Love Island's Jacques O'Neill reveals why he quit the show

(Image credit: ITV Picture Desk)

published 29 July 2022

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Love Island 2022 has seen its fair share of drama, with Adam Collard's return to Jacques's shock departure from the show. Now Jacques has gotten candid about what went on and why he decided to leave the villa, with fans spotting a tell-tale sign that he's no longer waiting for Paige...

For those who need a recap, Jacques' emotional exit came after Adam entered the villa as a bombshell and set his sights on Paige—who Jacques had been coupled up with. Following a verbal bust-up between him and Paige, Jacques revealed that he was leaving the villa, saying he needed to go to 'get back to himself'—making him the second islander to quit this season (here's why Liam left Love Island).

Now the former islander has opened up about his decision to leave after struggling with his mental health and is sparking romance rumors with this fellow Love Island 2022 alum...

Why did Jacques leave Love Island UK?

His departure came after a rocky few days, following all the Casa Amor drama (here's how to watch Love Island UK from anywhere if you need to catch up.) Jacques made the decision to get to know Molly and Cheyenne, despite him and Paige being on a good, well, page.

While he ultimately decided to stick with Paige, she was hurt by his actions and when surprise bombshell, Adam entered the villa things went from bad to worse. Adam decided to pursue Paige which led to a number of rows between Jacques and Page.

While Jacques didn't confront Adam directly, we now know the situation prompted Jacques to want to exit, fearing things could get physical between them. He also felt he was not coping inside the villa and needed to get out, to 'get back' to his best.

Following on from his departure, Jacques gave his first interview back in the UK, detailing exactly what went on and why he decided to quit the show.

Speaking to the Sun, Jacques said that going on Love Island in the first place was the 'worst decision' of his life.

He said: "I was feeling so mentally drained, I just wanted to go home and get myself right. It broke me and I was already broken. I was crying my eyes out. I couldn’t cope...I was literally feeling awful. It was the worst I’d ever felt in my life."

Discussing the Adam drama, he said: "I thought if I don’t get myself out things could go horribly wrong and I could get physical. At home, you can remove yourself from situations, but in there you had to deal with every situation, and in that moment I took my microphone off, and walked straight through the front doors because I just wanted to get out of that place."

What episode did Jacques leave Love Island?

Following his explosive row with Paige during episode 36 (the week following Casa Amor) Jacques announced that he was leaving in episode 37.

In the episode, we saw him bid farewell to his fellow islanders, having a particularly emotional goodbye with his closest villa friend, Luca.

A statement from a Love Island spokesperson swiftly followed, which read: "Jacques has made the decision to leave the Villa. He will explain his reasons to the Islanders during tonight’s episode. We fully support his decision and look forward to seeing what’s next for Jacques."

Jacques leaving the villa on Love Island 2022

Jacques' Aftersun interview

Following his departure, Jacques made an appearance on Love Island's Aftersun, prompting fans to express concerns after Jacques' mental health on Love Island was discussed.

During his very raw account, fans commented on how visibly upset he seemed as he told Laura Whitmore: "It got way too much for me in there. I knew that and I removed myself from the situation."

He added, "The first thing I did was watch the episodes. I had no more tears left. I put it on, and was like ‘Oh f***’. I’ve got work to do on myself and I know that."

Despite a clip being shown of Adam and Paige kissing ahead of his interview, Jacques did share that he was still waiting for her to leave the villa. Now though, fans think they've spotted a clue that he's given up on her...

Jacques reaction to Paige and Adam

While Jacques hasn't verbally addressed Paige's relationship with Adam, his recent actions have spoken volumes. In a classic breakup move, fans spotted that Jacques had deleted every picture of Paige on his Instagram and has seemingly been getting closer to fellow ex-islander, Antigoni.

A post shared by Antigoni 🎶🧜🏼‍♀️ (@antigoni)
A photo posted by on

The pair posted a seriously cute Insta post on a brunch date with their mothers, with Jacques even dubbing Antigoni his 'bestie.' They've also since then been spotted on nights out together.

We wonder what Paige will think of this new pairing when she leaves the villa...

Naomi is a Lifestyle News Writer with the Women's Lifestyle team, where she covers everything from entertainment to fashion and beauty, as well as TikTok trends for Woman&Home, after previously writing for My Imperfect Life and GoodTo. Interestingly though, Naomi actually has a background in design, having studied illustration at Plymouth University but lept into the media world in 2020, after always having a passion for writing and earned her Gold Standard diploma in Journalism with the NCTJ.

Before working for Future Publishing’s Lifestyle News team, she worked in the Ad production team. Here she wrote and designed adverts on all sorts of things, which then went into print magazines across all genres. Now, when she isn’t writing articles on celebs, fashion trends, or the newest shows on Netflix, you can find her drinking copious cups of coffee, drawing and probably online shopping.

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