Love Triangle UK star Chelsea Farrell says trolls told her they 'hoped she'd die of cancer or in a car crash'

24-year-old Chelsea Farrell, from Ardee, County Louth, Ireland, appeared on the E4 reality dating show earlier this year. She found love with co-star James Barham, but she also found that she became the target of cruel trolls.

Speaking to the Irish Sun about her decision to go on the show, which was filmed in Manchester last year, she said: “I was like ‘I’m single, I’ll just do it just for the craic. But I didn’t think it would go as big as it did and that I would ever get the backlash that I did.”

The format of sees “pickers” given a choice between two potential matches, who they only talk to over text. They choose one person for a blind date after a couple of days of chatting as they have no idea what either of their suitors look like. The day after their date they move in together - no matter what their opinions of each other after meeting face-to-face. Later, the picker’s rejected match also moves in too, creating a love triangle.

Chelsea took a break from her full-time job as a midwife to take part. She said she made the decision “because [she didn’t] use dating apps, [didn’t] go on dates.” She added that she thought “how else am I going to find someone?”

She was one of two potential matches for 29-year-old Asa Peach. Things looked promising, but then she realised he wasn’t right for her. So, she sat him down and told him why she didn't want to continue with their connection, in scenes which were aired when the show was broadcast last month.

The reality TV star who has recently hit out at the way her romance with now-boyfiend James was edited on the show, said: “I get it, if I was a viewer I would hate me too, because it’s like ‘wehy did she go from being all nice to all of a sudden disliking him?’” But, she said she and Asa realised they didn’t agree on a variety of things and not everything was shown on-screen. “What people didn’t realise is the emotional turmoil that I went through”, she added.

Chelsea, who confirmed she is still with boyfriend James months after filming ended with an Instagram post last month, said the online abuse she has received since the show aired has tainted the experience for her, despite her finding a lasting romance.

James, aged 31, was lined up as one of the two potential matches for picker Shannon Lamb, age 29. But, when all the couples met a spark ignited between Chelsea and James - and their connection has only been growing since then.

Chelsea said: “I’m getting messages saying that I deserve to die of cancer, that they hope that I die in a car crash on the way home from work, there’s people looking for my nursing pin to get me struck off the register. I came out of a 12-hour shift on the labour ward to over 500 messages of abuse.”

The trolling has also affected Chelsea and James, although they have hit many important relationship milestones in the seven months since they met such as meeting each other’s families.

She said: “I just feel like all of the trolling has just took away what's been a beautiful time now because viewers are seeing us getting together and they're seeing the start of our journey and we're still together now seven months on and I just think it's really soured all of that because now our relationship has been ripped apart by people who think they know us and think they know what went on when in reality they know nothing.”

She added: “I won't lie . . . when you have the public coming at you left, right, and centre it's really easy to push someone away” She explained that this is because she wants to protect her beau. “If I'm getting it I don't want him to suffer on the back hands of it but he is just like not tolerating that.”

Chelsea also said that her boyfriend is also different to how he is portrayed on the show, which she said was also an edited version of him. “He is the most beautiful person inside and out- he's so sweet, so down to earth, so considerate.”