Love Island’s Kaz Crossley breaks silence after being detained in Abu Dhabi on suspicion of drug offences

Love Island star Kaz Crossley has spoken out for the first time since she was detained in Abu Dhabi for a leaked video of her snorting a white substance.

The 28-year-old, from south London, was travelling to Thailand earlier this month for a “dream job” offer when she ended up spending four nights in a jail cell.

Kaz, who came third place alongside Josh Denzel on series four of the ITV show, took “full accountability” for the video which was recorded in Dubai in 2020.

On Thursday, she posted a video to Instagram, saying that she owed her followers and herself an explanation to “get closure”.

The reality star said: “In 2020, I was in Dubai and I was filmed, it was me in the video, no one forced me to do that. It was a time of my life where I definitely didn’t love myself at all, and this was reflected in what I was doing to my body and who I surrounded myself with.”

The season four islander revealed that the video was taken by an ex-boyfriend that she had kept private - confirming in a later Instagram story that it was not Theo Campbell.

Kaz explained that her ex-boyfriend decided to leak the video online when they broke up, a year after it was filmed, and that he did it “maliciously with intent to ruin” her career.

The former reality TV star told her 1.1 million followers that she was kept in custody from Monday through to Friday but that she “was ready for whatever was going to happen” to her.

She added that the leaked video “completely destroyed” her mental health, and that her family were so worried about her as she was also a victim to a lot of trolling online.

Kaz added: “I have made mistakes, I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but I will not allow my past to define who I am now. Because, I am really truly falling in love with myself and the person I am becoming.”

She concluded the video by thanking her followers and all those who have reached out to support her, as well as saying how grateful she is for her pillow and her toothbrush.

Fellow season four islanders Zara McDermott and Laura Anderson were among those to comment, as well as current Love Island host Maya Jama.

Zara wrote: “There is no adult human being on this planet who has not made a single mistake; yet people are so quick to judge and it’s something i’ll never get my head around. The press are so quick to write disparaging headlines and I’m so sorry that you had to go through that.

“You have done incredible work with so many children and you have changed lives; we’ve all seen it and you have a wonderful heart!!! One mistake doesn’t define you, it’s the value you add to the world; and that’s a lot!😊💕❤️”

Whilst season four runner up, Laura, wrote: “My girl. And what we have learned is we don’t trust bad boys and we tell Laura our travel plans always. We also know that honesty is the best policy which has set you free from any mistakes.

“I love you and knowing you these past  five years has been such a pleasure to see you grow. You own a fancy kettle, you’re a sports presenter, you have a property portfolio, you’ve changed kids lives forever and you’ve been an incredible friend to me and Aunty to buddy. Through thick and thin, shit press and our successes I will support you always ❤️”