Jacques O’Neill’s family have defended him, amid furious backlash over his treatment of Paige Thorne on Love Island.
In a post shared on his Instagram page, a member of his family revealed he was diagnosed with ADHD as a child, which causes him to “struggle with his emotions”.
They also reminded fans to “be kind” as they responded to the hate Jacques has received on social media over the past few days.
They wrote: “Jacques was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 9 years old. By no means is this a get out clause for his actions but it is to show that he can fundamentally struggle with his emotions at times.”
“He is an amazing person who I’m proud to call my friend/little brother.”
“All the hate thrown towards Jacques doesn’t go to him directly… It comes to his loved ones who have always supported him and not just whilst he is on Love Island,” they continued.
“Love Island, although real. Is still a show where the producers do have control and we see 45minutes out of the 1440 in 24hours. Please be kind.”
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Jacques was reunited with his partner Paige during the Casa Amor recoupling on Thursday.
However, their reunion quickly turned sour as Casa bombshell Cheyanne announced that she had formed a connection with Jacques while Paige was away.
Naturally, Paige was heartbroken over the revelation, and later sat down with Jacques to find out exactly what happened with Cheyanne.
But Jacques made matters even worse by reminding Paige they were both still “single”, suggesting he was free to do what he wanted while she was in Casa Amor.
During Friday’s episode, Paige and Jacques came to blows as she questioned his motives during Casa Amor.
Paige said: “I get Casa is a test, but it’s only a test if you want it to be a test and you only want tests if you feel like something is missing or if you feel like something’s not 100%”
“Why did you do it if you didn’t have any of those things with her [Cheyanne] or if you genuinely felt that way about me? Because it’s not adding up.”
Jacques agreed that Paige “deserves better”, and later broke down in tears as he expressed regret over his actions.
With things left hanging for Paige and Jacques, can they get back to where they were?
Love Island continues on Sunday night at 9pm on Virgin Media Two.
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