‘I screamed, no one could hear’: Love Island’s Trent Woolman on his horror bonfire accident as he undergoes more surgery

Exclusive: Trent Woolman’s life changed in a split second when he fell into a bonfire on his sister’s property earlier this month, forcing him to crawl 400 metres on his hands and knees to save his own life.

Left with severe facial and body burns, the Love Island Australia star, 28, has since endured four surgeries in total, only this week undergoing an emergency procedure to remove his appendix after complications set in.

That setback followed an already terrifying diagnosis made after he was airlifted to hospital, where doctors discovered a brain cyst which Woolman says may still need to be removed in the coming weeks.

Yet despite the relentless medical blows, Woolman remained remarkably positive as he spoke to nine.com.au from his hospital bed this week.

“I just want to be fixed,” he said. “The first week and a half I couldn’t talk or move, but I’m taking each day as it comes. My family say they’re happy I’m finally getting my personality back.”

The incident occurred when Woolman, who was a contestant on Season 5 of Love Island in 2023, was helping his sister at her property in Inverleigh, Victoria.

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Love Island star Trent Woolman shares hospital update after horror bonfire accident

“It was just her, me and her two children,” he explained. “We’d been cleaning up outside together with the kids, and there was a heap of tree trimmings and branches to clean up. I put them in a neat pile in the back paddock to burn, and she went inside to cook dinner [with the kids] while I stayed outside.

“I started the fire, and I was putting little bits around the fire onto it. I can’t remember the exact way it happened, but I was just dragging them one by one – they weren’t that big.

“I just kind of got tangled on it, and as I was putting them on the fire… I just ended up on top of it. I got stuck. I managed to get off but I blacked out from the pain.

“I woke up, I was screaming and no one could hear me.”

With the house being 400 metres away, Woolman had no other option.

“I managed to crawl to her house on my hands and knees and got up at the last minute,” he continued.

“My sister took a bit to realise what had happened, as you can’t really imagine it would have been that. She called an ambulance straight away.

“She had a 15-month-old under her arm, and a three-year-old running around... she was just so amazing.”

While paramedics were quick to arrive, it was his sister rushing him into a cold shower that he says ultimately “saved his face,” stopping the severe burns from penetrating deep into his skin tissue.

Woolman, whose mouth was waxed over because of the burns, was eventually airlifted from Inverleigh to The Alfred hospital in Melbourne.

Describing the moment he realised the extent of his injuries, he said: “It was probably once the first few days it hit me, and I’ve just cried and cried every day since.

“The main thing I’ve struggled with the most is the changes to my appearance and my arms. My face is slowly coming a lot better and improving every day, and slowly looking more and more like me. But I can’t look at my arms; it makes me really emotional.”

After having his appendix surgery, Woolman is now recovering and doctors will assess what needs to be done about the cyst in future weeks.

“It’s not as scary as it sounds; it’s quite an easy procedure from what I understand, they go through your nose and stuff,” he explained.

“But I’m on a strong steroid to try and shrink that. Otherwise that will come out in a few weeks.

“I just want it gone and to be as healthy as I can. Everything’s scary. It’ll be a mental thing for a long time and I don’t think I’ll ever accept the way [my arm] looks. But... one day at a time.”

The support from his family and friends is what has driven him to be happy in his darkest times. His father has flown down from Queensland to be with him, and his mother “hasn’t left his side” since the accident happened.

Woolman is expecting to remain in hospital for the near future, before receiving hospital at-home care where professionals can assess his condition.

“Honestly, I feel like it sounds cliché but you get better each day,” he said. “And I’m just so grateful for everyone whose been with me so far.”