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Best friend of Love Island's Joe Garratt speaks out following controversy

He has published several tweets

Author: William MarriottPublished 19th Jun 2019
Last updated 19th Jun 2019

Love Island's Joe Garratt's close friend has had his say over the controversy surrounding the 2019 contestant. It comes after Joe was branded "possessive" towards Lucie Donlan by domestic abuse charity Womens Aid.

Taking to Twitter, Max Wilkins quote tweeted Womens Aid statement, writing, 'As a close friend of Joe’s, posts like these are the hardest to read.

'The thought of this 22 year old kind and genuine lad coming out of the villa to see how an edited tv show has portrayed him to be ‘manipulative’ and ‘possessive’ and for him to have to look at posts like these'. sic

Max added, 'to make judgements on a few minutes of clipped tv in which they’re most probably influenced to say the things that they do, especially by other cast members (some girls have been overlooked in this situation). So many people on social media made an attempt to mention after show..'. sic

In another tweet Max reinforced, 'He Joe has always been respectful to women and every one that knows joe would agree he is the most supportive, sensitive and thoughtful person you could meet'. sic

Max's comments were followed by fans rushing to Joe's defence with one replying, 'His a young lad, he doesn't deserve this backlash....' sic whilst one Twitter user wrote, 'Someone tweeted now that Joe is out he’ll need a lot of support because he’s been torn online and that actually makes me so sad.

'Feel like we forget that the islanders are real people with real feelings who will see this when they come out so let’s all try to be nicer'.

Tonight's (Wednesday) episode will reveal the dramatic fall out of Joe's exit, with the show teasing Lucie is set to QUIT the villa and head back home to be reunited with Joe.

Swipe through to see how the Love Island 2019 cast have changed through the years...

NOW: Tommy Fury

Age: 20
From: Manchester
Occupation: boxer
What's your claim to fame? It's probably my brother, Tyson, but I'm my own man and I've said it throughout my whole boxing career. I don't want to be labelled as his little brother.

THEN: Tommy Fury

A fresh-faced Tommy was destined to be a boxer from a young age, posting this adorable snap of himself to his Instagram page in 2015.

NOW: Lucie Donlan

Age: 21
From: Newquay
Occupation: surfer
Claim to fame: The last guy I was with was Charlie Frederick from last year's Love Island. We got together a few weeks after he came out of the villa.

THEN: Lucie Donlan

Surfer girl Lucie has always been a fan of the water sport, posting this stunning snap of herself to her Instagram page back in 2014.
In 2018, Lucie posted a number of transformation pics to her social media accounts, showing off her two stone weight-loss.

NOW: Amy Hart

Age: 26
From: Worthing, Sussex
Occupation: Air hostess / cabin crew manager
Celebrity crush: Liam Hemsworth, he's fit. Ashley Banjo from Diversity is really fit.

THEN: Amy Hart

Amy looks totally different in this throwback snap she posted to her Instagram page in 2017, to celebrate working as an air-hostess for seven years!

NOW: Yewande Biala

Age: 22
From: Dublin, Ireland
Occupation: Scientist
Celebrity crush: Anthony Joshua

THEN: Yewande Biala

Yewande posted this snap on her Instagram page back in 2016, after she graduated from university with a First class Honours in Biotechnology.

NOW: Anton Danyluk

Age: 24
From: Airdrie, Scotland
Occupation: gym owner
Will you be loyal or do you have a wandering eye? That's a medical condition that I have… a wandering eye! I've never really been loyal in any of my relationships.

THEN: Anton Danyluk

Before entering the Love Island villa, Scottish hunk Anton posted this photo on Instagram, showing off his incredible body transformation over a 16-week period.

NOW: Anna Vakili

Age: 28
From: London
Occupation: Pharmacist
What's your definition of girl code? This is really difficult because the island isn't a normal place, the real world is different. I don't know how close I can get to a girl in a few weeks. If a guy likes me, I'm there for love at the end of the day, not girls.

THEN: Anna Vakili

London girl Anna doesn't look much different from this Instagram pic she uploaded two years ago.

NOW: Joe Garratt

Age: 22
From: South East London
Occupation: Catering company owner
What song sums up your love life? 'How Am I Supposed to Live Without You' by Michael Bolton.

THEN: Joe Garratt

Before he let the curls loose, Joe looked super cute in this snap uploaded with his friend back in 2015.

NOW: Michael Griffiths

Age: 27
From: Liverpool
Occupation: Firefighter
How would you rate your looks on a scale of one to ten? I'd rate myself ten out of ten, I would have said nine but I'm a hero so it bumps it up.

THEN: Michael Griffiths

We can't deal with the cuteness of Michael in this snap from 2014.

Callum Macleod

Age: 28
From: South Wales
Occupation: Aircraft engineer
What song sums up your love life? 'I Just Haven't Met You Yet' by Michael Bublé.

THEN: Callum Macleod

He only lasted in the villa for five days, but Callum's hair is giving us serious vibes on this school throwback.

NOW: Curtis Pritchard

Age: 23
From: Shropshire
Occupation: Ballroom and Latin dancer
What's your claim to fame? I would say my claim to fame is that I'm on Dancing with the Stars Ireland and AJ Pritchard from Strictly Come Dancing is my brother.

THEN: Curtis Pritchard

Aww! Ballroom dancer Curtis looking VERY smart before a show back in 2014. Look at that bow-tie!

NOW: Molly-Mae Hague

Age: 20
From: Hertfordshire
Occupation: Social media influencer

THEN: Molly-Mae Hague

Stunner Molly-Mae posted this photo back in 2017, so we suspect she's deleted earlier ones from her account before entering the villa.

NOW: Maura Higgins

Age: 28
From: Ireland
Occupation: Model and grid girl

THEN: Maura Higgins

Irish beauty Maura looks a lot different in this snap she posted back in 2013.

NOW: Tom Walker

Age: 29
From: Leeds
Occupation: Model

THEN: Tom Walker

Tom has always been a hunk! Here he is pictured back in 2012!

NOW WATCH: Love Island's Adam Collard Opens Up About His Mental Health and Experiences On Love Island

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