The family of Love Island star Faye Winter has addressed viewer criticism of the contestant’s behaviour on the series.
On Friday night’s episode (6 August) of the hit reality show, Faye was seen engaging in a heated argument with her former partner Teddy Soares.
The dispute emerged after Faye was shown a clip of Teddy admitting that he was sexually attracted to another woman during his time in Casa Amor. Although he did not act on his behaviour, he had not told Faye about their brief flirtation.
Viewers watching the episode criticised Faye’s outburst, with many taking to social media to reveal they had complained to Ofcom over her behaviour.
On Sunday (8 August), Faye’s family responded to the backlash directed at the former lettings agent via her Instagram stories.
They wrote: “We understand that fans of Love Island have opinions on Friday night’s episode.
“While we don’t want to comment on the events of the show, we ask everyone to remember: You are watching a highly edited TV show which is created for entertainment – you can never see the full picture.”
They added: “Faye is human. She may not always get things right.
“There are human beings managing the islander’s social media pages who will be seriously effected [sic] by your comments.”
The statement continued: “We ask that everyone please remember this before commenting or messaging. We make no apology for turning off comments, blocking & deleting to protect the mental well-being of ourselves and Faye when she comes out. “
Her family added that they would “encourage anyone struggling to do the same thing”.
In ITV’s most recent statement addressing the criticism, the broadcaster said: “Welfare and duty of care towards our contributors is always our primary concern, and we take the emotional well-being of all the Islanders extremely seriously.”
ITV added that there is “dedicated welfare producers and psychological support” available to the contestants at all times.
The statement concluded: “All the Islanders are therefore fully supported by the professionals on site and by their friends in the villa. Islanders can always reach out and talk to someone if they feel the need to.”
Love Island continues tonight (9 August) at 9pm on ITV2.
