why did lucy spraggan leave x factor

Lucy Spraggan left The X Factor in 2012 not due to illness as originally reported, but because she had been raped by a hotel porter following a night out with fellow contestants. After the assault, she was given medication to prevent HIV infection which made her too ill to continue on the show. She left during the live rounds after week three because mentally she couldn't continue, and the production initially told the public she left due to illness to protect her future career. Spraggan later revealed this in her memoir and in interviews, emphasizing that she felt unsupported by the show’s production in the aftermath of the assault and called for better mental health and duty of care for reality TV participants. Simon Cowell described what happened as "horrific and heartbreaking".