Catherine Agbaje made Ireland proud when she appeared on Love Island this summer.
But she dealt with the good and the bad when it came to the show. When she first entered the villa, she was a fan favourite. People even tipped her to win the series.
However, viewers were quick to turn their back on her after her stint in Casa Amor and she was dumped from the villa.
She’s honest about how life-changing the experience has been, telling VIP Magazine at the Virgin Media Autumn/Winter launch: “It’s been a big adjustment after coming out of the villa. It’s all new to me. This obviously wasn’t my life before.”
And while she is loving fancy events and brand deals, it’s not been a walk in the park for the real estate agent.
She admits that she faced a lot of trolling with people sending her death threats.
“When I came out it was horrible. People were telling me to go kill myself, it was crazy,” she admits.
“I never experienced anything like that. It was just randomers in my DMs shouting abuse at me. I was really taken aback by it. But I didn’t feed into it. I stayed off my phone and stayed out of my DMs. It filtered itself out, it calmed down. The situation has calmed down.”
She confesses that she was getting over 300 messages from viewers of the show. However, she didn’t think to go to the Gardaí about the trolling.
“I didn’t think they’d help with stuff like that,” she simply says.
“There was an influx of it. I didn’t think they’d chase down 200/300 people plus! I did report and block everyone. That’s all I thought I could do. And I was dealing with it mentally as well. I didn’t want to rehash it. I had the support of my family and my friends.”
Catherine is clearly a bubbly woman. Even a quick chat with her with show that. And while she admits there was “a lot of trolling” she tried to stay positive throughout.
“There were lots of people who wanted to make sure that I was okay as well,” she quickly adds.
Before heading into the villa she worked as a real estate agent and it’s something she is eager to get back to. Although she admits now isn’t the right time for her to step back into that role.
“I’m very busy and it is a demanding job so I want to give it my all. I loved my job,” she admits.
So why not mix her new showbiz lifestyle with her nine to five? Has she thought about moving Stateside and joining the cast of Netflix’s realtor reality show, Selling Sunset?
Well she beams at this suggestion!
“I wouldn’t mind doing Selling Sunset. Imagine me walking around! I could be the new Irish realtor,” she laughs.
Speaking of moving Stateside, her former Love Island beau Scott Van-der-Sluis jetted over to the American version of Love Island just weeks after leaving the UK villa.
This dashed hopes fans were holding onto that Scott and Catherine would reunite.
While they might be distraught, Catherine certainly isn’t. In fact, she’s super supportive of her pal.
“I’m happy for him. He’s gotta do what he’s gotta do. I’m supportive either way. I’m not going to look at someone and say, ‘What are you doing?’ I’ll be here, I’ll support. We’re close, we’re friends. We talk to each other! I am happy for him and wish him the best!” she simply says.
