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Love Island's Simba 'didn't understand' mum's illness but saw worrying signs

Simba Kudyiwa has opened up about his mother's struggle with motor neurone disease weeks after finishing his Love Island journey

[Simba Kudyiwa ]

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Simba Kudyiwa appeared in the latest season of Love Island (Image: ITV)

Love Island star Simba Kudyiwa has admitted he didn't quite grasp his mother's health battle as a child, but he definitely saw changes in her behaviour.

The North Londoner appeared on the dating show this summer, and came in third place alongside NHS nurse Angelista Gunda. He recently revealed that his mum has Motor Neurone Disease (MND), and he has been caring for her since he was 10 years old.

According to the NHS, MND causes muscle weakness that worsens over time and can lead to problems swallowing, breathing and speaking. There is currently no cure for the illness but treatment can help manage symptoms.

Simba, 25, has shed light into the early days of his mum's battle with MND, confessing he initially didn't understand the "gravity of the situation".

[Simba Kudyiwa ]

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Simba didn't fully understand his mum's illness but he saw changes in her day-to-day life (Image: ITV )

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, he revealed that his parents tried to shield their children from the truth.

When asked if he knew what MND was when he learned about her diagnosis, he said: "Looking back no, I didn't, in terms of actually understanding the gravity of the situation.

"I feel like my parents did their best in terms of wanting to protect me and my younger brother aswell, he was probably only about six years old at the time."

While they didn't fully grasp what was happening to their mum, Simba and his younger sibling "definitely picked up on a few things".

[Simba Kudyiwa ]

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Simba's mum has Motor Neurone Disease (Image: ITV)

He went on to explain a key moment where his parent started to show signs she was losing strength in her hands.

Simba added: "There's definitely a memory, I think I was probably about 11 years old. She started to lose strength in her hands, I think she would say that probably, in terms of her upper limbs, that's where the disease started to affect her quite significantly to begin with.

"She parked up and she was struggling to put the handbrake up and I remember she called me to the front [seat] and she was like 'I need you to lift up the handbrake.' So I think little things like that started to make me question a little bit, like 'Okay, what's going on with mum right now?'"

The ITV star explained that she also also stopped working as much and stopped picking her kids up from school. He agreed that his family's life "changed" as a result of the worsening MND symptoms.

[Simba and Angelista]

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Simba and Angelista came in third place (Image: ITV/Love Island)

Despite taking on the "massive responsibility" of caring for his mum and looking our for his younger brother, Simba believes the experience made him who he is today.

He said: "Looking back, I'm definitely proud of myself. I feel like it's made me the man that I am now. It's given me so many skills, so many credentials."

His mother cannot communicate verbally anymore, so she uses eye gaze technology to speak to her loved ones.

She can form sentences with her eyes using a keyboard connected to a mounted tablet, which also allows her to stay in touch through platforms like WhatsApp.

Love Island Season 13 is streaming on ITVX

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