Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide and self-harm some readers may find distressing.
Caroline Flack’s friend has opened up about the disturbing detail everyone got wrong following her appearance in court.
In December 2019, the TV presenter was charged with assaulting her boyfriend, Lewis Burton, following an incident in her flat. After learning that prosecutors intended to pursue this, and following constant abuse on social media, Caroline took her own life in February 2020.
As part of the incessant coverage of her case, a photo of bloodstained bedsheets was sold to a newspaper and used in the ‘public trial’ against her. However, a new documentary explains the shocking truth and shares an ‘unprecedented look at what really happened’ to the 40-year-old as we hear from those close to her.
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It was widely reported at the time that Caroline had hit Lewis over the head ‘with a lamp’, but her mum, Christine, who has spent years investigating what went on, says there is no compelling evidence that this ever happened.
She explained that on the night of the incident, after the pair had come home separately after drinking, Lewis fell asleep while Caroline saw texts coming through on his phone from another woman.
The Love Island host’s lawyer, Paul Morris, explained that she was ‘upset’ over this and kept the phone in her hand.
"And with that, she’s tried to wake Lewis up," he said in the doc.
Caroline’s close friend, Mollie Grosberg, explained that the star said she had hit him on the head while holding the phone and he then woke up to find his head bleeding.
"She was screaming, ‘Please don’t call the police, if you call the police I’m done’," Mollie said. As Christine added: "'No', he said, 'You’re f**ked'."
‘Covered in blood’
The family and friends explain in the Disney+ doc that it was a ‘very charged situation’ where they were both ‘wasted’.
"The minute that he called the police, she just thought ‘I am done, my career's over, my boyfriend’s gone, I might as well be dead’," Mollie explained. "She said to me, ‘I found some broken glass and I sliced as deep as I could into my wrists and I wanted to die.’"
Lewis didn’t end up needing any medical treatment when the emergency services arrived, but Caroline spent 12 hours in hospital due to her self-inflicted injuries.
With a decline in her mental health following the incident, the documentary makes it clear that her family had been concerned for her welfare a number of times throughout her life. But while in a crisis, the reality was that it was her blood in the flat, not Lewis’.
What was said in court
And shockingly, this was arguably not necessarily made clear to the media. When Caroline had her magistrate’s court hearing (following Lewis saying he wanted the case dropped and didn’t support the prosecution), the prosecutor’s words sent things into a frenzy.
Christine says they didn’t know what ‘information she was being fed by the police’ but what prosecutor Katie Weiss told the court led to an escalation of what was being said about her daughter online.
"She said that Caroline hit her boyfriend with a lamp and caused him a serious or significant injury," Mollie recalled. "But the one thing that got me was when she quoted one of the police officers who described the room as ‘like a scene from a horror movie’.
"But she didn’t say that that was Caroline’s blood, not Lewis’ blood. And that is where I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, this is going to go horribly wrong.’
"And Caroline turned around and looked at us, her face was completely pale and white as a ghost."
One journalist explained they were getting information in the courtroom that was ‘way more detailed’ than what they were used to and news reports quickly picked up the ‘covered in blood’ and ‘horror movie’ lines.
"And Caroline is suddenly the baddie in a horror movie," her former agent, Louisa Booth, said. "All these journalists, finally, they had something that they could actually pick on her about."
A photo of the bloodstained bedsheets ended up being published in a paper, with it still unclear that it was actually Caroline’s blood.
And in an Instagram statement Caroline wrote before her death, she said: "The blood that someone SOLD to a newspaper was MY blood and that was something very sad and very personal."
Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth is now streaming on Disney+.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123 or contact Harmless by visiting their website https://harmless.org.uk.
If you're experiencing distressing thoughts and feelings, the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is there to support you. They're open from 5pm–midnight, 365 days a year. Their national number is 0800 58 58 58 and they also have a webchat service if you're not comfortable talking on the phone.
Topics: Mental Health, Celebrity News, Social Media, Celebrity, Documentaries, Disney Plus
Jess Battison