Love Islandstar Shaughna Phillips rose to fame two years ago on the first ever winter series of the ITV2 show back in 2020 (seems like a lifetime ago now) and basically became a national treasure when she uttered the immortal words, "Congrats... hun."
Since the show, Shaughna, 27, has gone on to have an incredibly successful career, with appearances on Celebs Go Datingand The Real Full Monty on Ice. She's also made quite the name for herself on social media for speaking out about issues such as politics and body image.
We really are in love with her. Here's all the reasons why Shaughna is self-advocating badass and why everyone should be a little bit more like her.
Her ICONIC time on Love Island
We all thought Shaughna was destined to find love in the villa when she quickly coupled up with scaffolder (big red flag) Callum Jones.
Unfortunately, Shaughna's inkling to "never trust a scaffolder" turned out to be about right because when Callum and the rest of the lads went off to Casa Amor, he returned with one Molly Smith on his arm, leading to Shaughna uttering the immortal words, "Congrats... hun."
Even though she ended her time on Love Island without finding love, Shaughna would definitely say she would prefer to be single and independent than be treated like trash.
She’s a huge advocate for cancer awareness
Shaughna has spoken open and honestly about losing her beloved dad in December 2016 following an 18-month battle with cancer.
She also appeared on The Real Full Monty On Ice in 2020 in honour of her dad.
And body positivity
During Shaughna's time on Love Island, she was subjected to an awful amount of trolling for her "big legs". Honestly, what on earth is wrong with people?
As soon as she landed back in Blighty, Shaughna addressed the hate that she received and revealed that she suffers from the rare condition lipoedema (an abnormal accumulation of fat in the legs).
Shaughna also admitted that she has been subjected to cruel comments about her legs her whole life, saying in an interview, “My legs had been my biggest body hang up since I can remember.
“It has been the one thing I have always said I would want to change about myself.”
In 2021, Shaughna had an operation on her legs which saw two litres of fat drained from her calves.
She told Fabulous magazine, “When I went on Love Island, I spent lots of time crying to the therapist.
“I was surrounded by these lovely looking girls, and I felt like the show’s box-ticking fat girl.
“I would get constant bruising on my legs, and they would be so painful but I had no idea what it was.
“When I came off the show I had all these messages asking if I had been diagnosed with lipoedema — I had no idea what it meant but it was a breakthrough for me.
“It’s scary to think that had I not found out about my condition, and intervened when I did, I would’ve just been getting progressively worse, and in pain as well.”
Despite her own personal body image journey, Shaughna has always been hailed as an inspiration for young girls who constantly find themselves comparing themselves to reality stars. Whether it's a no makeup selfie or sweating it out during a gym session - she always keeps it real.
And mental health
Being in the public eye is extremely tough, even though reality stars supposedly live a glamourous lifestyle. Since rising to fame in 2020, Shaughna has admitted that she does find it hard having a voice that is heard by so many.
Shaughna left the Love Island bubble just months before the whole world was changed by coronavirus and multiple lockdowns.
In a recent Instagram post, she reflected on her time speaking to a therapist on Love Island, "Fast forward to multiple lockdowns and a whole new life and I was a mess 😂 I just didn’t know who I was or what I was doing, and with the added pressure of so many people ready to shoot me down at every opportunity, it was easier for me to just hide away from it all. But I knew deep down that solves nothing.
"I started to give myself ME time, working out, journaling, planning my week, and committing myself to be more self-aware, who I am, who I want to be and what action I needed to take to make that happen."
She's also not afraid to voice her opinions on the big issues, either, like Boris Johnson or her Twitter petitions to start making tampons more user friendly for those with acrylic nails.
WATCH “Listen, I deserve an Oscar" Shaughna speaks her Love Island truth | Dating Dilemmas
The way she speaks her mind always, even if it means falling out with others
In case you missed it, in January 2022, the whole internet was drawn into a debate after Love Island star Molly-Mae Hague due criticism following an interview on the podcast The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett, where she stated that "everyone has the same 24 hours in a day".
Not one to shy away from speaking her mind, Shaughna seemed to agree with many who thought Molly's comments were "tone deaf".
However, when Maura Higgins defended Molly and confronted Shaughna, it was clear that she voiced her own opinions regardless of who it was.
Maura told Shaughna, “Surely you know as someone in this industry how lonely and scary it can be when the whole internet is slamming you. Your entitled to your opinion yes but I’m really surprised you commenting on this at all.”
Not one to be unduly dragged, Shaughna hit back, “100%! That’s why I tweeted this in her defence. She’s young and successful, it’s not her fault she has those views. Like I said, no shade, just jel lol."
CHECK OUT Love Island 2020 stars - where are they now?
Love Island 2020 contestants - where are they now? - slider
1 of 38Leanne Amaning
After failing to find love in the villa (she famously got the 'ick' whilst with Mike Boateng), Leanne's time on the island was cut relatively short in a cruel dumping.
2 of 38Leanne Amaning
Fast forward a year and Leanne has admitted that she was at her 'happiest' before going into the villa. In a Instagram Q&A in 2020, Leanne told fans that appearing on Love Island has taken a toll on her mental health, '[it affected it] more than I thought, more than I could imagine.'
3 of 38Siânnise Fudge
After a few failed romances, Bristol babe Siânnise Fudge found her Aladdin in the villa in the shape of boyfriend Luke Trotman.
4 of 38Siânnise Fudge
A big believer in fairytale endings, Siânnise and Luke have since moved into together, survived a global pandemic, are parents to puppy Nala and even founded their own fashion business @conqrstore.
5 of 38Eve and Jess Gale
A Love Island first, identical twins Eve and Jess caused fireworks when they walked into the villa. Although Eve's journey was cut short, Jess managed to make her way to the final and finished in fourth place with now ex-boyfriend Ched Evans.
6 of 38Eve and Jess Gale
Since the show ended, the pair still do everything together, from travelling the world to posing together in sexy shoots. They're still very much joined at the hip.
7 of 38Shaughna Phillips
Leaving with her head high after the whole Callum/Molly Casa Amor drams, Shaughna is still one of the stand out stars of the winter series in South Africa, and has since gone on to star on Celebs Go Virtual Dating.
8 of 38Shaughna Phillips
Always keeping it real, Shaughna bravely opened up about suffering from an eating disorder and the results of liposuction surgery on her legs.She's full of LOLs of Twitter and is still the Shaughna we all fell in love with. Has she found love yet? Not yet, but only time will tell...
9 of 38Sophie Piper
Will we ever forget Sophie's infectious laugh and infamous put downs in awkward situation? The beauty, who is the sister of pop star and TV presenter Rochelle Humes, became the seventh Islander to be dumped from the villa halfway through the series.
10 of 38Sophie Piper
Since the show, Sophie has racked up 800k Instagram followers. She has continued to work as a model and influencer for the likes of Pretty Little Thing, Boux Avenue and JD Sports.
11 of 38Paige Turley
The winner takes it all! Scottish babe and aspiring singer Paige walked away the winner of Love Island 2020. She well and truly found her prince!
12 of 38Paige Turley
Despite enduring a hard period over lockdown they're still madly in love a year later. Aww! And despite EVERYONE wanting another Love Island wedding, the pair recently admitted that they want to do things in their 'own time'.
13 of 38Mike Boateng
Hunky police officer Mike Boateng left the Love Island villa with a smile as he confessed his love for Priscilla Anyabu, but it took a while for him to find his princess.
14 of 38Love Island 2020 where are they now
The pair instantly made things official when they left the villa. They're still very much together and now live together in London.
15 of 38Connor Durman
Jet-setter Connor went into Love Island to settle down, but after a six-month-long romance with Sophie Piper he is now single again.
16 of 38Connor Durman
However, he's still got a smile on his face (how could he not) as his coffee business is booming - even through lockdown - and his Instagram following is bigger than ever. That's what we like to see!
17 of 38Callum Jones
Scaffolder Callum become a little bit of a Love Island villian when he dramatically dumped Shaughna and chose to return from Casa Amor with Molly Smith.
18 of 38Callum Jones and Molly Smith
However, it looks like his risky move was worth it as the Manchester duo survived the lockdown and have moved in together - he even spoke to exclusively to us about marriage and babies. Adorable. Talk about proving everyone wrong!
19 of 38Nas Majeed
After a few pies and a brief snog with Demi Jones, Nas got his Love Island wish granted when he walked in Casa Amor and met Eva Zapico.
20 of 38Nas Majeed
Even though they left very soon after they returned to the main villa, Nas and Eva are still stronger than ever and are another couple to survive any sort of Love Island curse. They even sassily hit back at split rumours in the funniest way last year.
21 of 38Ollie Williams
Oh Ollie! His time on Love Island was very brief and surrounded in controversy. From those pictures of him hunting to rumours that he was only on the show for exposure as he left after three days after realising he was still in love with his ex-girlfriend Laura.
22 of 38Ollie Williams
Since reuniting with his ex-girlfriend Laura soon after the show, Ollie has enjoyed the quiet life. It's not known if Ollie is still loved up with Laura, they last posted a Insta snap together in September 2020. Hmmmm.
23 of 38Finley Tapp
Oh Finley! As well as bagging true love in the form of girlfriend Paige Turley and WINNING the show, the whole nation fell a little bit in love with this cheeky chap.
24 of 38Finley Tapp
After spending a whole year together, Finn recently revealed to heat that his relationship with Paige went from strength to strength during lockdown because 'he was already used to the intensity of spending every minute with Paige. When you put it like that!
25 of 38Connagh Howard
Connagh, 27, dumped from the Love Island villa. The hunk, 27, bid a sad farewell to South Africa on Friday's show after just a few weeks despite sharing a kiss with Rebecca Gormley days earlier, who chose Luke Trotman over him.
26 of 38Connagh Howard
The model's career as a model and person trainer has rocketed since appearing on the show as he has used the exposure to his advantage. He's also gained a HUGE following on Tik Tok AND found love with girlfriend Beth Dunlavey.
27 of 38Rebecca Gormley
The Geordie babe was a little bit picky in the Love Island villa, but finally found her man, fellow Islander Chris Biggs, after leaving the show.
28 of 38Rebecca
The pair are still loved up and Rebecca has gushed that he's just 'an amazing man'. However, the past year hasn't been completely plain sailing, as she recently underwent surgery after damaging her right arm in a horror fall back in January.
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29 of 38Luke Mabbott
Justin Bieber lookalike Luke managed to reach the final of the show with Demi Jones, and although we all thought they were the real deal, the pair parted ways at the start of lockdownafter living apart for months.
30 of 38Luke Mabbott
Despite being locked down, Luke soon moved on with another Islander, Lucie Donlan, and have been together for just over a year. Luke recently revealed a huge tattoo tribute to his girlfriend after almost a year of dating and the pair have just adopted an adorable rescue dog called Bunny.
31 of 38Luke Trotman
Student Luke walked out of Love Island hand in hand with girlfriend Siânnise and start their fairytale together.
32 of 38Luke Trotman
Since leaving the show, Luke decided to head back to university to finish his Banking, Finance, and Management degree. We love a guy who thinks beyond the PAs and hashtag ads.
33 of 38Demi Jones
Even though she was super unlucky in love in the villa, Demi's infectious personality has made her a stand out star in her own right.
34 of 38Demi Jones
Since the show, she's landed deals with Missguided and is a brand ambassador @tatti_lashes. However, in May 2021, Demi revealed to the world that she has thyroid cancer and announced that she will have to undergo surgery. Ever the optimist though, Demi has been updating fans of her surgery progress, admitting that she's a 'tough cookie'. She sure is!
35 of 38Wallace Wilson
Scottish personal trainer Wallace entered Love Island towards the end, but he still made an impression, although not quite enough to leave with a lady on his arm.
36 of 38Wallace Wilson
Outside the villa, Wallace in focusing on his personal training back home, is he still on the lookout for love? Who knows, he likes to play it coy.
37 of 38Ched Uzor
Beefcake Ched left the villa arm in arm with Jess Gale, and things were going swimmingly until the coronavirus pandemic hit and they wenttheir separate ways in an 'impossible situation'.
38 of 38Ched Uzor
Since the split, Ched and Jess haven't reconciled and it looks like he's currently still single.
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The way she practices what she preaches
Shaughna has made quite a name for herself for being honest on social media, so it made sense that she recently made the decision to have her fillers removed.
Earlier in 2022, she made a Tik Tok about her journey to dissolving her lip fillers, telling fans that it’s about time she "practices what she preaches".
In the video, which takes us through the whole process of having the filler removed, she says, “It’s time to practice what I preach, I’ve been putting this off for so long. The real reason that I am sharing my lip filler journey is because I have been preaching about separating your happiness from your body image.
“I just can’t bear the thought of having no lips anymore but it needs to be done. Life goes on. It weren’t that bad.”
She does her research
Yep, many trolls come for Shaughna and her opinions (because she's a reality star, sigh), but the former a democratic services officer for Lambeth Council knows what she's talking about.
And if she doesn't, she makes it her mission to learn more.
Shaughna isn’t perfect, but she acknowledges it
And that's one of the most important reasons why we love her so much. These days, reality stars and influencers try their hardest to appear all glossy and shiny around the edges. But REAL people aren't like that, and that's why Shaughna is such a breath of fresh air.