Love Island’s Anna Vakili saved her best friend from homelessness after he was almost disowned for being gay
LOVE Island's Anna Vakili saved her best mate from homelessness after his relationship with his parents broke down when he came out as gay.
Naman Parvaiz has revealed how Anna and her family took him in when his strict Muslim parents almost disowned him because of his sexuality.
He lived with the Vakili family – including Anna and her lookalike sister Mandi – for several months while he got back on his feet.
“She really had my back,” Naman told the .
“She asked me to come and live with her family for a while.
“They told me I needed to sort my life out but that I could stay as long as I needed.”
Anna and Mandi even helped Naman look for a job to help him embrace his independence.
Naman first met the glamorous sisters at a gay bar in 2010 and they have been close friends ever since.
As their bond grew stronger, he told Anna how his parents had sent him to Pakistan at 16 to marry a cousin on his father’s side.
He admitted that he spiralled into depression and anxiety as he struggled to come to terms with his sexuality.
The arranged marriage was eventually called off after his parents split up.
But his problems at home continued and by the age of 23, he could no longer bear living with his mum.
That’s when Anna and her Middle Eastern immigrant family took him in.
“I didn’t even know what friendship was until I met Anna,” he said.
“The Vakili family totally changed my opinion of how people could be.”
Anna has certainly proved herself to be a loyal friend in the villa – supporting her friends Yewande Biala and Amber Gill when they were brutally dumped.
But the pharmacist has come under fire from some viewers who called her "poisonous" after she raged at Michael Griffiths for rejecting her pal Amber.
The 28-year-old has star was branded a "hypocrite" by fans who said she did the same thing by swapping Jordan Hames for Ovie Soko.
Her sister Mandi has lashed out at her critics, telling them: "Shut your f***ing stupid mouths."
Anna and her sister found fame on social media after they both went partying with two members of the Iranian football team.
They were originally set to be appear on Love Island together, with one insider dubbing them "the British Kardashian sisters".
However, in the end show bosses opted not to include Mandi, who works as a make-up artist.
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Anna told The Sun the show had made a “huge mistake” by not casting Mandi and didn’t feel like celebrating after being told she had made the final line-up without her.
“When they told me, basically you’re going on but she’s not it was such a weird feeling. I couldn’t be excited because the whole way through we thought we were going to be together.
"My sister and I are like twins so I didn’t exactly sound happy because I was so upset for her."
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