The boyfriend of the Love Island star Sophie Gradon killed himself just weeks after he found her dead at her parents’ home, a coroner has ruled.

Aaron Armstrong, 25, had taken cocaine and drunk alcohol before his death, the inquest found.

Armstrong died about 20 days after Gradon’s death. The amateur boxer, who worked as a boat captain in his father’s sea freight business, was found dead by his mother, Donna, at the family’s home on the outskirts of Blyth, Northumberland.

Eric Armstrong, senior coroner for South Northumberland, said Armstrong killed himself after taking cocaine and alcohol, which may have clouded his judgment.

The inquest was told Armstrong and his brother Ryan had found Gradon, 32, dead at her home in Ponteland, Northumberland, the previous month.

The coroner read a statement from Armstrong’s mother detailing how Gradon’s body was found. It said: “I received a call from Aaron, he said he was worried, he’d had no contact from Sophie and she had not been on her social media profile.

“He sounded worried and was talking quickly and was snappy. He rang Ryan to take him to Sophie’s because he was worried about what he might find.

“Half an hour later I got a call from Ryan. He was crying. I could hear Aaron screaming in the background asking if the ambulance was coming. He sounded hysterical. It is clear Aaron was extremely distressed as a consequence of him and his brother Ryan finding Sophie.”

The court heard the couple had a “very intense and emotional” relationship after meeting in May last year on a night out with friends in Newcastle.

The statement continued: “They had gone to town and about 9am the following morning Aaron walked back into the house with a huge cheesy grin on his face and looking very pleased with himself.

“It transpired this is when he had met Sophie Gradon. They hit it off straight away. Initially he was coy but it became clear the relationship meant an awful lot to him.”

In the days that followed Gradon’s death, Armstrong became withdrawn and quiet, detailing his grief on social media and building a makeshift memorial to her in the Ingram Valley near Morpeth, Northumberland.

The coroner recorded a narrative verdict and issued a warning about the dangers of combining cocaine and alcohol.

He said: “His thinking was muddled by the distress he was feeling at Sophie’s death, the distress at having found her. The alcohol and cocaine together prevented him thinking rationally about his actions.”

Gradon’s inquest was due to take place on Thursday but has been postponed at the request of her family. She died on 20 June last year.

The trolling of Love Island contestants was brought into focus following Gradon’s death, who appeared on the show in 2016. The former contestant had spoken openly about having anxiety and being in a “dark place” because of the “amount of negativity focused towards me” from online trolls.

After the death of another Love Island star, Mike Thalassitis, last week, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, said reality TV shows had a duty of care towards participants. “I think that it is a duty on any organisation that is putting people in the position of making them famous overnight, that they should also look after them afterwards,” he said.

In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international suicide helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.