WARNING: This article is about issues related to mental health and may be distressing for some readers.
Caroline Flack's family has released an unpublished Instagram post written by the British television star days before her death.
Flack, 40, was found dead in her London home last week while awaiting trial over an alleged assault on her 27-year-old boyfriend, Lewis Burton.
Her devastated family said she wrote the 344-word statement days before she took her own life, but was advised not to publish it.
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"My family and I would like people to read her own words," her mother, Chris, told the Eastern Daily Press.
"Carrie was surrounded by love and friends but this was just too much for her," she added.
"As Carrie would say: 'In a nasty world just be kind.'"
In the statement, Flack described having a mixture of complex emotions and feeling like her "whole world" had been swept from under her feet.
"For a lot of people, being arrested for common assault is an extreme way to have some sort of spiritual awakening but for me it's become the normal," she said.
"I've been pressing the snooze button on many stresses in my life – for my whole life. I've accepted shame and toxic opinions on my life for over 10 years and yet told myself it's all part of my job. No complaining.
"The problem with brushing things under the carpet is … they are still there and one day someone is going to lift that carpet up and all you are going to feel is shame and embarrassment."
The statement then went on to describe her version of the alleged assault on Mr Burton and the media scrutiny that followed.
"On December the 12th 2019 I was arrested for common assault on my boyfriend," she wrote.
"Within 24 hours my whole world and future was swept from under my feet and all the walls that I had taken so long to build around me, collapsed.
"I am suddenly on a different kind of stage and everyone is watching it happen.
"I have always taken responsibility for what happened that night. Even on the night. But the truth is … it was an accident.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Caroline (@carolineflack) on
"I've been having some sort of emotional breakdown for a very long time. But I am not a domestic abuser. We had an argument and an accident happened. An accident."
Mental health charities and psychologists say suicide is often due to a range of factors, rather than one specific thing.
The former host of the hit Love Island dating show had denied the charges, and Mr Burton also did not support the trial.
But Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had chosen to press ahead with the case, prompting savage criticism from Flack's management team.
"The CPS should look at themselves today and how they pursued a show trial that was not only without merit but not in the public interest. And ultimately resulted in significant distress to Caroline," it said in a statement.
At the end of her post, Flack explained that she wanted to speak up because her family couldn't "take anymore".
"I've lost my job. My home. My ability to speak. And the truth has been taken out of my hands and used as entertainment," she said.
"I can't spend every day hidden away being told not to say or speak to anyone.
"I'm so sorry to my family for what I have brought upon them and for what my friends have had to go through.
"I'm not thinking about 'how I'm going to get my career back'. I'm thinking about how I'm going to get mine and my family's life back.
"I can't say anymore than that."
An inquest into Flack's death opened in the UK on Wednesday.
A tribute featured on Monday night's episode of Love Island described her as a "much-loved" member of the show's family.
"My only hope is that we can all try to be kinder, always show love and listen to one another," narrator Iain Stirling said.
Where to get help:
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• Youth services: (06) 3555 906
• Youthline: 0800 376 633
• Kidsline: 0800 543 754 (available 24/7)
• Whatsup: 0800 942 8787 (1pm to 11pm)
• Depression helpline: 0800 111 757 (available 24/7)
• Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155
• CASPER Suicide Prevention
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.