Molly-Mae’s true feelings on Love Islander removed from villa over incident with her as he finally addresses it
It’s been seven years since Sherif Lanre’s shock exit from Love Island, but his controversial departure has resurfaced after he finally opened up about what happened.
Sherif was removed from the villa during the 2019 series after an incident involving Molly-Mae Hague, who was then getting to know Tommy Fury on the show.
At the time, ITV said Sherif and producers had 'mutually agreed' it was best for him to leave after he broke villa rules, without revealing exactly what had happened.
Sherif later explained that he had accidentally kicked Molly-Mae in the groin while the pair were play-fighting.
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He then made a comment to Tommy about the incident, referring to it as 'that was a c*** punt'.
Now, speaking years later, Sherif has given his version of events, claiming he was surprised by how quickly his time on the show came to an end.
“We laughed and joked about it. It wasn’t cynical or malicious. No one was hurt. We all went to bed,” he told The Sun.
The former Islander recalled being woken separately from the other contestants before being taken to the beach hut.
“I was woken up separately from everyone else. I can’t tell you what time it was or how long before the normal waking up time it was. But yeah, I got woken up separate from everybody else and taken upstairs to the beach hut,” he recalled.
Sherif claimed producers questioned him about the incident and said he felt he was being pushed to accept responsibility rather than being asked to explain the circumstances.
“This is where it gets a little bit funny because I feel as though ITV questioned me in a way where I had to sort of admit fault on paper for what I’d done. Rather than them sort of investigating the actual nature of what happened,” Sherif claimed.
He said he was then asked whether he thought his behaviour was acceptable on the programme.
“So I got taken to the beach hut with two executive producers of the show questioning me about what happened the night prior before going to bed. Essentially they said, ‘Do you feel like it is acceptable to be doing that on the show?’
“Bearing in mind, I had just been woken up by them – seconds before. I think this is a very key detail of it all. To be woken up in a setting like Love Island, randomly away from everybody else, you’re naturally going to be a little bit discombobulated.
“I sort of answered, ‘No’. They took that opportunity to just say, ‘Well, we’re going to have to remove you from the villa."
Sherif said he left immediately, without getting the chance to say goodbye to his fellow Islanders.
“Long story short – I didn’t get to pack my stuff, I didn’t get to say goodbye to anybody. I literally left from the beach hut straight out the front door. They packed my stuff.
“I got taken to another location where I spent a night and then flew back the next morning with an executive producer and a chaperone,” Sherif finished.
It seems there wasn't any bad blood between him and Molly-Mae as Sherif explained: “We have never stopped following each other. We have interacted with each other’s posts. There’s no beef between me and Molly-Mae. There never has been."
And that lines up with what Molly-Mae said at the time.
Speaking to Cosmopolitan after Sherif's exit back in 2019, the Maebe boss was asked directly about the pair's relationship.
"Is there any beef with me and Sherif?" she said. "No absolutely not. No beef with me and Sherif. I've not got my phone back yet, I've not even spoken to Sherif, but there's absolutely no beef between me and Sherif. Love the boy to pieces."
Sherif has now claimed: “In my logic, I genuinely believe she never complained or asked for me to come off of the show.”
Tyla has reached out to ITV for comment.
Topics: Molly Mae Hague, Celebrity, TV And Film, Love Island, ITV
Rhiannon Ingle