when you're at such a low point and you think so low of yourself - to have other people putting more on top was horrible.'
The Love Island star also discussed the injustice between men and women in the media. Kaz said, 'Men and women in this industry are not equal at all. The thing about being a woman is when you make a mistake, you're held accountable for that mistake and that's your identity the rest of your life. Whilst a man can make a mistake and if he's trying to turn his life around he's hailed a hero.' She added, 'I had to learn that the hard way.'
Sharing a portion of the interview to her Instagram grid, the influencer dubbed the chat as a 'safe space to speak [her] truth,' while also flagging that one day, she hopes to make a 'documentary which will show the injustice between men and women portrayed in the media.' 'I came from the Caroline Flackera of Love Island and it disgusts me to see how many years on from her tragedy nothing has changed.' she penned in the caption