Jacques O’Neill (b.1999) is a professional rugby player who was in Love Island 2022. He left Love Island on day 37 for mental health purposes and to “get back to himself”. His family released a statement on Instagram asking for kindness and announcing that he was diagnosed aged 9 with ADHD.
Instagram (2022)
“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.
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♥️
#LoveIsland
#ADHD
#adhdawareness”
Mirror (2022)
[He] “massively underestimated” the impact the show would have on him mentally.
“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.”
“I’ve got a lot of work to do for myself to become a better person,”
“I know my family came out and spoke 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.”
“It’s time to work on myself for myself.”