Caroline Flack praises Love Island star Megan Barton Hanson for standing strong in the face of escort claims

Hanson appeared alongside her fellow contestants on the show
Safeeyah Kazi6 August 2018

Love Island host Caroline Flack has praised Megan Barton Hanson for hitting back at claims she was an escort in an empowering Instagram post.

The 38-year-old backed the former stripper after reports emerged that she had previously worked as an escort and had a string of 'sugar daddies'.

Reality star Hanson, who found love on the show with Wes Nelson, was open throughout her time in the villa about her glamour modelling past.

Over the weekend, the Sun claimed that the 24-year-old previously lived in a luxury riverside apartment in London and drove a £30,000 SUV, with the lavish lifestyle supposedly being funded by rich men.

Loved Up: The couple shared snaps upon their return to the UK
Instagram/ Megan Barton Hanson

During the Love Island reunion show on Sunday Flack told Hanson: “I loved your Instagram post this morning. I thought it was really strong."

Hanson uploaded a post to the social media site, slamming the reports.

She wrote: “Today I really feel that I need to address some of the stories out there about me on behalf of women in general.

"I support all women, regardless of the choices they make about what they do with their bodies. My dad always told me unless you’ve walked in someone’s shoes then don't judge them.

"It’s 2018 and it’s time we stopped allowing the vilification of women in the media.”

She added: “Thank you to all of the amazing women that have and continue to follow my journey. Your messages of support mean so much to me.

Love Island 2018: Series 4 Reunion - In pictures

1/8

"I won’t allow stories like these to stop me from be a free thinking, confident, independent young woman striving to make a better life for myself and my family.

“I'm off to the final Love Island Aftersun. Can't wait to reunite with all the gang. Love to you all and have a great Sunday. Meg.”

The caption was accompanied by a picture of a quote from US politician Madeleine Albright, which read: “It took me quite a long time to develop a voice and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in