Former Love Island star Jake Cornish has hit back at accusations that he was playing a game during his stint in the villa.
Last week, Jake and ex-girlfriend Liberty Poole made the decision to quit the show just days before the winner was crowned, after calling time on their relationship days earlier.
The two had been coupled up since day one of the current series, but decided to go their separate ways after their relationship hit a series of difficulties.
During an appearance on Sunday’s edition of spin-off show Aftersun, Jake spoke out about claims he was not being his genuine self on the show, which he was quick to dismiss.
“I’ve just got to laugh, to be honest with you,” Jake told host Laura Whitmore.
“If I was playing a game or whatever people are saying, I would still be in there. That is what got to me the most, [people saying], ‘he’s fake and not genuine’, that’s what hurt me a lot in [the villa].”
Liberty also defended her ex, insisting: “What Jake and me had to begin with was genuine... we dealt with things differently.”
Elsewhere, Liberty said she had no regrets about the decision to end her relationship with Jake and walk away from the show, but maintained that she wanted them to be friends.
“It was so hard, I do still care about Jake and I did really love him but if you’re not happy you’ve got to put your feelings first. It was a hard decision, it wasn’t easy.”
She added: “We are definitely always going to be friends, we have the same banter and we get on really well but when it comes to a relationship, we just communicated differently and that is why it ended the way it did.”
Just four couples remain in the Love Island villa, with one of them set to be crowned this year’s winners on Monday night.
Find out who the public chooses in the Love Island finale at 9pm on ITV2.