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Love Island's Ellie reveals how she really feels leaving the show for Finley

17 July 2026, 11:27

Just days before Ellie left Love Island for Finley, she was distraught over his actions. Picture: ITV

By Abbie Reynolds

Love Island's Ellie Chadwick has spoken about how she really feels after leaving the villa when Finley Maddock was dumped.

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Her villa bestie Lorenzo Alessi asked her to sleep on her decision, but Ellie Chadwick was set on her decision to leave the villa with Finley Maddock when he was dumped by the Islanders.

After days of turmoil, where Finley had been getting to know bombshell Elicia Bailey, Ellie and Finley had rekindled their relationship. Then, when a public vote saw Finley in the bottom six Islanders, the cast were given the tough decision to send him home.

They knew that Ellie would walk out of the villa if they chose him, but the other choice was to send Mica Harris and Samraj Toor home and as one of the strongest couple the Islanders felt they deserved to stay.

Now that she's had time to reflect on her decision to leave, Ellie has addressed how she really feels.

Read more: Love Island's Tina calls for hate against Lola to stop

Love Island's Finley was in the bottom six islanders after a public vote. Picture: ITV

Ellie has stayed secure in her decision to follow Finley out of the villa as she said that she didn't want to stay in the villa and just be a "placeholder" until the final.

But she insisted that Finley would still have to have his "grafting boots" on to make up for the upset her caused her.

She said: "Nothing in my gut told me I needed to stay. I knew full well in my gut, my heart and my head that leaving was the only and the best option for me, so that’s what I did."

However, she revealed that she did hope she and Finley would be able to stay in the villa and "continue to grow". Explaining: "When we got told about the second dumping and that we had to choose, I already kind of knew in my gut that it wasn’t going to go the way I was hoping, which was for me and Finley to stay there and continue to grow.

"There were no ifs, buts or maybes, or what ifs, of how could this play out."

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Ellie admitted that Finley handled the Elicia situation poorly, but said: "We live and we learn. That’s what Love Island is. It’s about living and learning. I’ve learned a lot about myself there and I’ve got to give him grace on that.

"It doesn’t mean the grafting boots are off because we’re out now, those boots are still on. I believed in the connection we had so much. I just knew in my heart that it was going to work, regardless of what was going on."

Finley also knows that he's got a lot of work to put in to make it up to Ellie, saying: "You learn a lot when you’re in there about how to deal with things. It’s a completely unique experience.

"I’m grateful for it and I’ve learned a lot. Now I need to put the things I’ve learned into action!"

Love Island continues tonight at 9PM on ITV2 and ITVX.