Love Island viewers were left reeling this weekend as OG couple Liberty Poole and Jake Cornish made the shock decision to split up and exit the villa just days before the final. Liberty was the one who decided to end the relationship after being upset by some comments Jake had made. Now she's spoken about the split in post-villa interviews.
Discover our latest podcast
Does Liberty think Jake was playing a game?
When asked if Jake was playing a game to try and win the show by coupling up with her, Liberty told The Sun:
I think only Jake can answer that question. It’s hard to comment on what people are seeing, and you guys are seeing it from an outside perspective, whereas I was in the relationship. And obviously when you love someone you don’t think of them playing a game. But only Jake can answer that.
Despite the way their relationship ended, Liberty doesn't seem to share viewers' concerns that Jake was being fake as she continued:
I do actually think his feelings were genuine. I think that the connection was genuine, but things went sour. But I do think he genuinely liked me. But I just was questioning whether obviously he loved me the way I loved him.
What has Jake said?
In an interview with The Mirror following his villa exit, Jake insisted that he's not a game player. He said:
I’ve just got to be true to myself – if I was trying to have a game plan, I think I’d still be there, I wouldn’t have left. Actions speak for themselves. I’ve stepped aside from the people who have got something good going, let them enjoy their moment.
Jake was also visibly upset during his appearance on Sunday night's Aftersun as he was shown footage of Liberty in tears over him in the villa earlier this week. He admitted to host Laura Whitmore:
It's not nice to see, especially when that's because of me… When you think that's because of me…