Jacques O’Neill has issued his first statement on social media since quitting Love Island on Sunday last week. 

The former Castleford Tigers player was drafted into the villa as a bombshell, who also happened to be Gemma Owen’s ex-boyfriend.

Romance blossomed with Welsh paramedic Paige Thorne, until she was told of his Casa Amor antics by fellow islander, Cheyenne Kerr.

After things fell apart between the pair, he decided to end his time in the Love Island villa, saying a tearful goodbye to Paige and the rest of the contestants.

On Sunday afternoon, he posted on his Instagram account for the first time since his exit.

He began: ‘Where do I start… What a rollercoaster of emotions that was from start to finish! Since leaving the villa I’ve had time to reflect on my time being in there and if I’m going to be completely honest I wasn’t mentally prepared for how it was going to be at all – underestimated it massively!

‘The first 2 weeks of my experience were probably the happiest I’ve been in a very long time. On the other hand, the last 2 weeks were definitely the worst I’ve ever felt in my life. I was finding myself feeling worse and worse every day and if I didn’t leave when I did I was scared I would never have got back to my normal self!

‘I’ve watched back the episodes that I got the most hate for and listen I understand why I did. I’ve got a lot of work to do for myself to become a better person. I know my family come out and said about my ADHD while I was in the villa but that is no excuse for me. Yes, I might find certain things a lot more difficult than others but at the end of the day I need to take responsibility for my own actions and I’ll hold my hands up.

‘I sometimes couldn’t watch how I was speaking and acting in certain situations but I’m actually glad I’ve watched it because now it’s really opened my eyes up and it’s time to work on myself for myself…

‘I want to finish off and just say how overwhelming it is to see how much support I’m getting from you people. If it wasn’t for yous I would be in such a worse head space than I am right now so thank you so much for that. You people that have had my back and messaging I have been reading them every night laid in bed overthinking everything and thinking the worst about everything but you people got me through it. I do really appreciate the love, honestly thank you so much.’

https://www.instagram.com/p/CgHa7YMjbnR/

Fans quickly offered up their support in the comments, with one writing: ‘Well done removing yourself from it mate and being self aware. Gotta put yourself first for sure.’

‘Absolutely my fave in the villa,’ someone else shared.

A fan added: ‘Think you were amazing and hope you are ok xx.”

‘WE ALL SUPPORT YOU JACQUES!!! People shouldn’t defined by their mistakes. You did so many amazing things in the villa and that’s the part we should all be remembering!’ a viewer weighed in.

More to follow…

Love Island 2022 latest

Kiss goodbye to your social life – Love Island is back to dominate your evenings, with the new series promising more drama than ever before.

• Full Love Island 2022 line-up
• Who has left Love Island? All the dumped contestants so far
• Love Island final date ‘confirmed’ – and there’s not long left
• Which Love Island couples are still together?

For all the latest updates, visit Metro.co.uk‘s Love Island page.

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