First Dates Ireland star Daryel O’Brien has responded to the backlash he received online after the show’s premiere last week.
The former footballer went on a date with Wexford girl Amy Molloy, but despite the pair hitting it off Daryel left Amy brokenhearted by admitting he just wanted to be friends – and the Irish public didn’t approve at all.
Speaking about the backlash, Daryel said, “It’s water off a duck’s back to me but my mother was very upset at some of the comments.”
THIS moment, will we ever recover. #FirstDatesIrlhttps://t.co/rk0I7nYFF9
— RTÉ2 (@RTE2) April 21, 2016
“I don’t know how you can break a girl’s heart after an hour and a half. All I did was be honest and tell the girl I didn’t want to marry her. I wasn’t rude, I was polite. I could have been a lad’s lad and led her on but I didn’t,” he told the Leinster Leader.
Daryel received a lot of hate on social media, especially over the fact that he asked the taxi at the end of the show if he could be dropped to Copperface Jacks.
Now, Daryel has hit back and revealed that he never actually went to Coppers, and that the taxi turned around in the car park and he stayed for another two hours filming before meeting a friend for a few drinks.
Truth: Daryel insists he never went to Coppers
The 29-year-old also admitted that he was just being honest with Amy, and that he doesn’t care what people think of him.
“They bring you into separate rooms after the date and ask you what you think and then they bring you back in together.
“I already said in the other room that I liked her but I didn’t want to get into a relationship with her, so I wasn’t going to go in and lie to her face and say the opposite.
“All I care about is what my friends, clubmates, and my family think. I don’t care about what people who don’t know me think,” he added.
First Dates Ireland airs on Thursdays at 9.30pm on RTE2.Â
