Love Islander Liam Llewellyn said he was 'buzzing' to be coupled up with Gemma Owen but never sensed she felt the same after his exit from the ITV show. Liam decided to leave the villa during Friday night's episode where he was seen telling his new friends he hadn't been giving 'a 100% Liam'.
And in his first interview since bidding farewell during an appearance on spin-off show Aftersun, he told host Laura Whitmore that he always knew Gemma wasn't into him. He also found out who her dad is - former superstar footballer Michael Owen, reports the MEN.
Liam said: "I was buzzing when I coupled up with Gemma. I got the feeling her head was elsewhere. I can't believe who her dad was. I can't believe I didn't work it out," he told Laura as he appeared via video link from Newport. "It's crazy. I didn't expect the support. It's a big eye-opener for me how many people were on my side and had my back. I was looking at Gemma when I walked in and hoping it was her I would couple up with."
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After the pair already chatted about football early on into the process, he told Aftersun: "I can’t believe who that actually was. That’s mad." He then added: "I’m a United fan. I actually have one of his tops when he came to the club. That first night, we were chatting about football and her family. I was so close. I can’t believe I didn’t quite work it out."
During his exit on Friday's show, Liam told his fellow Love Islanders the reasons for deciding to depart. "Trying to find someone to leave the villa with, that you care about, obviously that's the goal. But when you're not feeling that, it sort of makes it very hard," he said.
"I've been thinking long and hard about this. It's not a spur-of-the-moment type thing. So I've made a decision that I am going to leave the villa. It's been a breeze, it's been an absolute ball, you are all unreal."
The 22-year-old student from Wales might have had more in common with Gemma than he realised. It was discovered last week that Gemma wasn't the only one hiding a famous relative as Liam's dad is also a sport star. Liam's father David Llewellyn, who is reported to have flown out to his son in Spain after his exit, is a former Wales international rugby union player. He played his club rugby for Ebbw Vale, Newport and Neath.
He was also part of the Wales squad for the 1999 World Cup and won four caps for the national team, featuring a further 12 times on the bench for his country. The former rugby player now works as a personal trainer in Cardiff, helping some other very famous faces get into shape. He has recently been training boxing rising star Joe Cordina who was crowned the IBF super featherweight champion just last week.
