Love Island star Mike Thalassitis has been found dead near his home in Essex, his management has confirmed.

The 26-year-old was also a contestant on Celebs Go Dating and a former semi-professional footballer for Stevenage.

Thalassitis was born in London and had spells playing football for the Cyprus youth squads at under-19 and 21 level.

Best known for his appearance on ITV2’s Love Island, he entered the show 10 days after it started in 2017, and was knocked out before the show ended.

Fellow Love Island contestants Chris Hughes and Olivia Buckland were the first to pay their tributes on Twitter, saying they are in shock.

Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies, the winners of the 2017, also tweeted their tribute on Twitter, calling it heartbreaking.

His former football club, Stevenage, have also expressed their sadness, saying everyone at the club is “shocked and saddened”.

Host of Love Island, Caroline Flack, shared her condolences, saying he was a “total gent”.

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His death comes two months after his best friend, Danny Cutts, passed away, on Christmas Eve.

It’s also been reported that his grandmother, who he lived with in order to care for her, passed away just two days before his death.

He was also set to open a restaurant soon called The Skillet, in Essex with former professional footballer Scott Neilson.

This is not the first death of a former Love Island contestant, as Sophie Gradon from the second series passed away in June last year.

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