Love Island's Scott Thomas opens up about gambling addiction
Love Island's Scott Thomas has opened up about his gambling addiction that left him going through his grandmother's handbag for money.
Speaking on his podcast Mancs on the Mic, the reality star shared that he built up £20,000 worth of gambling debts when he was a student.
"When I was a student, I had a really bad gambling problem," Scott said. "It really got hold of me, and no one knew how bad it was. I was going out after student nights and ending up in a casino, losing thousands of pounds of my student loan and everything else.
"The next day I would wake up at eight in the morning and wait outside the bookies on my own to try to win it back."
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"It was so bad," he continued. "I couldn't tell anyone how bad it was at first. You guys just thought it was after nights out. I remember waiting outside casinos on my own. It feels like such a different chapter in my life."
Scott, who took part in the second series of Love Island in 2015, went to explain how he'd even searched through his grandmother's handbag for gambling money, such was the extent of his addiction.
"This is a secret. I've never told anyone this, but I remember being around at my nan's, and I remember being that desperate that I was checking her old handbags for £20s and stuff like that," he said.
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"It was so bad. I was about 20-years-old or something like that."
Scott has since managed to turn his life around and hosts the joint podcast with his brothers, former Emmerdale star Adam and ex-Coronation Street actor Ryan.
Love Island is available via catch up on ITV Hub.
The National Gambling Treatment Service offers free, confidential help for anyone who is worried about their gambling, or someone else's gambling. Call the 24-hour freephone National Gambling Helpline on 0808 802 0133, or visit begambleaware.org. Further information and resources can be found on the Gambling Commission's website.
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