Jacques O'Neill says Love Island was 'happiest' and 'worst' experience of his life
Jacques O'Neill says appearing on Love Island was both the "happiest" he had been in a long time and the "worst" time of his life.
The 23-year-old rugby player walked out of the ITV2 show on Tuesday (12 July) saying that he wanted to "get home and be myself again" after struggling with his mental health.
In a post on social media, O'Neill, who was released from Castleford Tigers to take part in the show, described his time in the villa as a "rollercoaster of emotions".
He added: "I wasn’t mentally prepared for how it was going to be at all - underestimated it massively!"The first two weeks of my experience was probably the happiest I’ve been in a very long time. On the other hand the last two weeks was definitely the worst I’ve ever felt in my life.
"I was finding myself feeling worse and worse every day and if I didn’t leave when I did I was scared I would never have got back to my normal self!"
O'Neill was involved in a turbulent relationship with the reality show's fellow contestant Paige Thorne.
Matters came to a head after the arrival of Adam Collard in the villa, following suggestions that Collard had commented on O'Neill's maturity.
The final episode featuring Cumbrian O'Neill showed him clearly struggling emotionally and in tears at points in the show.
He told Paige: "I feel like I could be hurt here. In life I would rather get away from things than get hurt."
O'Neill said he had watched back episodes that he "got the most hate for" and said: "I understand why I did.
"I’ve got a lot of work to do for myself to become a better person. I know my family come out and said about my ADHD while I was in the villa but that is no excuse for me.
"Yes, I might find certain things a lot more difficult than others but at the end of the day I need to take responsibility for my own actions and I’ll hold my hands up.
"I sometimes couldn’t watch how I was speaking and acting in certain situations but I’m actually glad I’ve watched it because now it’s really opened my eyes up and it’s time to work on myself for myself."
He finished his post by thanking fans for their support, adding: "I do really appreciate the love, honestly thank you so much."
Since returning to the UK, O'Neill has been seen back at Castleford Tigers, but his long-term future has yet to be decided.
In a statment issued following his exit from Love Island, the club said its welfare officer would continue to offer him support.
It added: "Castleford Tigers' primary focus with Jacques at this stage will be to support him. All at the club look forward to welcoming Jacques and his mother Janet to The Mend-A-Hose Jungle for a Betfred Super League match very soon, to cheer on the Fords."
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