Former Love Island Australia contestant Lexy Thornberry has opened up about her shock at being diagnosed with cancer at 24 years old.
Thornberry, who appeared on season 3 of the reality show in 2021, revealed to her 65,000 followers that she had been diagnosed with cancer after initially laughing off the level of seriousness of the tests she’d been given.
While she did not specify exactly what kind of cancer had been discovered, she revealed it was a type that comes under head and neck cancer.
Thornberry told her followers: “I am 24 years old, and I have been diagnosed with cancer.
“No, sadly I’m not joking. In the 2nd picture I posted above …I couldn’t stop laughing that they put me in a robe for my X-ray- I thought it was so dramatic. A couple days later I was diagnosed with head & neck cancer.”
She added: “I have always been a healthy person, and was an athlete my entire life. I’m a Pilates instructor and I teach people how to live healthy lives. There’s nothing I did wrong and nothing that could have prevented it.
“It’s just the luck of the draw. But it is something I will FIGHT.”
She shared a series of photos and video clips from recent weeks, including her joking about in her hospital gown before her scans, and a photo of her looking upset sitting on a bed after her diagnosis was confirmed.
Thornberry also shared a video before chemo and radiotherapy, showing her long, blonde hair and revealing she is not able to use a cold cap to try and preserve her hair during her treatment.
She said in the clip: “This is my hair, it’s the healthiest it’s ever been, so pretty and [I] never appreciated it,” she told fans, adding, “Let’s see how it survives.”
She told her followers in the caption: “I am starting treatment and ask people to respect my privacy during this extremely difficult time. This is all I’m willing to share at the moment and ask everybody to keep their questions to themselves.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, head and neck cancer “often refers to cancers that start in the mouth, throat, sinuses and salivary glands. But other cancers can happen in the head and neck and are sometimes considered part of this category too.”
Thornberry also shared snaps of her fiancé, New Zealand professional boxer David Nyika, holding some sunflowers in a waiting room, as she revealed his planned fight in December would still be going ahead.
She wrote: “The day I was diagnosed I made Dave swear that he would continue to fight and that this will not take over our lives together.
“Dave will be fighting on December 13 and I am so proud of him. He will be fighting for me, and I’ll be fighting right beside him, like I said, it will be such a memorable night.”
The final image in the carousel showed Thornberry taking a mirror selfie with a sticky note attached reading: “I will beat cancer in 2026 & get married to Dave,” while hiding the exact date of their planned wedding.
Thornberry continued to write in the caption, “I am starting treatment and ask people to respect my privacy during this extremely difficult time. This is all I’m willing to share at the moment and ask everybody to keep their questions to themselves. xx.”
The couple had announced their engagement in January with a video showing Nyika getting down on one knee on a beach in Mexico as people cheered in the background.
