Love Island bosses have hit back at speculation surrounding Ollie Williams’ sudden exit.
On Tuesday, bosses confirmed the Cornish land owner had left the villa of his own accord after just three days, with Ollie claiming he felt it would be “wrong” to remain on the show given that he has feelings for his ex-girlfriend.
His swift departure came at a time when he was at the centre of much controversy, after old photos of him posing with dead animals were unearthed.
This led to hundreds complaining to Ofcom about his participation on the show, while an online petition calling for him to be removed had 38,000 signatories.
However, while many fans suspected the backlash may be the real reason for his departure, a Love Island rep has insisted to Digital Spy that this is not the case.
They said: “Ollie made the decision to leave off his own back and explained his reasons for doing so in his quote.
“He was not made aware whilst he was in the villa of any press stories running around him but as with all Islanders, since leaving the villa he has now been briefed as to what has been written and said about him as part of our duty of care. We will be supporting Ollie as he leaves the villa.”
Earlier this week, it was revealed that more than 200 complaints had been made to Ofcom about Ollie, a figure which doubled in the space of a few days.
Bosses have since announced that two new boys will be entering the villa during Thursday’s show to replace him.
Love Island airs every night on ITV2.