Michael Owen said he has sought therapy due to jealousy over the close bond between his wife, Louise, and daughter, Gemma.
The 42-year-old quit football in 2013 after a 17 year career that saw him play for Liverpool FC, Real Madrid and England, among others. His daughter, Gemma, 19, arrived in the Love Island villa last week for the 2022 series.
An extract of Michael's biography, Reboot, reveals he was "intentionally" really hard on his wife about subjects he knew would "push her buttons", including the close bond between his childhood sweetheart and their eldest child, the Mirror reports.
READ MORE: Michael Owen hits back at vile tweets about Love Island's Gemma
This is due to the mental health struggles after retiring from the sport. In the book, he said: "To my surprise, I found myself standing at a figurative cliff edge in 2014.
"A lifetime of that certain type of mentality, of behaviour, had led me to a point where I had to seek professional help... For years, because of my own inner demons, I was intentionally really hard on Louise about subjects that I knew would push her buttons most — not least her close relationship with our daughter Gemma.
"Let me be very clear and say that none of this was in any way a reflection on how I felt about either Gemma or Louise. I love them both with all of me. I’d take everything out on Louise, though. I’d accuse her of spending all her time with her eldest and ignoring the other kids. It wasn’t even true."
On Monday night, bombshell Afia Tonkmor became the first dumping of the series.
The 25-year-old club host was sent packing in a shock twist following the arrival of rugby league player Jacques O'Neill. The Castleford Tigers forward had to choose who to couple up between Afia and Paige Thorne after the Islanders were gathered around the fire pit.
Jacques decided to save Paige, sending Afia home to become the second person to leave the villa following Liam Llewellyn's decision to quit the show after four days.
However, producers of the show did not wait around with two more faces set to enter the villa.
Following Afia's departure, the teaser for Tuesday's episode saw Jay Younger, 28, and Remi Lambert, 22, lined up to make an impact in Mallorca.
Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and the ITV Hub
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