Love Island's Sophie Lee burn cause and treatment explained
9 June 2025, 20:30
What happened to Sophie Lee? The Love Island star's burns injury and accident revealed.
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Love Island is back for another series of reality TV greatness as we welcome some brand new contestants to the villa including Sophie Lee, 29, whose story has captivated the nation.
The motivational speaker and author from Manchester is joining the cast of season 12 alongside fellow islanders Dejon Noel-Williams, Shakira Khan, Conor Phillips and many more.
As we get to know Sophie more, fans have realised the 29-year-old is open about her burns story and how one fire breathing accident changed her life forever.
So what happened to Sophie Lee and when was she burned? Here is everything you need to know about her inspirational story.
What happened to Sophie Lee?
Back in 2018 Love Island star Sophie Lee was involved in a fire breathing incident which saw an air-con unit blow flames into her face.
Sophie was booked to work an event in Chicago where she performed a fire breathing routine. However things went drastically wrong when an air-conditioning unit blasted a burst of air towards the star, causing a fireball to engulf her face and chest.
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Speaking to Fabulous Digital about the traumatic event, Sophie said: "The air-con was too strong so when I blew the fire out it blew back to me.
"It set me on fire. I just remember being in so much pain, I blacked out for a little bit. It's crazy.
"It happened in front of everyone and I had to get on with it as professionally and quickly as I could. As soon as I got into the ambulance, I was in bits."
She spent a month in intensive care in the U.S. as doctors treated her severe burns.
Sophie added: "That was a scary, scary time. I couldn’t breathe by yourself, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t really see, it was scary. I was pretty out of it but on day two on looked in the mirror and just cried."
As her skin began to heal, Sophie was allowed to return to the UK, after which keloid scars started growing on her face and chin.
The Love Island favourite stated: "They developed two months after the accident and they will be with me for life. It's just a case of taming and getting it flattening with steroid injections or laser.
"At first the keloids knocked my confidence because I didn’t know what it was. Up until then the scar was just flat. I thought ‘great, my skin’s healed itself, it’s going to be OK’, and then all of a sudden the skin started raising, it kept growing and growing."
The accident has changed Sophie's life, with the Islander confessing: "I just have to accept myself for me.
"I think sometimes people stare because they don’t know how to ask. It’s not intentionally rude, I think they’re just curious and don’t know what to say.
"I never mind if people ask about my scars, then I can educate more people about what happened."
She continued: "I want to speak to young girls, really get the message out there that you should love yourself for everything you are.
"It's taken me a long time to accept my body, especially with the industry I was in, I was always scrutinised for how I look.
"But with this accident it’s crazy. Because the one time I feel like I should be most body conscious, I’m probably the happiest I’ve ever been."
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