Trigger warning: this article deals with the subjects of mental health and suicide.
When Tully Smyth was evicted from the Big Brother house, she was terrified.
During her first appearance on the show nine years ago she was subjected to a “social media slaughterhouse” and dreaded facing a fresh wave of vitriol in 2022, with social media more impactful than ever.
WATCH: Big Brother finally brings Tully and Drew back together in 2022
“I was petrified that history would repeat itself and I would be dealing with awful trolling and online bullying and hate,” she tells WHO exclusively.
Adding that she still has PTSD from her experiences in 2013, the reality TV icon was terrified to return to the show after facing daily death threats in the wake of her first appearance.
“There was a Facebook group back in the day [called] ‘I hate Tully’ and it had 50,000 fans wanting to kill me, threatening my life. I was terrified.”
So it came as a huge relief when fans rallied behind her this time around, flooding social media with messages of love and support for the Big Brother royalty.
That shift meant the world to Tully, 34, who says society has “grown up” since the social media witch hunt she was subjected to in 2013. But the attacks aren’t over for everyone.
Trolls have chosen new targets this year, Big Brother newbies Gabbie Keevil and Aleisha Campbell, two young women not unlike Tully – or at least the version of Tully that first hit our TV screens in 2013.
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Knowing exactly what they’d face when their Big Brother stints were over, Tully became the self-appointed “mama bear” for the new girls and tried to prepare them for the pitfalls of reality TV fame.
“I very much was concerned and worried and I still am for Gabbie and Aleisha… they are like my little sisters and I am so worried about them and what they’re receiving,” she says.
Gabbie has already been subjected to vile attacks and hateful comments, and while Tully sends regular “mental health check messages”, she still fears for the 22-year-old.
“It’s tough and it breaks my heart… These girls, they haven’t gone through it before,” she says in an emotional moment.
“They’re not used to having people come at them with awful insulting, offensive comments about their appearance, about their weight. It’s heartbreaking and it’s been really hard to watch.”
While she has no regrets about signing up for Big Brother the first time around, Tully is the first to admit she made some mistakes on the show and paid for them in the court of public opinion.
WATCH: Tully and Drew reunite on Big Brother in 2013
“Not only did I make a monumental mistake, the biggest mistake of my life, but to see a bird’s eye view of yourself like that, it really puts bits of you [into perspective],” she reveals.
The “mistake” she’s talking about is, of course, when she cheated on then-girlfriend Tahlia Farrant with fellow housemate Anthony Drew during filming in 2013.
RELATED: A complete timeline of Tully and Drew’s complex connection
It sparked backlash so intense that Tully found herself “empathising” with reality stars who died by suicide after similar scandals.
“We’ve seen young people take their own lives over in the UK,” she says, referring to Love Island UK contestants Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalatiss and host Caroline Flack.
“That’s a really scary place to be. It’s terrifying to think that there was a point in my life where I could empathise with that… I don’t think we spend enough time taking care of the mental health of reality TV contestants.”
Things have fortunately changed since 2013, when Tully had almost no mental health support following her reality TV debut.
RELATED: A definitive list of Tully Smyth’s relationships
Now Big Brother contestants get 24/7 access to psychologists and wellbeing support during filming and further support after the show, something she hopes will soon be the norm for reality TV productions.
But the 34-year-old has no regrets about signing up to the show in 2013 and again this year – in fact, it was her “humbling” experiences in reality TV that helped make her the woman she is today.
WATCH: Big Brother’s Ben gets caught in between Tully and Drew’s argument
“Everything I’ve gone through, whether it be Big Brother or losing my mum a couple years ago, that’s the reason why I am the strong, resilient, empathetic person I am today.”
Tully’s mother died from dementia in July 2019 and the loss had a huge impact on her, as does returning to reality TV without her mum in her corner.
“I’ve often wondered whether she would be proud of me [on Big Brother],” she admits.
“It’s still a question mark on my first time round, but I think this time round, she definitely would’ve watched and been really proud of me. I can’t ask more than that.”
If you or someone you know has been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, help is always available. Call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit their website.
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