Nearly 10 years after making her Love Island debut in Casa Amor – leading to one of the most iconic fire pit showdowns to ever take place – Kaz Crossley is back on our screens for All Stars. Fans were quick to gush over the star as she made her mark in the villa, appearing alongside the likes of Ronnie Vint and India Reynolds. One fan wrote, 'Kaz is the first girl I ever stood 10 toes behind on Love Island. My absolutely fave. She looks stunning.'
Another agreed, 'Kaz Crossley is and always has been my star! Love her.'
But while fans were loving seeing Kaz, 29, not everyone was quite as obsessed with the flirting that went on between her and Curtis Pritchard. Promising he'd 'give her rhythm' on the dance floor in scenes that nearly made us switch our TV's off, Curtis' flirting skills failed to impress fans – with one branding the scene, quite rightly, 'painful.'
In the first episode, Kaz also alluded to events that took place since leaving the show in 2015. Speaking to cameras, she shared, 'There was a period of my life when I had a lot of bad press stories about me. I feel like now it's time for me to really show people who I am.'
Of course, perhaps her biggest press story was in 2023 – when Kaz was arrested in an Abu Dhabi airport in relation to suspected drug offences.
Why was Kaz Crossley arrested?
Kaz was detained in an Abu Dhabi airport while waiting for a connecting flight to Thailand in February 2023, before being taken to jail by the CID (the Dubai police). Over several days, the star was then moved through several Dubai prisons, where she was faced with at least three months behind bars – describing the experience as the 'lowest point in [her] whole life.'
Back in 2020, a leaked video of Kaz snorting lines of white powder while holidaying in Dubai appeared online. Reports said this offence, despite taking place years prior, was the basis of her arrest. Famously, Dubai is a city with an extremely strict zero-tolerance drug policy.
According to reports, the Love Island star was refused a phone call to her family from the Dubai jail.
‘[Kaz] was looking forward to getting back to Thailand where she has been doing voluntary work and all of a sudden, she is languishing in a Dubai jail,’ a source told The Sun. ‘She was allowed to send just one email and wasn't even allowed to make a phone call. She messaged one particular friend whose email she could remember and asked her to inform her family that she was OK but had been arrested for drugs offences. The arrest wasn't because of anything she had on her. As far as we know, it is all down to that video.’
Addressing her 1.1m followers via an Instagram reel following her ordeal, Kaz said she 'owed' it to herself and her fans to get closure on the situation.
She recalled, 'In 2020, I was in Dubai. I was filmed - it was me in the video, no one forced me to do that. 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 added how the video later got leaked, going on to detail her ordeal while travelling to Thailand for volunteering work, where she had been building accommodation for at-risk youths.
'I had an amazing job offer. I was so excited for this job offer, guys, it was like my dream job and I was staying up all night researching and, yeah, I did not think about the transit in Abu Dhabi and that it would be an issue for me because, obviously, I wasn't thinking. I was then detained in Abu Dhabi and kept in custody from Monday through to Friday, which is when they released me.'
'I was very accepting of the situation and I was ready for whatever was going to happen to me because, at the end of the day, I take full accountability. I don't lie. I said that that was me in the video and explained the situation, it was a long time ago,' she said.
Elsewhere in the reel, Kaz revealed that it had been an ex-boyfriend of hers who leaked the video in question, not a friend.
In the years since, the star has opened up about how the traumatic events affected her health - with the star developing alopecia.
Ahead of entering All Stars, Kaz shared her reasons for returning to the show. She explained, 'I really believe everything happens for a reason, and when I went through that, obviously I made a mistake – but your mistakes don't define you. I've just grown so much from that experience. Everything that I went through... the stress and how long it went on for, it did make me a stronger person. I'm really proud and happy of the person that I am now and who I have around me, and going into the villa feels like it's the perfect timing to be able to show people who I really am.'
Who Is Kaz Crossley’s Ex Who Leaked The Video
Kaz has not disclosed the ex-boyfriend in question. Taking to her Instagram Story to respond to speculation, she wrote, 'It was a relationship that I kept quiet'.
Did Theo Campbell Leak The Kaz Crossley Video?
Kaz dated fellow ex-islander Theo between March 2019 and February 2020, but quickly confirmed on social media he was not behind the leaked video.
'It wasn't Theo!' she stressed on her Instagram Story. 'We are friends now and just filmed a show together, so please stop sending him abuse.'
You can watch more of Kaz's volunteer efforts here:
Following her arrest, online reaction was mixed – with some lacking in sympathy for Crossley’s situation, while others shared support for the former Love Island star. Many noted that she has been exceptionally philanthropic with her platform in the years since the video surfaced, and condemned the person who leaked it to the tabloids.
Grazia reached out to Kaz Crossley’s team for comment.