Like most people, Sophie Monk has endured her fair share of heartbreak. But unlike the rest of us, her experiences, good and bad, have often been publicly broadcast, for everyone to see.
We witnessed her engagements to Benji Madden and Jimmy Esebag, her relationship with plastic surgeon John Diaz that ended in scandal, and of course, her very well-publicised romance with Stu Laundy.
Speaking to news.com.au, Sophie has shared how the lack of privacy affected her.
“I’ve been in stages where I thought, ‘I want to die, my life’s over,’” she shared with the publication when asked about the breakdown of her many public relationships.
“My thing is, I’m such a lover. And when I didn’t feel great about myself, I’d jump into relationships just because I love love and move too fast. I’m like, ‘This is the one, I’m going to get married,’” the 38-year-old said.
“But now I’m in a place where I’m happy with my life and I don’t want to disrupt it. That’s been my mistake my whole life – I just love love.”
Sophie Monk opens up to Mia Freedman about her time with Bardot, and why she always felt like an outcast in the band. (Post continues after audio.)
The attention her love life drew wasn’t easy, especially on top of the public scrutiny she felt constantly subject to while living in Los Angeles.
“I was so insecure. There was no social media. I’d wake up at 4.30am to go to the service station to read a really mean article about me and I couldn’t unsee it,” Sophie recalled.
“Then I’d go to the pub with my boyfriend and people would say, ‘I hate you.’ I became a hermit. I remember ringing The Daily Telegraph once and leaving a voicemail going, ‘Hi, it’s Sophie. Just wondering why you’re being so mean to me?’”
Sophie expressed her desire to be a mentor-type figure for the Love Island contestants, a new reality television show the personality will be hosting on Channel Nine.
“Because I’ve been through it, I want to be there to nurture them… They don’t know what they’re in for,” she said.
“They’re young and it’s that real heartbreak [they’ll face]. They’re so young they’ve probably only had one relationship before.”
According to Sophie, the show isn’t as sex driven as the public are suspecting.
“They only thing that’s sexy is they’ve got bikinis on — they’re innocent. That’s what you do in your 20s — you want to look good. Unlike me in my 30s … I just put a filter on it. I don’t go to the gym, I just put a filter on everything.”
“I wouldn’t do a show like this if it was too sexy.”
Listen to the full episode here: