Caroline Flack's mum has spoken out after Phillip Schofield compared himself to the former Love Island presenter in a recent interview.
Flack was found dead in her London-based flat in February 2020, with a coroner's inquest later finding the 40-year-old died from suicide.
As we are all aware, Schofield has not left the newspaper front pages in recent weeks, which all started with his departure from This Morning over an apparent feud with former pal Holly Willoughby.
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Schofield then confirmed he had an affair with a younger male colleague on the show, something that led to him quitting ITV altogether.
And in a recent BBC interview, Schofield compared the way he is feeling to Caroline Flack before she tragically died three years ago.
"I have to talk about television in the past tense, which breaks my heart," he started.
"But it continues, and it is relentless. It is day after day after day after day. If you do that, and you don’t think that is going to have the most catastrophic effect on someone’s mind, what do you want?
"Do you want me to die? Because that’s where I am."
He continued: "My girls saved my life. They said, last week, they haven’t left me for a moment. They’ve been by my side every moment because they’re scared to let me out of their sight.
"If my girls hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be here. Because I don’t see a future.
"How much do you want a man to take? Are you truly only happy when he’s dead? This is how Caroline Flack felt. And it didn’t stop."
The comment received a mixed reaction online, but Flack's mum, Christine, has taken sympathy on Schofield.
Speaking to the BBC, Christine said: "I think he's now realising even more what she went through."
She continued: "But until it happens to you, you feel sad but you don't understand.
"Every day she would try to be a bit stronger, which I should imagine Phillip is [doing].
"[The problem is] You get more and more thrown at you."
Christine also criticised ITV in the interview, accusing the broadcaster of treating its employers as 'commodities'.
Speaking about its aftercare, Christine added: "They could have someone speaking for him really, whether he did right or wrong.... it's not a good look really."
LADbible has reached out to ITV for comment.
Topics: Phillip Schofield, ITV, TV and Film, UK News
Callum Jones