LOVE Island star Anton Danyluk has told how he battled alcohol and drug binges, soon after leaving the villa after his first stint in 2019.
The Scottish-born star who found fame on series five of the show, before returning again to ITV 2’s Love Island All Stars earlier this year, described how a move to Marbella got him dangerously hooked on the party lifestyle.
The 24-year-old confessed to having suicidal thoughts, after taking a cocktail of drugs to numb the pain.
He said: “This was a stage in my life when I genuinely thought there was no purpose in living, I didn’t know who I was anymore & everyday just felt meaningless.
One night in marbs I took that much drugs deliberately hoping I wouldn’t wake up the next day, when I did, the thought that came to my head was “why the f*** am I still here”
Opening on his new social media series My Life to raise awareness of mental health issues, Anton started out by saying, “I’ve got a million followers, but I’ve never felt so alone.”
As the owner of a state of the art gym complex and working as an ambassador for health and fitness before, during and after his stint on Love Island, Anton described how his life felt empty and meaningless.
He said: “ I was body building and the business was going well, but it wasn’t satisfying me. Anything I did, I just wasn’t happy. I felt like I’d reached the height of everything at 24 and everything started to crumble.”
And Anton said after falling out with his family, he chose to relocate from Dubai to Marbella, where he was immediately sucked into the live fast lifestyle. Speaking candidly in his caption about one drug binge, Anton said:
“I thought moving country would be the answer so I moved from Dubai to Marbella. This was one of the silliest things I’ve ever done, because I put myself into the party lifestyle. I started drinking, I started taking drugs and when I look back now, I didn’t recognise myself.”
Now Anton admits that he was trying to escape from his day to day reality. He said: “I think I was trying to dampen my reality. How could this guy who was so successful prior to Love Island be this guy who was sitting taking drugs and drinking alcohol, this fitness guy. I didn’t recognise myself at all.”
The fitness entrepreneur who has now emerged from the other side of his trauma, admits that he wanted to share his experience to help others who may be struggling with their mental health.
In his caption he wrote: “Anyone reading this thats going through a hard time & doesn’t see a way out, trust me there is, you might not see it yet but there is always more to life than you can currently see in front of you.
This part of my life was the most challenging but It’s made me so much stronger in every way. Part of my content after this series will really zone into this and hopefully help people that are struggling with mental health issues.”
Before finding TV fame, Anton had been working directly with people of all ages to improve both their health and fitness in Scotland, with his state-of-the-art gym complex.
Following his stint on Love Island, Anton went on to become an ambassador for youth charity and United Nations partner World Merit, as well as continuing his fitness career.
According to his official Instagram channel, which boasts a staggering one million followers, the Love Island star is also an entrepreneur, author and fitness mentor.
In 2021, Anton published Anton Danyluck: 50 Steps to the Best Version of Yourself – a part-practical, part-autobiographical book.
In 2019, Scottish-born Anton Danyluk joined a number of sexy singletons searching for romance on the ITV2 dating show Love Island.
He originally coupled up with Amy Hart before she moved on to Curtis Pritchard.
During his time in the villa, Anton found himself matched with a few different contestants, including Elma Pazar and Amber Gill.
It wasn’t until day 30 that he met Belle Hassan and the couple stayed together until they were ultimately dumped, just ahead of the final.
In January 2024, it was revealed that Anton is set to appear on Love Island: All Stars along with a lineup of past favourite islanders.
Anton didn’t manage to find love first time round, and said when he got the second chance to appear, it was a “no brainer”.
He said: “I got the call and it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and probably the best summer I have ever had in my life.
“Getting the chance to do it twice is going to be unbelievable.”
