THE father of heartbroken Love Island star Amy Hart has told friends that watching her suffering has been a nightmare for him.
Funeral director Ian, 54, confided he had to stop tuning into the show because it was “too painful to watch”.
A source — speaking as Amy quit the show today after Curtis Pritchard dumped her — said: “Ian’s a normal father who finds it concerning to watch his daughter go through the rigours of Love Island.
“He can’t bear to read all the upsetting opinions on the internet about her. He has taken down his Facebook account and now refuses to watch the show.
“Any father would find this sort of thing very tough to watch while powerless to intervene.”
When Ian and wife Sue appeared on This Morning last week they told how they backed her wish to go on Love Island.
But the source added: “How things have changed in less than a week. Maybe he’s having second thoughts about her entering now.”
Sue has said of the show: “It’s been hard for me to watch.”
Ex-air stewardess Amy, 26, had told fellow contestants she was in love with ballroom dancer Curtis.
She decided to walk out of the villa after Curtis, 23, broke her heart by dumping her.
He did it after having his head turned by model Jourdan Riane, 24.
On Sunday viewers saw Amy, who has never had a boyfriend before, burst into tears when Curtis was flirting with Maura Higgins, 28, and teaching her to dance.
Amy’s departure comes after she was removed from the villa last week and given extra therapy and mental health support after repeatedly bursting into tears.
A show source said: “It was Amy’s decision to walk away as she felt she had got as much as she could from the experience.
“She fell in love, had her heart broken and couldn’t stand the thought of seeing Curtis crack on with Maura.
“Producers at ITV felt she was emotionally sound enough to make her own decision.
“They would never dream of keeping someone in there if they weren’t happy about it.
“Amy is a strong woman who knows her own mind. The show has given her confidence to give finding love on the outside a go.”
ITV said: “We take the emotional well-being of all the Islanders extremely seriously.”
Fears about Amy’s well-being were raised in the wake of claims that reality TV shows do not do enough to care for the mental health of contestants.
Former Love Island contestants Mike Thalassitis and Sophie Gradon both killed themselves. Steven Dymond, 63, was found dead in a suspected suicide days after going on The Jeremy Kyle Show.
