Jacques O'Neill was reduced to tears as he opened up about his post- Love Island experience. The 23-year-old was part of some of the ITV dating show's emotional scenes this summer when he made the decision to leave the villa. He quit the show amid the fallout of annual 'relationship test' stage Casa Amor.
He told his then potential love interest Paige Thorne that he needed to 'get back to himself.' After returning to the UK Jacques said that taking part in the show was the 'worst decision of his life'. And early last month, the former rugby player issued a statement after being involved in a row about his behavior while in Mallorca.
He used the public message to apologise and told fans how he is had started therapy. In the statement, fellow islander Gemma Owen's ex-boyfriend said "there is work that needs to be done on myself" and that he is "not asking for sympathy."
READ MORE: ITV Love Island's Gemma Owen wows fans with stunning glam for first red carpet appearance
Jacques has now joined Scott Thomas on the latest series of his podcast, Learning About Judgement. It comes after he signed to Manchester's Social PR, run by former islander Scott, who is the brother of Emmerdale and Coronation Strete star's Adam and Ryan Thomas.
In a clip posted to both of their Instagram pages, Jacques is seen speaking openly about the struggles he faced especially with the way his family felt after his appearance on the reality show as well as his ambitions to be a role model for kids with ADHD after his family shared his diagnosis while in the villa.
He said of his decision to quit Love Island when he did: "If I didn’t leave when I did, I could feel myself getting into a really bad place. The hardest thing was just seeing my mum how she was. I couldn’t even leave the house. She went, ‘Jacques you can’t go out. You can’t go our, like everyone hates you.
"When I was thrown into this world I was like this is absolutely crazy but my mum was like ‘what about all those kids with ADHD?’ I was like ok, maybe I can stand up here. I’ve realised all I want to do is be a better person for other people as well and for myself."
Jacques soon became emotional as he discussed the impact the negative response to his appearance in the villa had on his family, especially his mum, Janet. "The hardest thing was like seeing my mum, how she was... it was like, you know me and my mum... seeing my mum being in a state how she was."
As he began to well up Jacques said: "I couldn't even leave the house," before taking a moment to collect his thoughts. Later, Scott asked specifically what his mum had been struggling with, to which Jacques replied: "The death threats, man."
After he left the main villa, Jacques was held in accommodation before leaving Spain and returning to the UK. "My mum was like, 'Get out, Jacques. Just get out right now, get home. Just leave,'" Jacques recalled. "I was kicking off and was saying, 'Get me a flight right now, I just want to be with my mum'. I knew she was in a bad place, she was breaking down on the phone."
Jacques went on: "When I got home, she went, 'Jacques, we can't go out. We can't go out. Like, everyone hates you'. I just wanted me and my mum to be okay. It killed me to see the way my mum was." He added: "I couldn't speak to her about deep stuff because I'd just break down. It took me two weeks to give her a cuddle."
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