Molly-Mae Hague has addressed her “very negative” start to 2022, after she faced backlash for suggesting that everyone can be successful despite wealth inequality.
The former Love Island star hosted a Q&A video on her YouTube channel on Wednesday and revealed that she felt as though she “lost herself” when the year began.
She was widely criticised for remarks she made in a December episode of The Diary of a CEO podcast, in which she said everyone has “the same 24 hours in a day” to achieve success.
In her new video, Hague, 22, said: “The reality is, things don’t always go the way you planned. The start of the year definitely had different plans for me than I hoped, which is fine.
“Definitely now things are starting to get back on track. I feel a lot more like myself.
“I definitely lost myself in the first few weeks and felt really disheartened that I had quite a negative start to the year – a very negative start. I was really, really upset.”
The Pretty Little Thing creative director was on holiday in New York City with her boyfriend, Tommy Fury, at the start of the year when the social media backlash against her comments began.
Later, her representative released a statement on her behalf and said that Hague was “not commenting on anyone else’s life or personal situation – she can only speak of her own experience”.
“She acknowledges that everyone is raised in different ways and from different backgrounds, but her comments here are in reference to timing, hard work and determination in her own life,” it continued.
In the Q&A video, Hague also revealed that her views on “having nice things” have changed since her and Fury’s former flat was burgled last October.
The thieves stole £800,000 worth of the couple’s belongings from their home in Manchester. In a video posted shortly after the crime took place, Hague said the burglars “took everything” and that the experience was “without a doubt the worst thing that’s ever happened to me”.
In the new video, Hague said she is no longer interested in buying expensive things since the robbery.
“Why would I ever want to own something that could compromise mine and Tommy’s safety? It is absolutely not worth it in my eyes,” she said.
She revealed that the couple now spend “thousands and thousands of pounds a month having the right security”, adding: “I feel like people could respond, ‘Who does she think she is, why has she got security?’
“It’s genuinely for no other reason than it makes me feel more safe.”
