Dumped Love Island star Joe Garratt says the “intense” pressure and gossip in the villa made him doubt his romance with Lucie Donlan.
The pair had a rocky ride after pairing up at the start of the show, with many accusing Joe of being jealous and controlling.
Joe, 22, got dumped from the villa this week, while Lucie stayed on and he’s now opened up about how life in the villa puts relationships under serious scrutiny.
The sandwich seller insisted things that would normally never bother him on the outside became bigger issues than they should have been.
Speaking to The Sun Online , he explained: “It’s hard because on the outside the relationship would build and you would talk frequently and meet once a week…
(Image: ITV)
“And it was like I had these two days with her and they were so fantastic and we got on so well and then you have the spanner chucked in.
“I think the intense nature of it all and when fellow Islanders said stuff to me – it would never bother me normally…
“But because you are in there and you get told things constantly you are like ‘am I OK with these things’ and I generally was…
“But you feel that heightened pressure and you have these conversations and you have to address things.”
(Image: ITV)
(Image: ITV)
One of the issues that was raised was Lucie’s close friendship with Tommy Fury.
Joe and Tommy had previously competed for her affections, but after Lucie chose the sandwich salesman to couple up with – she continued being close with Tommy.
Joe got irritated and asked her to tone it down a bit, prompting a furious reaction from trolls who called him “abusive” for meddling.
However, Joe is adamant he did nothing wrong and refuses to apologise for his actions.
(Image: ITV)
Joe jetted out of Majorca yesterday and has now been reunited with his family and friends.
This evening he took to Instagram to share a picture of himself catching up with his brother Josh and best mate Levi.
He also shared a picture with the bodyguard who escorted him home from Majorca, thanking the security officer for taking such good care of him.
The Londoner has also been defended by his family, who said editing was to blame for making him look bad.
In a message posted on his behalf, they explained: “Speaking on behalf of Joe’s best friends, we acknowledge Joe will come out to some warranted criticism.
“However, we deem the majority of it to be unfair and non representative of Joe’s true character.
“The producers have the ability to show someone in a particular light, choosing just 45 mins of footage from 24 hours to tell a certain narrative.”
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