Laura Whitmore shares final messages from Caroline Flack

Today marks the five-year anniversary of Flack's death.

Flack was a television presenter and actress, best known for presenting reality shows such as The X Factor and Love Island.

She tragically took her own life on 15 February 2020, aged 40.

Whitmore had a close friendship with the late star, and has now shared screenshots of exchanges with Flack just days before the end of her life.

In one of the messages, the Dublin native told her friend that she had just been offered a role presenting Love Island.

Flack responded that she was "glad" she'd landed the role, and said she was "really looking forward to watching the show".

She added that it was "perfect" that Whitmore would be on the ITV series with her husband Iain Stirling, who narrates it, before posting a string of love hearts.

Flack hosted the reality dating show between 2015 and 2019, with Whitmore taking over presenting duties in 2020 before leaving in 2022.

In a lengthy caption accompanying the post, Whitmore wrote: "I got a new phone this month and as I was trying to download WhatsApp messages from my cloud loads of old messages came up. Ones I thought I lost a few years ago and no longer had. It really hit me hard."

She continued: "Looking at messages I’ve never publicly shared as they were private messages. Media outlets wrote a lot far from the actual truth.

"I think they show a side to Caroline which is nice to remember. Hence I’m sharing now.

"She wasn’t perfect and I didn’t know her as well as others but I knew she had her demons," Whitmore added. "I met Caroline in 2011 when I took over from her hosting I’m a celebrity get me out of here now. She was as supportive of me doing that role back then as she was when she supported me doing Love Island in 2020. Both were great shows with hundreds of people working on them and relying on the show going ahead. I will always be so thankful of the last messages between me and Caroline.

"I never asked her about the court case - it wasn’t my business. I didn’t know her partner at the time and still don’t. Every time I’ve been asked to speak about the situation or be part of a documentary I decline. I’ve already said all I can say on the tragedy and don’t want words to be misconstrued and need to look after my own mental health."

The post continued: "This was the last correspondence I ever had with her. I really did hope she was somewhere lovely. A spa/ retreat/ rehab. I never knew the extent of her struggles or what was to come. The last message from her to me were love hearts.

"I’d like to think wherever she is now, she’s at peace and somewhere lovely like I hoped. I’m sad when I see the press and social media be so divisive and that we still haven’t learned from Caroline’s treatment before her death when it comes to women in the spotlight.

"Today I choose to remember these messages and thank the cloud for giving them back to me."

Last month, it was revealed that the mother of the late TV presenter will be exploring the final months of her daughter's life in a new BBC documentary.

In the film, called Caroline, Christine Flack will reflect on the events leading up to her death, and her daughter's career.