Love Island star Jack Fowler has revealed he was left paralysed and wheelchair-bound at the start of the year after contracting a neurological illness.
The 23-year-old reality star said he hid his condition from fans – posting photos of himself partying in Dubai and Thailand when, in reality, he was unable to move.
Jack – who was a contestant on Love Island in 2018, the same year as Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham – was suffering from transverse myelitis; a neurological disorder that causes inflammation in the spinal cord.
Speaking to Oxford Union, Jack explained that the disorder left him unable to use his left or left arm and spent weeks in a wheelchair.
He said: “ Instagram, social media is absolutely fake. At the start of this year — no one knows this — I had something called transverse myelitis.
“I lost all movement in my legs and my left arm, paralysed, I was in a wheelchair for two or three weeks.
“On my Instagram I was having a wicked time, I was having a great time.
"I was in Dubai, I was in Thailand for all of the two weeks because that’s the ’gram making it look like that.
"But realistically, I wasn’t — I was going through the hardest time of my life.”
The NHS state that the cause of transverse myelitis is unknown and can affect anyone regardless of age or gender – with roughly 300 people per year affected.
Symptoms can include back pain, weakness of both legs and bowel and bladder problems, while weakness in the arms can also occur – while breathing can be affected in severe cases.
The disorder is treated with steroids, and recovery can vary with some patients recovering completely, while some are left with “some motor weakness and/or with residual problems such as weakness in bowel and bladder function”.
Personal Trainer Jack seems to have made a full recovery.
The reality hunk has been sharing workout routines during lockdown – with video showing him displaying full movements during his workouts.
