Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Amy Denman

Love Island's Jacques O'Neill goes into therapy and apologises after bullying row

Jacques O'Neill has shared a statement to apologise and reveal he is in therapy after he was accused of bullying Remi Lambert.

Love Islander Jacques, 23, shared a statement on his Instagram story on Thursday August 11 to "acknowledge the situation" and "apologise if my behaviour has caused offence".

In the statement, Gemma Owen's ex boyfriend also revealed he was in therapy and said "there is work that needs to be done on myself".

Jacques' statement comes following a post fellow Islander Remi Lambert made, where he claimed he felt bullied by Jacques and pal Luca Bish. The post was also liked by fellow Islander Tasha Ghouri.

And Tasha and her boyfriend Andrew Le Page later unfollowed Jacques.

In a lengthy statement, rugby lad Jacques has reacted to the recent events and apologised.

He wrote: "I just want to acknowledge the situation that's happening right now and apologise if my behaviour has caused offence or been misinterpreted over the last few weeks.

"I genuinely have no bad feelings towards anyone and I've not meant for anything to come across that way at all. It was not my intention and I'm genuinely sorry if it has.

Jacques was accused of bullying by Remi Lambert (Shutterstock)
Jacques took part in an Instagram live with Luca where they discussed Remi's rapping (Instagram)

"Life has been very overwhelming recently and admittedly I've probably not handled myself in the best possible way.

"I take full responsibility for my actions. I'm aware I'm far from perfect and that there is work that needs to be done on myself."

Jacques then explained that he has now begun therapy as he wrote: "I had my first therapy session on Monday which really took me out of my comfort zone, I know I have needed this for years but it's only now I have decided to get help. I know it's a step in the right direction for me even after just 1 session.

"I'm not asking for sympathy, I just want to acknowledge the situation and move forward as positively as I can. However, I know this can be used as an important lesson for me moving forward and over the coming years. I hope I can become the person I want to be and use this new platform to spread a positive message."

Tasha and Andrew have appeared to unfollow Jacques on social media (andrewlepage/Instagram)
Jacques shared a lengthy statement to address recent events (Instagram/ @jacques9oneill_)

He then ended his message with: "I'm sorry to anyone that I have let down X".

Jacques entered the villa as a bombshell and sparked a connection with Paige Thorne.

However, their romance hit a rough patch following the Islander's antics with Cheyanne Kerr in Casa Amor. And, just as Jacques began winning Paige back, Adam Collard entered the villa and shook things up between the pair as he made a beeline for Welsh paramedic Paige.

Jacques then decided to leave the villa in tearful exit scenes. Fans later claimed Jacques was kicked off the show after he appeared to mock Tasha in a video.

Jacques decided to leave the villa and later said taking part in Love Island was 'the worst decision I ever made in my life' (ITV)

But, it was later insisted by ITV bosses that Jacques made the decision to leave the villa.

Since decided to quit the show, Jacques revealed he struggled with his mental health as he admitted he said he "couldn't cope" in the villa and added to The Sun: "Doing Love Island was the worst decision of my life."

He added: "I was ready to break down. I was feeling so mentally drained, I just wanted to go home and get myself right.

"It broke me and I was already broken. I was crying my eyes out. I couldn't cope. I was literally feeling awful. It was the worst I'd ever felt in my life."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.