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Daily Record
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Amy Denman & Lucy Farrell

Love Island's Jacques O'Neill apologises for bullying - and is now in therapy

Jacques O'Neill has shared a statement to apologise for his behaviour following allegations of bullying fellow Islander Remi Lambert.

In the statement shared on his Instagram story on Thursday, love islander Jacques admitted he is now in therapy following his stay in the villa.

The 23 year-year old wants to "acknowledge the situation" and "apologise if my behaviour has caused offence". On his decision to go into therapy, Gemma Owen's ex-boyfriend said "there is work that needs to be done on myself".

The statement is a response to a post shared by Remi Lambert, where he claimed he felt bullied by Jacques and pal Luca Bish. Lambert's post post was also liked by contestant Tasha Ghouri, the Mirror reports.

Jacques took part in an Instagram live with Luca where they discussed Remi's rapping (Instagram/Mirror Online)

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.

"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."

Tasha and Andrew have appeared to unfollow Jacques on social media (Instagram/@andrewlepage/Mirror Online)

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

Jacques shared a lengthy statement to address recent events (Instagram/ @jacques9oneill_/Mirror Online)

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.

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

Since deciding 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 told 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."

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