Love Island’s Jake Cornish – blasted by viewers for his treatment of “girlfriend” Liberty Poole – has spoken out, insisting he’s no snake.
Fans were shocked when he admitted behind her back that he didn’t fancy her enough to “rip her clothes off”.
But he said: “I was just telling the truth.”
He was later seen criticising the 22-year-old waitress for her messiness, saying it gave him “the ick”.
Fans feared he was trying to change her.
But water engineer Jake, 24, said: “It’s not a nice feeling to think that things I’ve said is coming across that I’m trying to make someone change.
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“I’m not. Liberty is Lib. That’s the girl I fell in love with. I’m not trying to change her.”
Viewers witnessed Liberty’s increasing distress as she realised the relationship was going nowhere, and on Friday the pair agreed to leave the villa together just as “friends”.
Jake said: “I’ve just got to be true to myself – if I was trying to have a game plan, I think I’d still be there, I wouldn’t have left.
“Actions speak for themselves. I’ve stepped aside from the people who have got something good going, let them enjoy their moment.”
At one point, the couple – dubbed Jiberty by fellow contestants – seemingly had such a strong bond they were favourites to win the show.
But in a cruel twist, Liberty was shown a clip of Jake admitting he did not fancy her enough to “rip her clothes off” – and it planted the seed of doubt, which ended in their split.
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Jake said: “It was time for myself and Liberty to basically step aside from all the couples that are moving forward. It was kind of sucking the energy out of them.”
Before the final screens tonight, Jake added: “I don’t want another couple to get voted out and me and Lib are still in there.
“I’d feel awful that they’ve gone when they are a couple and a real couple who are together, and me and Lib aren’t anything no more. It wouldn’t be fair.”
Had they stayed and gone on to win, Jake says they would have shared the £50,000 prize.
“There’s no way I’d keep that to myself,” he says. “My whole journey has been Lib.
“Lib would have shared it. She only sees good in people, she only sees positive. She hasn’t got a bad bone in her body. So 100% sure she would have shared it because our journey was together.”
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He insists the pair “ended on very good terms”, and he hasn’t ruled out them getting back together.
He said: “Will it go strong again on the outside? Who knows? Definitely we’ll keep in contact.”
He said he has had an “absolutely amazing” experience.
He is rooting for Liam and Millie to win. He said: “They’re joined at the hip. You’re in there to find love and I think they’ve found love.”
Love Island final is on Monday night on ITV2 at 9pm.
