By Gabriel Princewill-
Shame and embarrassment sparked by pre-existing stresses in the life of Caroline Flack was the trigger to the suicide of the well loved star following notification by the CPS to charge her for assault.
The instagram message shared by her mother sheds conclusive light on the tragic decision of the television star to kill herself. Flack who by her own admission says she had been pressing the snooze button on the many stresses in her life for her whole life, implicitly highlights a longstanding issue with those stresses and the multiple opinions about the aspect of her life that was in the public domain.
”I’ve accepted shame and toxic opinions on my life for over 10 years and yet told myself it’s all part of my job, she says. No complaining.The problem with brushing things under the carpet is …. they are still there and one day someone is going to lift that carpet up and all you are going to feel is shame and embarrassment.On December the 12th 2019 I was arrested for common assault on my boyfriend …Within 24 hours my whole world and future was swept from under my feet and all the walls that I had taken so long to build around me, collapsed.
I am suddenly on a different kind of stage and everyone is watching it happen. I have always taken responsibility for what happened that night. Even on the night”. The fact everyone is ”watching it happen” emphasises the shame and embarrassment Flack feels, One she inevitably wants to escape. She tries to escape it by claiming the assault was an accident when what she means is that she had an emotional breakdown, as she subsequently claims.
An emotional breakdown does not mean one is not cognisant of their actions. The Love Island host lost control because of suspicions her boyfriend was cheating o her, after she read texts that alarmed her. That was the last straw on the camel’s back. Being without the man she loved throughout Christmas up until February without the boyfriend she loved must have been painful. The thought of which woman may be enjoying the man that should be hers would have been extremely painful.
STEP DOWN
Add to this the fact the attractive dimpled television star had to step down from hosting Love Island- a show premised on the notion of love, easily displaced by the next fancied competitor, and her conceivable woes becomes all too acute. Being mocked by any press was a grave error of judgement, but nobody can truly be expected to take responsibility for the pretty television star’s regrettable suicide. There were too many factors involved, and it all snowballed into a tragedy before our eyes.
STRAW
The last straw on the camel’s back was the news she was being charged. The shame and embarrassment of that whole court process was what she couldn’t handle. She had already expressed to the police her threats to commit suicide.
This heartbreaking and nightmarish scenario was an eventuality she had already contemplated in advance. Any dispassionate and logically competent assessment of this tragic story should conclude that there is no substantive evidence to blame the press for her death. There might be cause to review whether the shame the press heap on celebrities or anyone is proportionate to the offence committed, but this can hardly make the media blame worthy in a suicide case.
The multiple causative elements of the suicide of Caroline Flack are: (1) the fact she had pre- existing stress and longstanding emotional break down. (2) The fact she was a host of Love Island- a widely watched show premised on romance, and therefore inherently carrying with it huge expectations for its host (3) The fact she suspected her boyfriend, was cheating on her (4) Whether he was in fact cheating on her, and the impetus that led her to attack her boyfriend.
However, nobody can legitimately be blamed for her death. The shame and embarrassment that would have arisen from a court case would have been the by product of all the other things, and is sadly one anyone who commits an offence while in public life must endure. Her demise is heartbreaking , but the best we can do is learn lessons from her tragic death. Perharps we can all try to be a bit more introspective, and listen and be kind.
Image:news.sky.com