“I wasn’t raised with money” — Love Island’s Huda opens up about growing up in an immigrant household and an abusive father

Love Island USA season 7 finalist Huda Mustafa recently appeared on Alex Cooper's podcast Call Her Daddy, just days after leaving the villa. The 24-year-old, who finished third with her partner Chris Seeley, sat down with Alex Cooper to reflect on her experience on the show. In the July 17 episode of the podcast, Huda also opened up about her childhood.

In a nearly two-hour podcast, Cooper asked Huda to share her journey growing up. Huda mentioned that her parents immigrated to the USA and settled down to get their citizenship. The single mom shared that she grew up with four siblings and was not "fortunate" as a kid.

"My dad had his own business, and my mother she was a teacher. And you know, we weren't, like, fortunate as kids. My mother and father had five kids... So I wasn't raised with money. I wasn't raised with that. We played with sticks outside. We didn't have phones till we were like 16, 17. Like, you know, I'm not a what is it? privileged child. I was never that," Huda said.

The Love Island alum also spoke about the alleged abusive behavior of her father, opening up about the physical abuse her mother faced.

"My dad was extremely abusive. He was very abusive towards my mother, towards me, and my siblings... I remember hearing my dad, like, beating the s*it out of my mom in the room, and I remember, like, finally, I think someone got the door open and I just remember seeing my mom's face, like her glasses were broken and then I just see him snatch her head back and slam the door," she said.

Despite the difficult environment, Huda Mustafa added that she was the youngest among her siblings, and they were "extremely close amid chaos." The fitness influencer disclosed that her parents were separated when she was in fourth grade, and she moved in with her mother in a small apartment.

She shared that her mother didn't take any bedroom space to spare for her siblings. Huda added that she hasn't talked to her father in 8 years, revealing that she cut off contact at the age of 16 for what she described as a deeply "valid reason."

I haven't talked to my dad in 8 years. Um, yeah, I stopped talking to him when I was 16. Um, there's a really valid reason as to why I'm not speaking to him.

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What more did Huda Mustafa talk about in the

Call Her Daddy podcast?

Mustafa continued to talk about her school experience. She opened up about being bullied during her school days and said that at one point in middle school, she wanted to "take her own life."

"I got bullied in school. Um, when I was in middle school, there was a point where like I wanted to take my own life. I did not want to live anymore," she stated.

Alex Cooper also brought up the viral "I am a mommy" moment, which became a viral sensation and widespread meme. Mustafa recalled her conversation with fellow Islander Nic Vansteenberghe and shared that she had a fun relationship with Nic.

"This is the most viral thing I said is that 'I'm a mommy.'.. Do you know what's funny? Me and Nic like barely remember that conversation. I just remember going into it. I remember I was like me and Nic were, we're very, like, goofy people, and we don't take s*it seriously in conversations when we talk," The Love Island's contestant said.

Alex Cooper then asked Mustafa to share about the father of her four-year-old daughter. Love Islander revealed that after leaving her mom's home, she met the father of her daughter on Tinder and got very "lovey-dovey" in no time.

"We got very lovey very fast. Very lovey. Dovy. Like, I really liked him a lot. And for me," she revealed.

Mustafa further stated that her daughter's father cheated on her many times and said that they continued "breaking up and getting back together."

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Love Island USA season 7 concluded on July 13, making Huda and Chris the first couple in the show's history to break up during the finale and leave Fiji as singles.

Edited by Sriparna Barui