Danny Cipriani has shared a message sent to him by Caroline Flack before her death about her court case.

The rugby player said he is “grieving hard” after the Love Island host took her own life at the age of 40.

The pair dated last year and 32-year-old Cipriani posted a screenshot on Instagram of a recent WhatsApp exchange between the pair.

View this post on Instagram

Black dot. Before i start. This is my grieving process. Which is talking. A lot. Which my friends and family and teammates have had to take this last 10 days because I’m grieving. And I’m grieving hard. Hence I’m talking a lot. I’m not sure I’d be strong enough if I didn’t understand or see myself in her. Pain is pain. It doesn’t matter if you’ve lost a cat. Or been called a name. No ones pain is worse or less. Because it is individual to them and how they take it. So… Black dot. If you judge the first pic you see a black dot. But i didn’t really know what she meant when she called me black dot. Until her best friend told me on Sunday last week. ‘She used to call you black dot, now i know, your WhatsApp pic is a black dot’ – so i changed my WhatsApp pic to a black dot about 5 months ago because i felt there were people who had my number who i couldn’t trust. Ultimately i would have let them into my life. So ultimately i would have to ask myself why. Anyway. This story is about the beauty she found in a situation i found uncomfortable. ‘I’m just talking to black dot’ she would say. She was kind beyond belief. And she would think i am crazy doing all this. But i know she would be proud. I’m taking lent off social media. Thank you all for the kind messages. And all the lovely response. Thank you for the bad response. It’s my story. And i did it for me. Then her – she wasn’t allowed to talk to her BF throughout the case because of the law. He wanted the charges dropped. They wanted to pursue. I am not pointing fingers. The CPS and police do a good job. Just saying we can’t always do a good job. This is my grieving process. Our greatest strength is our greatest weakness ❤️ ps – I was shown how to disable comments. So I’m going to do so on this post. Because it’s for me and my grieving process. But in a month i will be back on social because that’s 2020 and this is me navigating my way through life

A post shared by Daniel Cipriani (@dannycipriani87) on

After Flack said she was “OK”, Cipriani asked: “Why you just OK? Want you smiling”.

The Love Island host replied: “Well, got court case coming up.”

Flack stepped down from presenting the winter series of Love Island after an alleged assault on her boyfriend, Lewis Burton.

She pleaded not guilty and was released on bail but was ordered to stop having any contact with Mr Burton ahead of a trial, which was due to begin in March.

An exchange shared by Danny Cipriani (Danny Cipriani/Instagram/PA)

“She wasn’t allowed to talk to her boyfriend throughout the case because of the law. He wanted the charges dropped. They wanted to pursue. I am not pointing fingers,” Cipriani said.

“The CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) and police do a good job. Just saying we can’t always do a good job. This is my grieving process.”

Cipriani said Flack’s nickname for him was Black Dot and “she was kind beyond belief”.

The rugby player previously told his fans he was going to play a voice note Flack “left about 15 days ago because people need to hear it”.

Flack’s management company have criticised the CPS for pursuing a “show trial” with the TV host’s assault charge.

The CPS later outlined how it reaches decisions over whether or not to charge someone with a criminal offence.