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Daily Mirror
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Hana Carter

Love Island's Jacques 'turns down £60k Celebs Go Dating' offer to wait for Paige

Love Island's Jacques O'Neill has reportedly turned down £60,000 to be on Celebs Go Dating.

The rugby player, who left the villa last week after struggling with his mental health, allegedly said no to the rival show because he wanted to wait for love interest Paige Throne to return home.

Jacques, 23, who has ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) was concerned about how he would react to new bombshell Adam Collard.

Jacques has decided to "work on himself" rather than throw himself into another reality tv show, according to The Sun.

The E4 dating show believes that they can help Jacques to have a shot at love, a source told the publication.

"An Islander always makes for a great signing and Jacques is a real stand-out, particularly because he's already shown that he's willing to put the work in and really change," the source said.

"That'll make him a really credible candidate for the agency's help, never mind be someone that fans would tune in for.

"But Jacques wants to wait for Paige so it may well be too late by the time she emerges."

Jacques shared no hard feelings as his former partner Paige moved on (ITV)

In an interview after leaving he said that joining the dating show was "the worst decision of his life".

He had only just started to win Paige over after he went rogue after the girls went to Casa Amor when Adam entered the villa.

Adam, 26, who had been on the show in 2018, had made a beeline for Paige.

Jacques has ADHD and has really struggled with his emotions on the show (REX/Shutterstock)

But after struggling with the intensity of the show, Jacques feared that he would get violent towards Adam.

"I thought if I don’t get myself out things could go horribly wrong and I could get physical," he told The Sun.

He explained: “It broke me and I was already broken. I was crying my eyes out. I couldn’t cope.

He said that going on the show was the 'worst decision' of his life (ITV)

“I was literally feeling awful. It was the worst I’d ever felt in my life.”

The show's producers were made aware that he had ADHD and they came to speak with him after he walked out through the doors.

He told them that he wanted to be alone and that it was "more than just a TV show" to him.

Jacques left the programme after worrying he would assault Adam Collard (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

After the show's bosses tried to encourage him to stay following a "welfare chat", he sobbed to them and told them that he wanted to go home.

After he left the main villa, Jacques stayed in a separate apartment with a security guard and two members of the production team.

Jacques has also been the victim of death threats since leaving the villa.

Paige and Adam grew closer on Sunday night (ITV)

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He said that he has also been given huge support from fellow members of the ADHD community.

The former Islander said how he had messages from other men who called him "inspiring".

The Mirror has approached E4 for comment.

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