Love Island: Paige's Friends Release Statement Following Jacques' Sudden Exit

The friends of Love Island's Paige Thorne have spoken out in her defence after she decided to remain in the villa following Jacques O'Neill's dramatic exit.

In last night's episode (12 July), Jacques made the shocking decision to leave the villa following drama involving the recent comeback of the OG bombshell Adam Collard.

Adam immediately expressed his interest in Paige, who has been coupled up with Jacques for the majority of their time in the villa. But it all clearly became too much for Jacques to handle, who has also been feeling immense guilt for his behaviour in Casa Amor.

After a tearful goodbye with his fellow islanders, the rugby player left the Majorca villa alone as Paige decided to remain – much to the dismay of some Love Island fans, who have questioned the paramedic's feelings and authenticity towards Jacques.

However, Paige's friends and family have strongly defended her decision to stay in the villa by taking to Instagram to remind people to 'be kind'.

"Little note that #BeKind applies to Paige too. If she decides to leave the villa that's her own decision, she has no obligation to follow Jacques – this is her experience just as much as his," the people running Paige's Instagram account wrote.

"There is only 2.5 weeks left of her once in a lifetime experience – let's not see her come out to any negativity."

While Jacques' departure from the villa appears to be authentic after he insisted he wanted to return home and be his ‘best self’ for Paige, many fans aren't convinced this is the whole story.

Last night's episode showed Jacques getting angry after hearing Adam had been talking about him behind his back, and some fans are certain something else must have kicked off between the pair behind the scenes.

One person wrote on Twitter: “You can’t convince me Jacques didn’t get kicked out by the producers,” while another added: “I still lowkey think that Jacques did something bad that got him kicked out and they covered it up.”

"The producers defo told Jacques he had to cut. This was not his choice," someone else speculated.

However, before the episode aired, an ITV spokesperson said of Jacques leaving: "Jacques has made the decision to leave the villa. He will explain his reasons to the Islanders during tonight’s episode. We fully support his decision and look forward to seeing what’s next for Jacques."

Regardless of what happened behind the scenes, we're sure Jacques has done what is best for himself and his mental health.