Burton began dating television presenter Caroline Flack in August 2019. On 13 December 2019, Flack was charged with assaulting her boyfriend, the tennis player Lewis Burton, after an incident reported by Burton at her Islington flat the previous morning. Police found Flack covered with blood when they arrived, and they reported that she admitted that she had struck Burton (saying "I did it, I whacked him round the head like that"), before warning them she would kill herself. An inquest later found that Flack had hit and attacked Burton while he slept as she thought he was cheating, and that Burton had suffered a head wound. On 17 December, Flack stood down from hosting Love Island in order to "not detract attention from the upcoming series". It was later reported that Flack was glad for the break from her hosting role as she was experiencing "personal issues" and had been suffering from an emotional breakdown for "a very long time". Despite this, the show's producers said that the "door was open" for a possible future return as host. Flack pleaded not guilty to the charges at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court on 23 December 2019. Her solicitor told the court that Burton did not support the prosecution and that "he is not the victim, as he would say, he was a witness". She was released on bail with the condition that she not contact Burton and was due to stand trial on 4 March 2020. Burton posted an affectionate Valentine's Day message on his Instagram profile the day before she died. Flack's management criticised the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for continuing with what her management termed a "show trial", even after Burton decided not to support the prosecution. The CPS chief prosecutor responded that he was unaware of Flack's background and did not want to "do what you think is popular