HEARTBROKEN Love Island star Amy Hart quit the show for the sake of her mental health — saying she could not bear to see her ex Curtis Pritchard moving on with Maura Higgins.

And she said her emotional trauma was so bad that producers “stood over” her to ensure she ate after noticing she had lost weight.

8 Amy was heartbroken after being dumped by Curtis Pritchard

In an exclusive interview with The Sun, 26-year-old Amy said she feared for her sanity if she remained in the villa, and was concerned it may trigger previous battles with anxiety.

The former BA air hostess said: “I chose my mental health over the reality show.

“I was in a very horrible place over the last week, to be told that the gloves were off with Maura and I had to ‘brace myself’, like a storm. I knew I had to leave when I did.

“I’m kidding myself thinking that I can watch Curtis cracking on with Maura. It would be self-sabotage.

8 Amy has revealed she lost six pounds following the stress of her break-up with Curtis Credit: Dan Jones images

“It’s not nice. I have to put myself and my sanity first.”

She added: “I’ve given up a place that 130,000 people applied for but I had to leave as I wasn’t myself any more. I was in absolute despair.

“I was grieving the loss of my first love, living in a house with him and watching one of my alleged friends get with him.

“I feel a million times better now I’ve left, but I defy anyone not to fall apart and be completely heartbroken. I was very confused. I couldn’t eat, I lost six pounds.”

8 Curtis admitted to Amy that his head had been turned at Casa Amor Credit: ITV

Amy claimed producers who noticed her weight loss made her eat. She said: “I felt so numb. I didn’t feel hungry.

“When I wouldn’t eat, they would stand over me and make me eat a bowl of food or I couldn’t do the challenges.”

Amy quit ITV2’s dating reality show on Monday after ballroom dancer Curtis, 23, dumped her after having his head turned by some of the villa’s new arrivals.

Curtis quickly moved on to Irish grid girl Maura, 28 — who was seen on last night’s show giving him a lapdance during a challenge.

The Islanders break down as Amy Hart tells them she has decided to leave the villa after Curtis Pritchard heartbreak

Amy was shown pictures of the footage ahead of the episode being screened — and admitted it would have been hard to take if she had still been on the show.

She said: “It looks like Curtis has cheered up a lot.

“If I saw that, I would have been beside myself. It would have been awful. If I’d stayed I would have brought everyone down.”

Amy said the final straw was when she overheard Curtis asking pal Tommy Fury, 20, how it felt when his girlfriend Molly-Mae Hague, 19, told him she loved him.

8 Maura Higgins told a shocked Amy that she had feelings for Curtis Credit: ITV

She said: “I was thinking Curtis knows how it feels because I said I loved him. I thought I can’t do this to myself any more.

“So I went to producers and told them I’ve decided I’ve had enough.”

But Amy praised Love Island’s duty of care, which had been ramped up after former Islanders Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis killed themselves.

Former beauty pageant star Amy, from Worthing, West Sussex, said she made regular visits to the show’s psychiatrist during her five weeks in the villa, especially after her shock split from Curtis. And she will continue to use the services of show counsellors in the coming months to help her recover from her ordeal.

8 Tonight's episode sees Maura snogging Curtis during a challenge Credit: ITV

She said: “I used to suffer from anxiety travelling around the world as an 18-year-old.

“I used to be a bit scared of therapy and since going in the villa I love it.

“They gave me tools to deal with it. They were on call for 24 hours.”

Amy fears that Curtis may have been using her popularity as a vehicle to win the show, hiding his true feelings.

She said: “It will be devastating if I find out he was playing a game.”

And she does not think a romance between Curtis and Maura will last. She said: “I don’t believe Maura liked Curtis.

“She was telling me to drop him. She took the mick out of the way he acted.

“I think she thought he was the best one left out of the single ones. She wants to be on the show for as long as possible and go the distance. They aren’t suited.”

Amy also admits that her lack of serious relationships left her unprepared for life on the show.

8 Amy admits she was left feeling slightly conscious of her body compared to other Islanders Credit: Dan Jones images

She said it meant she was not prepared to deal with a break-up at all, let alone one screened in front of millions of TV viewers.

And she said bosses should bear that in mind when they select hopefuls for next year’s series. Amy said: “You should have had a boyfriend before going on the show.

“Going through my first major heartbreak on television isn’t the wisest choice. It’s embarrassing to have the younger people in the villa guiding me through my heartbreak.”

She also said some Islanders left her feeling conscious about her body, with several having worked as models.

8 Amy was shown in tears several times following her split from Curtis Credit: ITV2

Amy said: “I did worry about my belly, but everyone has different figures. But I feel more confident now.

“I know I’ve got a nice bum and nice boobs.”

Despite the heartbreak she has suffered, Amy has said she may “dip in and out” of the next few weeks’ remaining episodes.

She believes none of the couples still in the villa are likely to have sex as they are too scared to be intimate on TV.

8 The pair had been together since week one Credit: Rex Features

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She said: “No one wants to have sex as it’s a family show now. It used to be more niche but my 73-year-old nan and grandad are obsessed with it.

“It was hard knowing they would be watching it and seeing me upset.”

Asked if she regrets being intimate with Curtis, she said: “I was laying in bed with a bloke I really fancied. I don’t regret it. You forget the cameras are there.”

Love Island's Amy Hart breaks down in tears as she's reunited with her mum at the airport