Fresh from her victory on Love Island All Stars, Gabby Allen has opened up to OK! about the health battles she faced since she was a child. In her first exclusive interview since walking out of the villa hand-in-hand with new beau Casey O’Gorman, Gabby reveals all following her long battle with scoliosis and opens up about her second boob job after a scare with her first.
After undergoing the first op in 2017, Gabby admitted “ruining her boobs” by working out too soon afterwards. “My boobs had bottomed out which means they had come out of the pocket that had been made for them to sit in,” she has said. “In 2023, I had my breasts done again,” the star tells us. “It was because of my scoliosis. My ribs on the back left side are wonky. They took them out and the ribs grew back – but inwards.”
She adds candidly, “I was unhappy with my breasts anyway, as I didn’t develop like someone usually would have. Mum’s always thought that it’s something to do with the fact I had stunted growth from the spinal operation – and that I should have been around four or five inches taller.
“She believes this had a detrimental effect on everything in my torso. The left side of my chest wall was pushed forward, making my breasts look even more uneven and knocking my confidence further.”
Gabby adds, “I had them done in December 2023 for the second time, with the recovery going into 2024. Now, I have to just be careful and make sure I keep myself as strong as possible, to hold my spine and my breasts in place. And I do love how they look. “While it doesn’t cause me pain any more, because of how strong I am, scoliosis is a part of my daily life and training – and how I approach my lifestyle because of it.”
Gabby was diagnosed with life-changing scoliosis, after a holiday when she was 11. “My dad was teaching me how to dive into the pool when Mum noticed my back was wonky,” she recalls.
“They said if I didn’t have an op, I might end up immobile and I was told I’d have a hunchback,” she says bluntly. Within months, her spine had worsened to a 95 degree curvature – terrifyingly, five degrees away from being untreatable. “It would have been incurable,” explains Gabby. “I needed surgery immediately, and Mum and I had to sign a document to say that I had a chance of being paralysed if I didn’t agree to surgery that would replace my spine with metal,” she says.
A gruelling operation followed, which saw her have six ribs removed and metal rods, nuts and bolts inserted into her back. The recovery was even tougher, as she had to learn to walk again. “The first time they sat me up in bed, I felt like a plank of wood. I thought I was going to snap in half,” Gabby adds. The experience left deep physical and emotional scars, she explains quietly. “I have a 16-inch scar down my back. I used to walk with my back against the wall because I was so embarrassed.”
“I had to learn to walk again – never mind dance again,” Gabby shares. Yet within six months, she was defying the odds and dancing. I honestly believe that going back to dancing so soon after surgery built the resilience in me to do what I do now.” Rather than let her battle define her, Gabby channelled that resilience into building her strength. “The stronger I am, the better I feel,” she says. It led to a successful fitness career, becoming a qualified PT, and now a fitness entrepreneur with her platform Shape Up.
When Gabby, 33, entered the Love Island All Stars villa earlier this year (only to be met by her ex, Marcel Somerville), she was already a familiar face to reality TV fans. A finalist in the 2017 series, the chatty Liverpudlian was back for another shot at love – and not only found it with Casey, but the pair walked away with the crown.
And while she and Casey, 28, may have won the show, the real test comes, she admits, after the cameras stop rolling. The new couple have been navigating life outside the villa – and loving every second. “It’s so much better,” she grins, “In there, you’re in a bubble and you’re on camera all the time – it’s an alien environment. Now, we just get to be normal. We live 10 minutes away from each other, it’s perfect. Seeing each other’s passions in real life is exciting. It’s really easy and comfortable. We have so much fun – he’s even got me making TikToks,” laughs Gabby.
That means spending quality time at home – but it doesn’t mean they’re avoiding the spotlight altogether. “People expect to see us together every second, and think we’re on the rocks when they haven’t seen us for a day – truth is, we’re probably just having sex,” she giggles.
At 33, motherhood is on Gabby’s mind, too – and, as she reveals exclusively, she has a plan. “A woman’s body clock isn’t always reliable,” she says. “So I’ve decided that freezing my eggs gives me security.”
Her decision was prompted not just by age, but health concerns. “I have PCOS and had to have an MRI scan because my prolactin levels were so high. They thought I had a tumour in my pituitary gland,” she reveals. “Luckily, they didn’t find anything, but my gyno told me that freezing my eggs would be the safest option. I really want children, but having PCOS, egg freezing gives me a back-up plan – whether I end up in a relationship or as a badass single mum.”
Do future plans with Casey include kids? “We haven’t discussed having children in detail, we are still so fresh in our new relationship and in our honeymoon period,” admits Gabby, smiling. “It can be really easy to feel the pressures from the outside world when you come off a show like Love Island – to move in together, have children, get engaged.”
She adds, “We’re fortunate to live so close to each other and be at a stage of our lives where we don’t allow the pressure to get to us. We’re taking our time and the relationship at our own pace, which is exciting.”
Something Gabby has always been intensely private about is her father’s death when she was just 21, but today, 12 years later, the star is also ready to open up about that profound loss. “When Dad died, we didn’t just lose him – we lost everything,” she reveals sadly. “The business, the house. It had a domino effect. Dad had a brain tumour, a glioblastoma multiforme – the worst you can get. Within 10 months of diagnosis, he was gone.”
It was made all the worse by the mental deterioration that came before it, explains Gabby. “It was 10 months of somebody essentially losing their mind and deteriorating in front of you.”
Gabby was away at drama school at the time, and believes her mum and younger brother protected her from the darkest moments. “I always had this underlying guilt that I wasn’t there during that time,” she reveals. But his death was just the beginning of a financial and emotional nightmare for the family.
“His business left him in a huge amount of debt, and when he passed away, my mum was left with debts she didn’t even know existed. But Mum was the guarantor for everything,” she explains. “She had no idea what was going on until it was too late. She had to go bankrupt. She lost her own business, too. It was just awful.”
In the aftermath, Gabby found herself juggling multiple jobs to stay afloat. “I was teaching fitness classes, waitressing – just trying to have a bit of freedom and not put any more pressure on my mum.”
Then, at 25, Love Island came calling – and transformed her life. “I never expected a show to change my life. I thought I’d be on it for a week, come out either single or with someone, maybe have a few more PT clients; be more in demand… But the opportunities and freedom that came from it gave us so much more.
“People asked what I would do with the Love Island winnings if I won. I just wanted to give my mum peace and a good night’s sleep after a few years of absolute hell. If I hadn’t done Love Island, I don’t know what our future would’ve looked like.”
Coming out of the villa for the second time, Gabby has more clarity than ever. “I’m the strongest, most educated version of myself. I know exactly who I am now,” she says confidently.
She’s also aware that people have preconceived ideas about reality stars like her. “People have a notion of the kind of person that goes on Love Island. I’m not trying to say my life has been dead difficult – I had a really good childhood. But then it was all taken away. That portion of my life, just before I went into the show, shaped who I am.”
For now, Gabby’s focus is her fitness empire. Her wellness platform, Shape Up, has grown into a full-fledged community. “I’m helping thousands of women – not just with fitness, but a 360-degree approach to wellness,” she explains.
Since launching Shape Up in 2020, Gabby has grown it into a thriving brand. “We had the biggest launch day, with my new Island Body Program, in the history of the platform. It blew my mind! It was the program I used when I was getting into the best shape of my life before going back into the villa,” she says.
It’s not slowing down either. “I hope everyone will read my story, and it will show that by having a disability at one stage in my life and becoming a fitness guru proves that you can do it. I want to help so many more people transform their lives, just like I have,” Gabby adds.
“I want to do more retreats, expand into nutrition and mindfulness – create a space where women feel supported in every way – part of that is through community and being on a journey with like-minded people.” Strength is about much more than just lifting weights – and if anyone knows that, it’s Gabby.