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Jessica Hayes won the first Love Island but says reality TV sent her into a downward spiralCredit: Stewart Williams 6<\/p>\n Jess won alongside Max Morley in 2015Credit: ITV 6<\/p>\n Jess and Max split just six weeks after leaving the villaCredit: ITV<\/p>\n As the hit ITV show celebrates its ten-year anniversary this week, 32-year-old Jess<\/a> blames reality TV fame for sending her into a downward spiral.<\/p>\n She told The Sun on Sunday: \u201cI\u2019m so done with romance and dating.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t miss sex or hugs or kisses. I don\u2019t miss men at all, to be honest<\/p>\n Jess<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to fall in love. I just want peace and I\u2019m down with being celibate<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t miss sex or hugs or kisses. I don\u2019t miss men at all, to be honest.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, I don\u2019t know what\u2019s wrong with me. I think I\u2019m traumatised.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a very different story in 2015 when then-host Caroline Flack<\/a> announced Jess and Max, both 22 at the time, had won Love Island<\/a>\u2019s first series.<\/p>\n Wearing a figure-hugging red dress, the former bank worker from Gloucester<\/a> threw her arms around her suited partner and shrieked in delight.<\/p>\n The smitten couple, who chose to share the \u00a350,000 prize, received the most votes from the public after famously romping in the Mallorca villa<\/a> as cameras rolled.<\/p>\n Max<\/a>, a professional cricketer from Huddersfield<\/a>, settled with brunette Jess despite temporarily leaving her to couple up with her arch-rival Naomi Ball<\/a>.<\/p>\n The win was even more remarkable as Jess was drafted in at the last minute, having previously been told she had not made the cut.<\/p>\n Jess Hayes Welcomes Baby Zenny: A New Chapter<\/p>\n But just six weeks after their triumph, the winners dramatically split when Max was caught spending the night with Geordie Shore<\/a> reality star Charlotte Crosby<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jess said: \u201cI had no idea what I was in for.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was chaotic. You forget there is an outside world and it\u2019s not normal to be locked in a confined space with a bunch of strangers for six weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember thinking, I wonder if anyone is watching this? <\/p>\n “We didn\u2019t have a clue how big the show was going to be.<\/p>\n \u201cTo come out and find people running up to you in a shopping centre asking for a picture, it\u2019s bizarre. <\/p>\n “Your life changes overnight.<\/p>\n \u201cI had genuine feelings for Max<\/a>, but personal appearances were a big thing back then.<\/p>\n ‘I WAS HEARTBROKEN’<\/p>\n \u201cThe male Love Island stars would have girls literally throwing themselves at them in nightclubs, so it was never going to work.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen he was photographed with Charlotte, I was genuinely upset.<\/p>\n \u201cI know some relationships from the show have worked out, but I think they must have a different level of maturity.<\/p>\n \u201cMax wasn\u2019t that kind of guy. <\/p>\n “In my own way, I was heartbroken, and I don\u2019t take heartbreak very well. I never have.\u201d<\/p>\n Now a devoted single mum-of-two, Jess admits she got too caught up in the party lifestyle in her twenties.<\/p>\n A big wake-up call came with the suicides of Love Island stars Sophie Gradon, 32<\/a>, in 2018, Mike Thalassitis, 26<\/a>, the following year, and host Caroline, 40<\/a>, in 2020.<\/p>\n Jess said: \u201cIt was awful what happened \u2014 just horrendous. This industry can be tough. <\/p>\n “My rock bottom was three years after the show.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember feeling very lost and thinking, what now?<\/p>\n “You go out a lot and party a lot and sometimes it can be to excess and that\u2019s not good for you. <\/p>\n “You come out of a show and you\u2019re a celebrity and no one says, \u2018This might only last five minutes\u2019.<\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n Jess said she had I ‘no idea’ what she was in for when she left the villaCredit: Shutterstock Editorial 6<\/p>\n Jess’ Instagram post in 2023 announcing her miscarriageCredit: Instagram\/jessicahayesx_<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t have good guidance or good management and that didn\u2019t help me take the right path.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were points where I thought, what the hell am I doing?<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s late nights and drinking a lot. It\u2019s not a normal lifestyle.<\/p>\n \u201cYou haven\u2019t got a day job to go to and you\u2019re going to showbusiness parties and film premieres.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a lot for a young person to handle and it\u2019s a slippery slope. <\/p>\n “It\u2019s not a Love Island thing, it\u2019s just an issue of handling the fame.\u201d<\/p>\n Jess\u2019s love life has proven to be equally turbulent. After splitting with Max, she got engaged to mechanic Dan Lawry<\/a> six months after they met.<\/p>\n The couple were overjoyed when she gave birth to their son Presley in 2019<\/a>, but sadly she miscarried their second son<\/a> Teddy at 19 weeks and they called time on their relationship in 2021.<\/p>\n Jess next found love with a property developer called Zeb \u2014 she declines to give his surname \u2014 and she suffered another miscarriage in April 2023 before their daughter Zendaya Rose<\/a> was born in May last year.<\/p>\n The couple separated<\/a> just before Christmas in 2024.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t feel the need to get involved in relationships and I\u2019m determined not to get back into bad old habits<\/p>\n Jess Hayes<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Jess touchingly bounces her daughter on her knee during our interview.<\/p>\n On being a single mum, she said: \u201cI couldn\u2019t ask for more from my children\u2019s dads.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are in their lives and they are good with them. Co-parenting is a bag of poop. <\/p>\n “It\u2019s the worst thing ever. Over time, when you are a few years in, it\u2019s more of a breeze.<\/p>\n \u201cBut right now, while she\u2019s so little, I find it hard. <\/p>\n “I need a break sometimes because I\u2019m going crazy, but when she\u2019s not with me my anxiety goes through the roof.\u201d<\/p>\n Last week, Jess took part in ITV\u2019s Love Island: Decade Of Love<\/a> show looking back on the programme\u2019s most unforgettable moments, ahead of its return to our screens tomorrow.<\/p>\n Millie Court, 29<\/a>, and Liam Reardon, 25<\/a> \u2014 who won in 2021 and are still a couple \u2014 also appeared on the anniversary show, proving that some Islanders have found The One while making millions in the process.<\/p>\n Jess has become a successful social media influencer with 337,000 followers on Instagram<\/a>, yet admits her fortunes have been more mixed.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cI was so naive when I went on Love Island. <\/p>\n![\"Max](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/max-jessica-win-love-island-751109691.jpg\")
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