ITV deny 'forcing' Jacques O'Neill to appear on Love Island: Aftersun

He quit the villa after not feeling like himself

Author: Alex RossPublished 25th Jul 2022

Following his shock departure from the Love Island villa, after admitting he didn't feel like himself, Love Island fans were shocked to see 2022 Islander Jacques O'Neill on last Sunday's (17th July) episode of Aftersun.

Jacques, who left the villa in order to 'save' his relationship with Paige Thorne, was forced to watch Paige getting to know and kissing Adam Collard, something viewers were a little taken aback by, considering the reason for his departure.

However, despite reports suggesting the rugby player was 'forced' to appear on the show, an ITV spokesperson has now denied the claims.

A spokesperson for ITV said: "It is untrue to suggest that Jacques was forced or pressured to appear on Aftersun. We would always respect an Islander's decision not to participate in the programme, in the same way we would respect an Islander's decision to leave the Villa."

As well as breaking his social media silence following his exit from the villa, Jacques was asked by host Laura Whitmore how he felt about Paige seemingly moving on with Geordie boy Adam.

He said: "We had a good connection and were really getting on. I did see things on the outside working between us but as I say, she's doing what she needs to do."

Check out all of the rules the Love Island stars have to follow in the villa:

No getting drunk

According to 2017 contestant Kem Cetinay, contestants are allowed one small glass of wine or beer a night with dinner.
Being drunk's an absolute no-no, so sex while intoxicated is obviously against the rules too.

No masturbating

No solo sex acts are allowed in the villa, though obviously allowed to get jiggy with their partner.

No nudity

Contestants cannot be naked in front of other islanders, since the villa is technically a public space.

No books, phones or magazines

The islanders are given snazzy phones from their sponsor, Samsung (what else would they get their texts on?); but anyone sneaking their own mobile phone into the villa would risk being removed.
Same goes for books and magazines, too.

No inappropriate language or behaviour

This could cover homophobic, racist or aggressive language and is quite the broad rule. Inappropriate behaviour is again at producers' discretion, and would include violence and sexual harassment.

No discriminating against staff

Any Islanders who are rude to crew could run the risk of being booted off the show, and contestants must NOT take their mic packs off unless instructed to.

Follow the rule book

Simple. Contestants must obey the rule book they're provided with; which includes information on safe sex, consent and how to know if you're following the guidelines.

Meanwhile, now he's been back in the UK more than a week following his exit, Jacques has thanked fans and given them an update on his mental health.

Sharing a message over the weekend, the 23-year-old wrote: 'I just want you all to know that I’m in such a better place mentally. A huge reason for that is because of all the love and support I have received! I’d be in a much darker place if it wasn’t for all of your kind words, so thank you again I appreciate it so much ❤️'. (sic)

And after seeing Paige go make her romance with Adam 'exclusive' in the villa, fans are urging Jacques and former Islander Antigoni Buxton to get together.

Jacques and Antigoni enjoyed a lunch date along with their mums last week, with the pair sharing cute photos from the big day. Antigoni captioned the photo: 'Made a real one for life 💙 took our Mama’s for brunch 🥰'.

Love Island continues every night at 9pm on ITV2.

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Jacques O'Neill breaks silence after quitting Love Island

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