Online trolling is “very hard to deal with”, former Love Island star Shannen Reilly McGrath has said in the wake of Liam Payne’s death. 

The former member of the boyband One Direction died yesterday, after he fell from a balcony in Argentina. 

In recent years, Payne had spoken openly about his mental health problems and Ms Reilly McGrath said in a lot of videos you could “see that he’s not himself”. 

“As a One Direction fan, as a Liam Payne fan, as a Cherly Cole fan, I could see it online and the comments under it were absolutely vile,” she told The Hard Shoulder. 

“I was thinking last week, if he’s reading them or all the stuff that’s in the press, it’s really hard for him to take. 

“I was thinking that I hoped someone was minding him because it was very worrying to see what us fans were seeing online.” 

After Ms Reilly McGrath finished Love Island, she returned to Dublin and was astonished by how many people knew who she was and had opinions about her.]

Sadly, not all of them were positive. 

“I think people online, they don’t realise that when they’re looking at someone on TV or with a platform that this person is human,” she said. 

“I think they just forget that and they go straight to the keyboard and they say whatever they like and they don’t realise the person behind it is hurting.” 

Mental health

Ms Reilly McGrath said she found fame “very hard to deal with” and developed mental health problems as a result.

“I ended up with anxiety and a bit of depression,” she said.

“It’s still very hard to deal with at times, to be honest. 

“It’s just about getting that thicker skin and dealing with it.” 

Payne’s death is being investigated by the police in Argentina.

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Main image: Split of Liam Payne and Shannen Reilly McGrath. Picture by: Alamy.com