Stevie-Leigh Pich: Love Island Connor Durmans ex girlfriend avoids jail

The glamorous ex-girlfriend of a popular Love Island UK contestant has avoided jail after she was busted driving with cocaine in her system.

Stevie-Leigh Pich fronted Waverley Local Court on Wednesday to be sentenced for driving a vehicle with an illicit drug present in her system in January.

The court appearance came nearly two years after the 25-year-old made international headlines for claiming she was still in a relationship with Love Island UK star Connor Durman when he applied for the show in 2020.

Pich, who has more than 20,000 Instagram followers, tested positive for cocaine use during a roadside drug test in Sydney’s east on January 30. She was stopped by police at 8.30pm while driving her VW Golf along Bunnerong Rd in Hillsdale.

The UK resident returned a negative result for alcohol but tested positive for cocaine. Seemingly surprised by the result, Pich told officers she “hadn’t done it for about two weeks”.

After being issued a court attendance notice, Pich failed to appear in court and was convicted in her absence. She was fined $1500 and disqualified from driving for six months.

The Instagram influencer immediately filed to have the conviction overturned but maintained her plea of guilty.

Three days before her first court appearance, she shared a photo to her 20,000 Instagram followers with the caption “as innocent as they come”.

On Wednesday, Waverley Court heard Pich had suffered a “large degree of guilt and shame” for the offence.

Her lawyer Hisham Karnib told the court the 25-year-old was being treated for anxiety and depression by her doctor.

“I won’t go so far as to say she has a mental health condition,” he said.

“It’s something she’s seeking treatment for now.”

Mr Karnib told the court that his client was not pulled over because she was driving dangerously.

“She clearly wasn’t affected by drugs,” he said.

Magistrate Ross Hudson declared Pich had a “horrific traffic record”. He noted the Eastgardens resident had committed 15 speeding offences in the last 18 months, although she had kept her record clean since driving with cocaine in her system in January.

In a letter to the court, Pich wrote “I take this incredibly seriously and I’m incredibly disappointed with myself for not considering that they would still be in my system”.

Magistrate Hudson decided not to convict the glamorous 25-year-old, instead imposing an 18-month conditional release order which would prohibit her from committing further offences.

He strongly urged her to address her relationship with drugs and not to return to court.

“You say you don’t have a problem with drugs. I must say I beg to differ. Once bitten, twice shy,” he said.

“Don’t expect to come back to any court in this state and have any further leniency that what you’ve just had.”

Mr Karnib said his client aspired to work in real estate and hoped to travel overseas in the near future.

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