Love Island Australia 2021‘s Courtney Stubbs has detailed her experience of being bullied and body-shamed by co-star Aaron Waters in a tearful video.
ICYMI: The duo coupled up on Day One of their season, however, they quickly sought connections elsewhere.
Aaron is now appearing on Love Island UK 2023, which has prompted Courtney to expose his behaviour, particularly after he “dragged” her during his promotion for the series.
In a clip teasing his venture into the UK villa, Aaron described Courtney as his “least favourite” female co-star from his OG season.
“This isn’t the first time he’s dragged me, so it’s something I’m quite used to, honestly,” the 24-year-old stated at the start of a three-part TikTok exposé, which was also shared to her Instagram Story.
“But after a year’s time, I thought surely he would just stop talking badly about me. And I thought I would just give my side of the story… because it was horrible.”
Visibly stressed, Courtney said Aaron “bullied and belittled” her regularly in the villa.
“He skin-shamed me, body-shamed me, he would constantly tell me to f*ck off, shut up the whole show and made it his personal vendetta against me to make sure every single guy felt the same way he felt about me.”
The reality star said she “never did anything back to Aaron”, and “just copped” his hatred.
Courtney Stubbs said Aaron Waters rejected her because she wasn’t “clean”
Courtney recalled a tense conversation between her and Aaron after their first night in the villa, during which he rejected her.
“I remember to this day because it stuck with me,” she said. “He said to me, ‘I like clean girls that take care of their skin and like skincare and you know, you’re really not into that stuff’.”
According to Courtney, Aaron was “referring to [her] acne”, which she described as “really bad at [that] point”.
“I was starting my Roaccutane journey so my skin was purging so I literally had cystic acne on my face. I already felt so insecure about going on TV with my skin like that,” she said. “So to have someone to point that out to you, I’m like, ‘Oh, great, guys are going to notice this the whole show’.”
Aaron reportedly continued to say that he likes it “when girls take care of their bodies”, insinuating that Courtney was not an ideal weight.
“When I went on the show, I was also ten kilos heavier than I’ve ever been,” Courtney explained. “So I was going on the show not feeling confident in my skin, not feeling confident in my body.
“Then he literally just straight out, the first morning in the villa, shamed me for my skin and shamed me for my body.”
@_courtneystubbs Enough is enough and it’s time i say my peace #AaronWater #LoveIsland2023 #Bullying #BodyShaming #SkinShaming ♬ original sound – Courtney
Love Island‘s Courtney Stubbs breaks down recalling Aaron Waters’ bullying
Breaking down in tears, Courtney — who is now dating Married at First Sight‘s Jack Millar — said she “bawled her eyes out the whole first morning” of Love Island.
“[Aaron] continued [the behaviour] the whole rest of the show because we were both in it till, like, the end,” she said.
“Whenever I’d speak, he told me to shut up. Whenever I would say something he didn’t agree with… he’d just be like, ‘Oh, f*ck off, Courtney’.”
Reiterating that Love Island is “about finding someone”, the Queensland-born star said Aaron repeatedly “told every guy not to go for [her]”.
“I don’t know why men like this get onto shows, let alone a show again,” Courtney questioned.
“I don’t know how men get away with bullying girls belittling girls, telling girls they’re fat and their skin is bad and why we’re letting them on shows again? It’s just beyond me.
“It would just be nice for people to actually know what he’s like. So maybe this season [of Love Island] will show it because I know ours didn’t because they edited it so well to make him look a certain way.”
@_courtneystubbs We can’t allow men to treat us like this anymore #AaronWater #LoveIsland #Bullying #BodyShaming #SkinShaming ♬ original sound – Courtney
Courtney Stubbs calls out Love Island production for lack of duty of care
Concluding the third part of her TikTok series, Courtney slammed Love Island production for failing to look after its contestants. We mean, it is a Channel Nine show after all…
“Love Island is supposed to be all about making sure they take care of you post-show, but then they let [Aaron] belittle me the whole show and afterwards,” she said.
@_courtneystubbs True colours will show #AaronWater #LoveIsland #Bullying #BodyShaming #SkinShaming ♬ original sound – Courtney
Mic drop.
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