Caroline Flack's former boyfriend Lewis Burton breaks silence with statement: "I'd hoped it wouldn't come to this"
Lewis chose not to appear in the Disney+ documentary, Caroline Flack: Search For The TruthCaroline Flack‘s former boyfriend Lewis Burton has broken his silence over Disney+’s documentary, Caroline Flack: Search For The Truth, with a statement.
Lewis, 33, did not appear in the harrowing two-part series, which dropped on Monday, with producers saying he declined.
But Lewis has now spoken out and says he has received “online abuse” from trolls. The former professional tennis player says “it has gone too far”, as his family has apparently been sent hateful messages, too.
Caroline Flack documentary: Lewis Burton statement
Lewis, who had been involved in an altercation with Caroline two months before she died, shared his statement on Instagram.
The message, which was typed in white writing with a black background, read: “Out of respect, I’ve chosen to remain silent. However, the false accusations and online abuse directed towards me and my family has gone too far.
“I had hoped it would never come to this, but I now have no choice but to clarify the situation and share the truth.”
Lewis has not added anything further to his statement.
Caroline Flack: Search For The Truth looks at the TV star’s final months and days before she tragically died. It is led by Caroline’s mother Christine, but also features her best friend, agent and legal professionals.
Lewis is noticeably absent, although Disney+ insist he was asked to appear. At a screening for the show, Sophie Clayton-Payne, series producer, said: “We contacted as many people as possible.
“We contacted Lewis right from the beginning and we said, ‘We’d love to talk to you off-record just for research purposes to understand your perspective on everything’. We also invited him to take part in the series, on camera. He declined to take part.”
When did Lewis start dating Caroline?
Lewis had been in a relationship with Caroline Flack for less than a year when she died. They had met in the summer of 2019 and it was a whirlwind romance.
But in the documentary, the Love Island host’s best friend Mollie Grosberg says: “They had a really nice time together… until they didn’t.”
In December 2019, Caroline and Lewis had been out drinking. Disney+ viewers hear how he had fallen asleep when Caroline saw a text on his phone. Her mum Christine says: “She said Lewis fell asleep but then his phone went. She picked the phone up and discovered texts on it from another woman.”
Mollie says Caroline had tried to wake Lewis, saying: “She hit him with her phone, he stood up, she was shouting, he was screaming and his head was bleeding.”
Much to her horror, Lewis told Caroline he would be calling the police. She self-harmed her wrists with glass and was taken to hospital. After receiving treatment for 12 hours, Caroline was then taken to the police station.
When did Caroline Flack die?
Caroline was later charged with assaulting Lewis. It was said in court she had hit him with a lamp, although her solicitor, Paul Morris, tells Disney+ viewers: “There was no compelling or direct evidence that anyone had been hit with a lamp.
“During Caroline’s interview under caution, and Caroline’s position always was, that she had the phone in her hand. She went to rouse and wake him and the phone connected to him. It couldn’t have been more clear to anyone who read that.”
Lewis did not want Caroline to be prosecuted. Mollie says: “On the first day, immediately after the argument had happened, Lewis said, ‘This was a really bad argument gone wrong’. I know he really, really regretted calling the police and he kept asking for the case to be dropped.”
But the Crown Prosecution Service continued with the charges. Caroline died on February 15, 2020 – the day after discovering she would be prosecuted. An inquest later ruled her death was the result of suicide.
Lewis Burton now: New girlfriend
Lewis is now in a relationship with Lottie Tomlinson. Lottie is the sister of One Direction star Louis. They have two children together, with the youngest being born earlier this year.
The couple are not married but they did get engaged in November 2023. Lottie – who has a large Instagram following – has not spoken publicly about Caroline Flack: Search For The Truth. Yesterday, she shared a video of herself and her baby daughter on a swing together in the park.
Read more: Caroline Flack: Search For The Truth documentary; Did Caroline date Harry Styles?
