Jacques O'Neill has landed back in the UK following his emotional Love Island exit. The 23-year-old had viewers in tears on Tuesday night (July 12) as they tuned in to the latest installment of the ITV2 dating show.
It has been quite a week for Jacques as he tried to win back Paige Thorne's affections following the most dramatic Casa Amor recoupling yet. Several couples found themselves separated following the annual twist which sees the boys and girls live in two different villas before deciding whether to 'stick or twist'.
While Jacques and Paige both chose to stick with each other, it was soon revealed that the rugby player had been getting to know a couple of the new girls before kissing Cheyanne Kerr who believed he may have chosen her to stay in the Majorcan villa.
Welsh paramedic Paige, 24, was gutted by the revelation with Jacques being left in the 'dog house'. In recent days he has been doing all he can to prove to Paige how much he cared about her and on Monday night, the pair had a breakthrough. However, their was another bombshell arrival in the form of former islander Adam Collard.
Earlier in his exit episode, Jacques got riled up as the other islanders told him that Adam Collard had been 'slagging him off' about his behaviour in the villa towards Paige. While confronting Paige about the situation he became short with her and rudely told fellow contestant Billy Brown to leave which caused further tension among the couple.
After they discussed his brash response to the situation, he appeared withdrawn and he could later be seen leaving the bedroom in the middle of the night to go sit outside by himself. The next morning Jacques told Luca that he was going to “try and get back to myself” but he finally came to the conclusion that he wanted to leave.
He said he needed to "get back to himself" and was seen explaining to Paige that he felt the best thing for their relationship was for him to return home so he could be at his "best" for her. To announce the news to his fellow islanders, he gathered everyone around the firepit and explained with Paige by his side: "I just feel like lately, I just can’t be myself."
His admission left the other contestants shocked and emotional with his close friend Luca Bish saying "It’s not going to be the same without you" through tears, as Andrew Le Page told him he had "been a brother" to him. Jacques and Luca, 23, later shared an emotional moment where they both cried before embracing one another.
While his social media accounts remain silent, his first move since coming back to the UK has been revealed. Jacques stopped off at his former rugby club, Castleford Tigers, after his stint on Love Island. During a press conference, Castleford Tigers head coach Lee Radford confirmed Jacques had visited the Super League club during a training session on Wednesday morning (July 13).
Mr Radford said: "He’s been in this morning to see the boys – I don’t know who dressed him, I think he’s come in fancy dress today, but no he’s come in to say hi to the lads. The boys were really pleased to see him."
Days before entering the villa, the rugby club confirmed the release of hooker Jacques from his contract to be on the reality show – confirming they would have the first option to re-sign him if he wanted to resume his rugby league career. When asked about re-signing, Mr Radford joked: “I think he’ll want to make a couple of million first and then maybe dip his toe into rugby league, we’ll have to see.
"He seemed pretty busy this morning, he was on the phone a fair bit." He added: “It’s not something we’ve spoke about, obviously it only happened last night, he flew home last night. He looked jaded, he’d had no sleep, obviously all the euphoria of doing what he’s been doing, I suppose, that’s probably a conversation for further down the line, I think."
Speaking about Jacques leaving the hit show to protect his mental health, Mr Radford said: "Like any walk of life there are obstacles in front of you, unfortunately, making sure people are around you whether that be your family or club related to help you deal with that is pretty important."
A spokesperson for Love Island confirmed Jacques' departure from the villa prior to his exit scenes being aired. "Jacques has made the decision to leave the Villa," they said. "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."
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