Professional boxer and former Love Island contestant Tommy Fury has given an insight into his relationship with ex-fiancée, Molly-Mae Hague. Speaking to Men’s Health UK, Fury discussed a range of topics including fatherhood, boxing, identity, alcohol, and mental health, and used the opportunity to clear things about his relationship with Hague.
Fury and Hague met on the fifth series of Love Island, which took place in 2019. They met on day four, when Hague entered the villa as a bombshell. The couple made it the final, finishing in second place.
Outside of the villa, Fury and Hague continued their relationship, quickly growing a dedicated fanbase. In September 2022, they announced they were expecting their first child together, and in January 2023, their daughter Bambi was born.
In the summer of 2023, the couple announced their engagement in a viral Instagram post, but unfortunately, just over a year since their engagement, Hague announced the pairs shock split.
Hague wrote: “I am extremely upset to announce that mine and Tommy’s relationship has come to an end. Never in a million years did I think I’d ever have to write this.
“After five years of being together I never imagined our story would end, especially not this way.” Fury also published his own statement that said: “I am heartbroken to share that Molly & I have decided to end our relationship.
“The past five years have led us to having our beautiful baby girl, Bambi, and I will forever be thankful to Molly for making me a dad. Bambi is our priority.”
He concluded: “Please respect our privacy, and our families privacy, as we navigate our way through this difficult time.” Fans began to speculate the reason for the breakup, with many accusing Fury of cheating, but now the 25-year-old has shared why the couple split.
Fury opened up about the toll his injuries had on him, which left him unable to train for almost a year. “2023 was the best year that I’ve ever had,” he said.
“I won two multimillion pound fights. I got engaged, I had a beautiful baby daughter, the lot. And then, all of a sudden, I was in a hospital bed being told that boxing might not be a thing for me anymore.
“Going from that [high] to that [low] – lying on the hospital bed knowing that I couldn’t fight, couldn’t train, couldn’t lift weights, couldn’t do any of that – [meant] my mental health was in the pan. Really bad.”
The impact on his mental health meant he began to start drinking more as a way to cope: “I prided myself on being an athlete, being in shape and training and doing all this sort of stuff. But it was gone. Then the diet goes out the window, you start gaining more weight, you look in the mirror, you’re not how you used to look. I thought, well what can I do? I can sit at a table and have a drink. I can do that. I’ve got one hand for that.”
Fury went on to say that, despite his older brother Tyson being an advocate for mental health, he feels the same grace hasn’t be extended to him by others. “With my breakup with Molly, there’s been so much sh*t in the papers every single day for the past six months, but if it’s not come from my mouth or Molly’s mouth, it’s complete and utter bulls**t.
“All I’ve been seeing for the past six months is ‘Cheater!’, ‘He slept with me!’, ‘He slept with this girl, he slept with that girl!’ Complete and utter b******s. We broke up because I had a problem with alcohol and I couldn’t be the partner that I wanted to be anymore. It kills me to say it, but I couldn’t. I loved a pint of beer, loved to drink.”
He shared that he wished people had been more considerate, saying: “The most upsetting thing is that not once did anyone say, ‘Oh, he might be going through something a bit more serious. He might be in a bad spot.’ Not one person said that.”
Hague is starting in her own television show this Friday titled ‘Molly-Mae: Behind It All’. The first three episodes will air on Amazon Prime Video on January 17, and the remaining three will release in spring 2025.