LOVE Island’s Layla Al-Momani has bravely spoken about having alopecia after leaving the villa.
The Casa Amor beauty took part in a fan Q&A on Instagram last night and was touched when she received a compliment about her “shiny and healthy” hair.
Layla Al-Momani has revealed her alopecia battle
Layla was praised for her honesty in a Q&A
She said: “Whenever people compliment me on my hair it means so much because I have alopecia.”
Layla followed it with an old picture of her scalp showing extensive hair loss on the top of her head,
After being praised for her bravery, Layla admitted she wasn’t always as confident and would often hide her hair loss.
Following her exit from the show last week, Layla told us she has cried every day.
The 28-year-old has been cruelly trolled and subjected to racist abuse after her whirlwind stint on the show, which saw her connect with Will Young, 23.
Viewers watched as Layla and Will flirted, kissed and shared a bed – while he was coupled up with Jessie Wynter – but she now insists it was edited to make her look like a “sexual man-eater”.
The reality, Layla says, was very different and a number of moments weren’t shown, which has led to countless vile comments on social media from fans who were upset to see Will and Jessie hit the rocks.
Speaking to The Celeb Report about her experience, Layla admitted: “The abuse has been a lot. I have struggled with that.
“If you look at AfterSun, you can see my eyes are really red, because I’ve been crying before.
“It’s tough because I feel like I have to defend myself but in a really careful way, because anything I say at the moment, people are just like, ‘oh, but you’re this, you’re that’.
“It’s really wild because ultimately, I do have feelings at the end of the day, I am an actual person with feelings.
“There’s not been a day that haven’t cried.”
This year, Love Island introduced a rule that the Islander’s accounts had to be frozen while they are in the show, but trolls have still managed to be abusive on old pictures.
Layla revealed she has been forced to block certain words and even had to delete one picture after getting hundreds of comments branding her a “snake”.
Disturbingly, she has also received racist abuse, with vile trolls telling her she’s “not a real Arab”.
“I’m assuming it’s just because I was wearing a bikini that makes me not an Arab,” she told us.
Discussing her edit on the show, which was made to look like she was chasing Will, Layla admitted: “I think they definitely wanted to portray me in a certain way, which I understand.
“I was definitely seen more as the sexual, beeline for Will, steal your man type of person, when really it was more silly and fun.
“There were things that were missed out. I understand ITV can’t post everything, they literally can’t but from the chat with the girls the day after I am being attacked for that for apparently not saying certain things that I did actually say. That is frustrating.
“That day I was crying my eyes out, I was crying nonstop but we didn’t see any of that. They didn’t want to show it.”
Layla went on to praise the support she has been given from ITV while on the show and since leaving.
She said she understands it is just a game and bosses have to create storylines for everyone, so holds no ill feelings towards the show.
Layla has now vowed to share honest, unfiltered clips with her followers so they can get to know the real her.
She added: “I am also a person, please calm down a bit and with what you’re saying because it is getting to me.”
Layla has struggled with how she was portrayed on the show
Layla and Will enjoyed a number of kisses
