Love Island’s Arabella Chi admitted that she’s ‘scared’ and has made plans to ‘hide her family in storage cupboard’ amid Iranian missile strikes during her appearance on Monday’s episode of Good Morning Britain.
The 34-year-old, who shot to fame on the ITV2 dating show in 2019, revealed plans that she was moving UAE back in August last year after welcoming her daughter Gigi into the world in June with boyfriend Billy Henty.
Arabella is one of the many famous faces who have shared their fears on social media, after being stuck in widespread revenge attacks across the Middle East following US airstrikes.
On Monday she appeared on the ITV show to talk to Ed Balls, 59, and Susanna Reid, 55, about how she has been coping with it all.
Ed asked her what advice she has been given to stay safe, to which Arabella said: ‘They are saying stay away from windows, obviously I am near a window right now, we cleared out our storage cupboard yesterday, there are no windows there.
‘We are in a house with a lot of windows, obviously at night, you can’t get away with it as such when there is a lot of windows in the type of house we’re in.
‘In our storage cupboard, there isn’t any windows, so if we did hear a bang, we feel like we needed to escape, that’s where we would go.
‘So far we haven’t had to do that.’
Love Island’s Arabella Chi admitted that she’s ‘scared’ and has made plans to ‘hide her family in storage cupboard’ amid Iranian missile strikes during her appearance on Monday’s episode of Good Morning Britain
The 34-year-old, who shot to fame on the ITV2 dating show in 2019, revealed the plans that she was moving UAE back in August last year after welcoming her daughter into the world in June
The presenter also pointed out that it wasn’t what she was expecting when she decided to go and live there, to which she Arabella said: ‘It’s a very, very, scary time out here.
‘It’s obviously apprehensive because we don’t know what’s coming but I feel like we’re in good hands and the government have been unbelievable so far.
‘It’s been scary, we’re safe which is the main thing.’
Explaining what happened over the weekend, the Love Island star said: ‘So on Saturday afternoon, we were actually on The Palm and that is when we first heard the bang.
‘We actually saw everyone n their phones, that was when the news had announced there were interceptions in that video just now.
‘That was right outside our house on Saturday night. That was probably the most scared I have ever been in my life.
‘You don’t know how many are coming, it was very very scary.’
She added: ‘It is scary, when you see them in the sky outside your house, you don’t know how far they are. The bangs, it is scary.
‘But so far the government has been unbelievable, I feel like as scary as it is, I’m not going to say we’re not scared, when we go to bed at night.
‘I’ve got a daughter at nine months old, it is scary, you want to hold your loved ones close to you, but the government have been amazing and they have intercepted the majority that have come our way so far.’
Susanna asked if she was leave Dubai with her baby and she replied: ‘I’ll be honest with you, the government are being unbelievable. I feel despite being scared, I do feel safe.
‘As it stands right now, we have no bags packed, we’re not planning on leaving.
‘That’s as it stands now. Obviously if things got worse, then yeah I might relook at that situation. But I feel they are intercepting everything that is coming out way at the moment.
‘I don’t feel like that is the need. My brother and sister-in-law are stuck here, they were supposed to fly two days ago. They are in that situation where they need to get back to the UK.
‘Hopefully there will be a solution to that soon, but they are here with us at the moment.’
It comes after Arabella updated fans on Instagram and explained that her brother who was visiting her is now stuck in Dubai until the situation is resolved.
Reality personality Arabella has explained that her brother who was visiting her is now stuck in Dubai until the situation is resolved
Sharing her own take, she said: ‘I just want to say thank you so much to everyone who has messaged us. It honestly means more than you know’
Sharing her own take, she said: ‘I just want to say thank you so much to everyone who has messaged us. It honestly means more than you know.
‘It’s such a scary time out here at the moment. The past 24 hours have been something I’ve never experienced in my life. We are safe — that’s the main thing. I don’t know if you can hear it, but the bangs are still going off as I’m recording this. We’re staying at home, all together. My brother and sister-in-law are here too. They were actually supposed to fly back to the UK today, but I’m sure those flights will be cancelled.
‘It really puts so much into perspective. It’s frightening — and I know I keep saying that — but it is. When it’s the unknown, and you can hear everything from your house, it’s impossible not to feel scared. Last night we could actually see them not far from where we live, and it was petrifying.
‘Gigi is at an age where she doesn’t understand what’s going on, which is such a blessing. I know so many friends whose children do understand, and my heart goes out to them.
‘To anyone else in Dubai who follows me, all we can really do is support each other and be there for one another during this time. We’re taking every precaution we can and just staying inside together.
‘But truly — thank you to everyone who has reached out. The messages, the love, the support… it doesn’t go unnoticed. It means everything.’
Luisa Zissman and Petra Ecclestone are amongst other celebrities in Dubai at the moment.
Branding it the ‘scariest, worst nights of our lives’, many spoke of how scared they were hearing the constant bangs overhead, while sheltering in their homes as the strikes rage on across the UAE.
While reassuring their followers that they are currently ‘safe’ as the air defence systems intercept the vast majority of incoming missiles and drones, they implored how scary it was to listen to the explosions all night long.
Luisa Zissman, who announced in December last year she was relocating from the UK to Dubai with her family and horses to escape the British weather and rising crime, led the celebs updating fans about the current circumstances.
Alongside a selfie of her taken outside, Luisa wrote: ‘Lots of messages re Dubai. Lots of bangs we are hearing. Stay safe fellow UAE gang.’
Taking her to Instagram story to talk about the developing situation, F1 heiress Petra Ecclestone, said: ‘It was one of the most scary, worst nights actually of my life.
‘I feel like us and the family have been through a lot recently for personal reasons. We came to Dubai to feel safe, and we finally felt like we were settling in, and now this has happened. So it’s really kind of been a shocking turn of events.
‘But thank God we are safe. It was just really, yeah, not a great night. I hope everyone is staying safe and we shall all get through this. I just want to say thank you so much.’
Petra went on to say she doesn’t know how to explain what is happening to her young children, Lavinia, James, Andrew and Minnie, who are living with her in Dubai.
She said: ‘I don’t have the answers to certain things, and that was terrible — just being asked what’s going to happen next, whether it’s going to stop, and hearing the bangs in the night.
‘I think just trying to protect them and tell them that they’re going to be okay. But then as a mum, obviously you don’t have all the answers. So yeah, that was tough.
‘I can’t even imagine other people in history who have gone through wars and had to live through it day to day, like my dad, and this just being normal life. And then kids having to go to school with that sort of anxiety and worry. It was quite an eye-opening experience last night.’
