Ovie Soko might not have won Love Island 2019 but he was a fan favourite thanks to his chilled out personality and goofy sense of humour.
But the basketball player, 28, has revealed that the reason he was able to cope so well in the villa was because of tragedy.
He said the sudden death of his friend from a heart attack put things into perspective for him.
Ovie told The Guardian : "A close friend of mine passed away playing basketball. He had a heart attack in practice in Macedonia; he was so far from home.
"That year, I did a lot of thinking; there was a long time to collect my thoughts and reassess everything."
At the time he was considering his career in sport as he'd suffered two serious injuries himself.
His brother encouraged him to apply for the show and it's clear to see the risk paid off with his legions of fans.
But humble Ovie doesn't understand the fuss.
"The love, man. It's overwhelming. It doesn't make sense to me," he said.
Ovie added: "It makes you feel good, but at the same time it was just me being myself day to day. It’s wild that that can reach so many people."
The experience also brought him India Reynolds, who he came third with in the final.
Earlier this month the sportstar said that he and model India are taking things slow and have not yet labelled their feelings.
Speaking on This Morning, Ovie admitted: "I can't say it's love. Love takes time. Love is a thing that takes time to develop.
"We're in a good place. We're just putting one foot in front of the other.
"We spend quite a lot of time together. We've been enjoying it and taking it in our stride."
