Shaughna Phillips' secret beau 'exposed' as fans quiz why she did Love Island

Shaughna Phillips has been accused of being in a secret relationship for the entire duration of her Love Island stint.

The reality TV star, 26, appears to have revealed a mystery boyfriend – who she admitted to have been dating since at least 2019.

Shaughna appeared on the hit ITV show’s first ever Winter Series last year, with her turbulent quest for love being one of the highlights from the villa.

But fans were left gobsmacked after they learned that Shaughna may have been boo’ed up all along, after she shared a string of now-deleted bombshell comments on Instagram.

What’s more, the star even went on to suggest that she signed up for Love Island to help her mum financially, however has since deleted the comment.

Shaughna shared a sun-soaked selfie of herself on holiday on Instagram on Saturday as she rang in the New Year.

However eagle-eyed fans were more curious to know who the topless man next to her was.

Deciding to cover his face with a firework emoji, Shaughna did reveal that the pair’s romance goes back to over a year ago.

She wrote: “Starting 2021 with the same people I started 2020 with, and feeling very lucky,” alongside a heart emoji.

Naturally, the caption had fans scratching their heads as Shaughna entered the Love Island villa in South Africa on January 12 last year.

“Were you dating during Love Island?” wrote one puzzled fan looking for clarity.

Another confused fan penned: “Plus she was on Celebs Go Dating. Confused how she can have a boyfriend of two years what with Celebs Go Dating and Love Island.”

Replying to the second comment, Shaughna wrote: “It’s television”, alongside a shrugging emoji.

Fans were instantly disappointed to hear the claims, as one took to Twitter to post their exchange.

Another fan added: “Surely if you’re in a relationship you wouldn’t be going on dating programmes??”

To which the reality TV star replied: “If you had the ability to potentially change your mum’s/ parents’ life, would you?

“For me, personally, being able to help my mum in anything she financially would need outweighed ANY other scenario.

“That’s the relationship that means everything to me, and I would do anything to give her the life she deserves. We may not agree, but I hope you understand my decisions.”

Sharing screenshots of their shock exchange on Twitter, the disappointed fan penned: “Can’t believe Shaughna was in a secret relationship throughout her whole time on Love Island.

“I know it’s all reality tv and it’s all fake but like… She got the whole country to hate Callum which probably did have an impact on him whilst she had a boyfriend of two years when on the show????”

They added: “I don’t know why I care so much about this but it feels like I’ve been lied to.”

But despite her comments suggesting otherwise, Shaughna’s rep denied that she had a boyfriend during her time on Love Island.

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