Overview
- In a YouTube video posted in mid-June, McDermott said she had gone whole nights without sleep, reporting two sleepless nights in a seven-day period and calling her recent sleep “beyond horrific.”
- She attributed the problem to feeling “discombobulated” when away from boyfriend Louis Tomlinson and to losing the sense of psychological safety she gets when sleeping beside him.
- McDermott has been travelling between the US and UK to support Tomlinson’s 2026 tour while also filming projects, and those overlapping schedules have forced repeated separations.
- A platonic cheek kiss from co-star Joey Essex at a wrap event prompted cheating rumours and the circulation of an abusive deepfake, with fans publicly defending McDermott on social media.
- The episode highlights a wider issue for public figures: frequent work travel can harm mental health and make people vulnerable to rapid online speculation and manipulated media that can worsen personal distress.