Jacques O'Neill's sister has urged viewers to 'be kind' to the Love Island star, sharing the news tat he has been diagnosed with ADHD.
Rugby player Jacques, ex of Gemma Owen, was one of the first major bombshells of the new series of the ITV show, causing a real stir as he shocked Michael Owen's daughter with his arrival into the villa. After getting close to Welsh paramedic Paige Thorne, plenty of bookies had the couple as possible favourites to win this year's show, until the tide started to turn against Jacques, thanks to an outburst against Paige, in which he fumed that she could "f**k off," after she chose to speak to Jay rather than go for a swim with him.
Alarm bells started to ring further when Paige was left upset by the results of the heart rate challenge, when Gemma and Jacques' were both raised the most by each other's dance, only for Jacques to be annoyed by her concerns.
Many Love Island fans were then even more unimpressed by Jacques after he went behind Paige's back to kiss new girl Cheyenne in Casa Amor, arguing he needed to do it to 'test;' himself.
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Having seen the backlash against her brother online, Jacques' sister took to social media to reveal that he'd been diagnosed with ADHD 14 years ago, when he was just nine-years-old. Posting an explanation on how people with ADHD may behave on Jacques' Instagram account, which now has 409,000 followers, she wrote: "By no means is this a get out clause for his actions but it is to show that he can fundamentally struggle with his emotions at times.
"He is an amazing person who I’m proud to call my friend/little brother. All the hate thrown towards Jacques doesn’t go to him directly….It comes to his loved ones who have always supported him and not just whilst he is on Love Island.."
She added: "Love Island, although real. Is still a show where the producers do have control and we see 45minutes out of the 1440 in 24hours," before ending the post: "Please be kind."
The highlighted piece of text next to the plea read: "Sometimes, people living with ADHD may behave in ways that come off as as rude or disrespectful. These behaviours can stem from challenges with self-control, executive functioning and self-stimulating actions. How you perceive their behaviour often depends on your understanding of ADHD symptoms."
On Monday, a new photo of Jacques playing rugby appeared on the page, with the caption: "Monday plan: Be amazing, ignore negativity, stay focused and be kind. Start the week right with something positive. Tell us three positive things you will do today."
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