Animal advocate and former Love Islander Faye Winter speaks to The Mirror about Pet Anxiety Month and how her dog helped her own mental health
They say a dog is a man’s best friend, but golden retriever Bonnie is so much more than that for Faye Winter. For her, she “saved her life”. The former Love Island star, 30, got her pooch in 2022, after severe struggles with her mental health following a stint in the famous villa in 2021. During the show, a heated debate with Teddy Soares sparked debate over Faye’s behaviour and 24,763 complaints were made to regulator Ofcom.
What viewers didn’t see, of course, was how deeply Faye, from Exeter, was affected by the backlash when the cameras stopped rolling. She was left with severe anxiety, but thanks to therapy and the unconditional love of Bonnie, as well as a menagerie of other animals (she also has cats Paddy and Pebbles, and horses Kevin, Keith and Arnie), she found a way through.
Now, Faye is spending Pet Anxiety Month giving back. For years, she has been fighting for animal welfare and, this March, she is fronting a campaign with Adaptil and Feliway, for diffusers designed to reduce stress for dogs and cats And as she tells us, pets can save us – and we can save them, in return.
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Hi Faye! You have quite the collection of pets at home. What’s your favourite memory with them?
I have a lot of personal anxiety but when I brought Bonnie home, I felt that heaviness lift, so that’s a big one for me. I’ve always said Bonnie saved my life. I owe everything to that dog because I was in such a low place when I got her.
But when I brought her home, I felt that responsibility for her and that feeling of being needed. I knew I was going to be OK, because I had to be, for this little dog. There is honestly no love like it. That will be my favourite memory until I’m 80.
You’ve been open about your therapy journey. How does that help you understand your pets’ anxieties?
Because I’ve been to therapy, I know there is no one-shoe-fits-all solution. There’s no one way to help people that works for everyone. When I had therapy, I realised a lot about how we think. I always thought I was weird. At school, I loved horses and horse riding and people thought that was weird. But I’ve learned that we’re all far more complex than we think we are. The same goes for animals.
What made you decide to go to therapy?
When I came out of the Love island villa, I was in a very low place. People thought I was different to who I really was. I realised I wasn’t who I thought I was either, and parts of me were missing. I needed help from an outside source. Someone who didn’t know me and wouldn’t judge me by what they’d seen on TV. Someone with no opinion. That’s what’s so magical about animals – they never judge you. They’re innocent and magical in a way that we, as humans, don’t deserve.
Would you ever go back on Love Island?
I will always be very grateful to Love Island. It’s given me an incredible platform. But I’ve come so far and people see me as an advocate, now. I don’t want to be known as a Love Islander again. When you come out of Love Island, the opportunities can be one-dimensional. I worked hard to get other opportunities around animal welfare. And if I went back, I’d be doing it for all the wrong reasons because I don’t think I would find love.
Is there anyone on the scene now? Any potential stepdads for your pets?
My animals haven’t been introduced to the male species yet, except for their grandad! I don’t have time to date, so no, there are no romantic meals for me. My Valentine’s Day was spent walking with the horses and then Bonnie and I had dinner. But it was lovely, because there was no social pressure.
Tell us about the campaign you’re fronting with Adaptil and Feliway…
It’s so important to me because a lot of people don’t understand or know about pet anxiety. Behaviours from animals can be seen as “naughty”, when they’re really signs of stress and anxiety.
We need to understand that, so that we can help them better and not punish pets for being anxious, which they can’t control. It was a real pinch-me moment to be asked to be the face of this campaign because over the past 18 months, people have seen me really work hard with animal welfare activism and it’s an honour to be recognised for that. I will use my platform to talk for people who can’t talk for themselves. I’ve always had a loud voice – but now I’m using it for the right reasons.
Have your own pets ever suffered from anxiety?
When I was growing up, we had five golden retrievers that had separation anxiety from each other. All of them were like family members and my mum, my sister and I had a puppy each and were supposed to take them when we left home, but we couldn’t because they had separation anxiety.
My sister has since got a St Bernard who can also get anxious and we used Adaptil with him, it really calmed him down. I have many pets, as everyone knows! There’s Bonnie, who is an angel. And thankfully, my cats love dogs. I was worried that they wouldn’t because many cats and dogs don’t get on, so I did my best to be a safety net for them, but they love dogs.
Faye is promoting Adaptil and Feliway, products designed to reduce stress and anxiety in pets
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