Ovie Soko has revealed the heartbreaking secret tragedy that made him want to apply for this year's Love Island.

The 28 year old won the hearts of the nation on the hit ITV2 dating show, eventually finishing in third place alongside partner India Reynolds.

But he has now said he only signed up to star on the Caroline Flack fronted programme after his friend died during a game of basketball.

He says he felt the need to distance himself from the sport and broaden his future career opportunities following the heartbreak, after being seriously injured on the court twice himself.

Opening up on the tragedy he kept from viewers, Ovie described Love Island as "an opportunity to be known outside of basketball and to say I’m more than just my sport."

He continued to tell The Guardian: "A close friend of mine passed away playing basketball. He had a heart attack in practice in Macedonia; he was so far from home.

"That year, I did a lot of thinking; there was a long time to collect my thoughts and reassess everything."

Ovie began training for his career as a basketball player at the age of just 13. Three years later, he left his family to study in America.

He won a scholarship to attend a private school in Virginia, before attending university in Alabama and Pennsylvania.

His opportunity to be known for more than his sport seems to have arose, as Ovie is being tipped to become the most successful star from this year's Love Island, with a number of brands reportedly fighting each other to work with him.

A source told The Sun Online soon after he left the villa: "Top agents who look after reality stars are desperate to represent Ovie.

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"He was one of the biggest stars, if not the biggest star, of the series. Ovie has told them in no uncertain terms to present him with their best offers."

Fashion brands BoohooMAN and ASOS have both publicly fought over the basketball player turned reality star, taking to Twitter to argue for Ovie's attention.

BoohooMAN tweeted: “Racing to Gatwick airport for Ovie…," as he prepared to touch down after the Love Island final, with ASOS replying: “@boohooman we’ll race you for him,” with a wink emoji and the hashtag “#asos_ovie”.

Ovie opened up on his secret heartache as his relationship with India, 28, continued to heat up.

Last week, India shared a sweet video of the pair, which saw Ovie planting a kiss on her cheek — with the smooch landing dangerously close to her lips.

The couple exuded happiness in the short clip, which Ovie then lifted from India's Instagram page to share with his own 2.2million followers.

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