Love Island's Simba opens up about his mum...

In this short clip from We Need To Talk, Love Island contestant Simba speaks about his mother’s diagnosis of motor neurone disease and what he remembers from childhood as her health declined. He says he was about nine when she was diagnosed and characterises the deterioration as rapid, recalling that by the time a diagnosis came about—after tests and a neurologist appointment—she was already using a wheelchair within roughly six months.

Simba adds that his mother now uses an “eye gaze” communication device, and he reflects on the loss of ordinary conversation, saying he cannot clearly answer how old he was when he last had a conversation with her, estimating it may have been eight or nine. He recounts a specific school memory from Year 5 at a Catholic school, where he was given the part of Jesus in a Stations of the Cross assembly. He remembers feeling conflicted when his mother wanted to attend, saying he prayed she would not come because, at that age, he compared his situation to other children whose parents were physically well enough to clap, hug, and interact normally.

The host responds by recognising the tension between love for a parent and a child’s desire to fit in socially, which Simba agrees with.

• Simba says his mother was diagnosed with motor neurone disease when he was about nine.
• He recalls a rapid decline in her health and says she was in a wheelchair by the time diagnosis came through.
• He says she communicates using an eye-gaze device.
• He is unsure when he last had a conversation with his mother, estimating age eight or nine.
• He describes feeling conflicted at school, wanting to fit in while coping with his mother’s illness.