Inspiring new Love Island star reveals why she keeps scarred skin in freezer after near-fatal fire-breathing accident

The Irish Sun

29-05-2025

A FUTURE Love Island star has revealed why she keeps some of her scarred skin next to the peas in her freezer after narrowly escaping death during a fire-breathing trick.
It's no secret that the sexiest singles from across the UK are recruited for Love Island.
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Sophie Lee will be joining the Love Island villa next month
Credit: Instagram
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The former fire breather suffered horror burns when an air-con unit blew flames back in her face
Credit: Instagram
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She was performing a fire-breathing trick at the time
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The accident caused her life-long scars
Credit: Instagram
But when the ITV2
dating
show returns
next
month, among the bronzed bodies and flirtatious banter one contestant is set to redefine what it means to be beautiful and bold on TV.
Author and
Shakira
Khan and
make-up
artist Lucy Quinn.
Sophie, 29, from Manchester, is no stranger to the spotlight. Before the Instagram followers, magazine features and influencer award nominations, Sophie was a fire-breathing stage performer whose career — and life — nearly ended in a
horror
accident.
In her memoir, In My Skin, which details the painful accident, Sophie describes the moment that the fireball struck in the freak accident.
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'Everyone gasped as I sprayed the paraffin out of my mouth,' she wrote.
'Through the gaps I had allowed to form between my eyelids, I saw a fireball launching towards my face, the heat was projecting back towards me but there was no time to protect myself.
'The whole thing happened in a split second but I can still play it through frame by frame.
"The terrifying sight of the fire hurtling back to me, the scorching feeling on my face, my sharp intake of breath as the fire licked over my skin, starting to smell the unmistakable odour of burning hair.
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'I started to smell my skin burning, I could feel it creeping up my face. I was worried for my eyes, I was scared and my whole body felt cold.
"I was on fire for less than 30 seconds, but that was all it took to scorch my skin, changing my appearance, and my life, for ever.'
Love Island star reveals if she's returning to ITV show for a THIRD time
The first time Sophie caught her reflection after the accident, it was an emotional gut punch.
She continued: 'I looked like a monster, my life was over. I screamed and cried.
The heat was projecting back towards me but there was no time to protect myself
Sophie Lee
'I considered myself young, energetic, fit and full of life. All of that had been taken away from me. It will be remembered forever as the lowest point of my life.'
That doesn't mean, however, that Sophie has any negative feelings towards her scars.
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The fireball engulfed the woman's throat
Credit: Instagram
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The influencer was left unable to breather or eat alone
Credit: Instagram
"She has so much love for them, in fact, that not only is she open about her journey online, she has kept some of her scarred skin forever after it fell off following her surgery.
Sophie explained: 'I didn't have the heart to throw it in the bin, so I found a small Tupperware box to put it in before putting it in the freezer. It's still there. Next to the peas, no big deal.'
It is not just Sophie's beauty, therefore, that attracted
A source said: 'Sophie is a gorgeous girl and a powerhouse of a woman who has overcome everything life has thrown at her.
'Love Island bosses are thrilled to give
'The series has always tried to be about more than just looks and Sophie is a classic example of an Islander with real substance.
'Now, Sophie's in the mix for this year's cast, with show executives deciding soon if she will be in the original line-up or come into the villa later as a bombshell.'
I started to smell my skin burning, I could feel it creeping up my face
Sophie Lee
ITV this week announced Love Island would launch on June 9 but has not yet confirmed its cast.
And it is a huge audience that Sophie will share her story with, as the show's 12 series have now been streamed two billion times on
ITVX
.
When she was 22, Sophie was left fighting for her life when she caught fire during a performance in Chicago, which saw an air conditioning unit blow a fireball back towards her face and setting her ablaze.
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The model now works with Sophie Piper's foundation
Credit: Instagram
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Her openness caught the attention of Love Island host Maya Jama
Credit: Instagram
Sophie recalled in an interview with Fabulous Magazine: '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.'
What followed was a month in an intensive care unit in an American hospital, alone and disorientated, as machines helped her to breathe and nurses monitored her around the clock.
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Sophie spent a month in intensive care
Credit: Instagram
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Sophie's scars turned into a facial deformity
She had suffered severe burns to her head and chest.
Then, as she recovered, a tumour began to develop where the skin had been most damaged.
I couldn't breathe by myself, I couldn't eat, I couldn't really see
Sophie Lee
She added: 'That was a scary, scary time. I couldn't breathe by myself, I couldn't eat, I couldn't really see.
'I was pretty out of it but, on day two, I looked in the mirror and just cried.'
While it felt like the end, Sophie now feels like it was the beginning.
Stunning Sophie, who is a model, now works with Sophie Piper's foundation and regularly posts online about her process of healing from facial scarring, body positivity and self-love.
Sophie has also become a successful beauty influencer, winning the Beauty Awards Influencer of the Year 2023, and was nominated for the Woman of the Hour Award.
She has also modelled for countless campaigns and fashion companies over the past few years, including Missguided's LoveThySelf initiative, as well as featuring in a Netflix documentary.
I wanted people to see I was owning my scars
Sophie Lee
A year after the accident, Sophie underwent cryosurgery, a freezing procedure to remove the tumour that had formed on her face, performed by a leading industry expert.
She went on to receive multiple rounds of steroid injections to aid healing, and is open in sharing her routine with various creams and treatments to help diminish the effect of her scarring on her face.
Now, Sophie keeps busy by using her online platform to tell her story, publishing her book last year as another way to challenge the concept of conventional beauty standards.
'I wanted to stand up for those who didn't fit in with society's beauty ideals,' she wrote. 'I wanted people to see I was owning my scars.
'I wanted to start telling my story and to show that, above all, I was grateful to be alive.
'I was terrified about the reaction, the internet can be a nasty place, but all I got back was kindness. People said I was unique, beautiful, brave. I knew I had to do more.
'I cried over my scars for a long time, I wished them away, but now I see things differently.
I looked in the mirror and just cried
Sophie Lee
'These days if I sense someone looking at me, I brush it off - I know people are curious, but back then, I wanted the ground to swallow me up. I didn't want to be different.
'Now, I wear my scars with
pride
. I feel stronger when I show myself: all of me.
'I'm done with hiding who I am.'
Her openness caught the attention of big names, including Love Island's hostess
While it might be her first time coming face to face with the show's host when she appears on ITV2 next month, there's no doubt Sophie won't be rattled by the show's hunky men, having already dated one.
Scottish show star Ouzy See revealed that he was dating the influencer when they appeared together at the Beauty Awards in 2023, posing for photos on the red carpet.
Ouzy, who dated Kady McDermott on the show, gushed over Sophie to The Sun: 'She's inspirational.'
Now, I wear my scars with pride. I feel stronger when I show myself: all of me
Sophie Lee
There is little surprise, then, that Sophie is ready to head into the Love Island villa in search of romance, as well as more visibility for her message.
She joins a list of other past islanders, including
Sophie continued: 'If people were to take a message from my story, I'd say that beauty is always skin deep, and your life is perfect just as it is.
'You just need to be yourself and accepting of life's rollercoaster, so love your perfectly imperfect life.
'I developed a sense of independence that I hadn't experienced previously [after my accident], I grew an inner strength like none I'd ever known.
'I am on the path to becoming a better woman, and that is something I will always be grateful for.'
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Sophie is now a motivational speaker and has appeared on shows like Lorraine to talk about body positivity
Credit: Instagram
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She says she is now proud of her scars and won't hide them
Credit: Instagram