Xaya's given me a reason to wake up in the morning

After a traumatic few years, Malin Andersson has found meaning in motherhood, and is daring to hope for true love

- EVE MACDONALD

Love Island ’s Malin Andersson has suffered a string of intensely emotional events that would break the toughest of people. She lost her beloved mother, Consy, to cancer in 2017, in 2019, her month-old daughter, named after her mum, died after being born seven weeks prematurely and the following year she revealed her ex-boyfriend and Consy’s father, Tom Kemp, had abused her throughout their relationship.

But now, in an exclusive interview with new, the 30-year-old reveals there’s still room in her heart for love and that she’s even ready to “find a husband”.

“Everybody wants to fall in love, don’t they? I’m ready to meet somebody and I have faith that I will,” she tells us when we meet for a chat over Zoom. “I’ve always wanted to end up with a nice guy.”

Refusing to allow her harrowing past to stop her from moving forward, Malin, now mum to 18-month-old daughter Xaya, admits extreme loneliness has spurred her on to “find the one”.

“Being a single mum is overwhelming,” she says. “I get really lonely at night. As soon as Xaya goes to bed, I can’t leave the house. I can’t just nip out for a meal or a coffee unless I have a babysitter, and they’re hard to find.

“There have been a lot of times when I’ve cried and wished my mum was there,” she adds.

However, being able to trust again is something she says she struggles with, especially after her relationship with Tom, which Malin describes as “a horrible period of emotional and physical abuse”.