Axed Love Island star Gabriel breaks silence on real reason he left the villa

8 July 2026, 12:47

Casa Amor bombshell Gabriel Garland has spoken out about why he was removed from Love Island for the first time.

In a surprising turn of events, a Casa Amor bombshell was removed form the Love Island villa before he was even revealed on screens.

24-year-old model Gabriel Garland headed to Mallorca hoping to find a connection with one the girls, with his eyes on Jasmine Müller and Priya Jaswal. But after his first day he removed from the show.

News that Gabriel left was revealed via The Sun as they alleged that it because of a criminal incident he'd been linked to years before but was not convicted for.

Now, Gabriel has spoken out himself and addressed the real reason he left the villa.

• Read more: Love Island's Charleen says she's "not sorry" for Kavan row in exit interview

Taking to socials, he shared a video talking to camera, saying: "It is a shame that I'm making this video but after everything that's been said about me over the past couple of days I just wanted to clear a few things up.

"There was a incident at a party I was at when I was a teenager. This incident is obviously one that should not be taken lightly and was very traumatic for everyone concerned.

"I just wanted to make it clear that the legal judge found no wrong doing against me and I don't have a criminal record."

According to The Sun, the incident he is referencing was a stabbing at a New Year's Eve party in 2017. While he knew the person who committed the offence, Gabriel himself was never charged of any crime.

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Gabriel added: "This has obviously resulted in me leaving Love Island which is very disappointing, especially from a personal perspective."

"I was also forming a really, really strong connection in there that you didn't get to see as well," he said but didn't expand on who it was.

Since Gabriel hadn't been convicted of anything, the routine background checks that ITV run on potential contestants didn't reveal anything untoward. However, the event was brought to light when the Casa Amor cast was announced on socials and some fans flagged an issue in Love Island's comments.

When he was removed from the villa an ITV spokesperson said: "Gabriel has now left the villa and will not be returning. We will not be commenting further out of a duty of care towards participants."

Fans have been debating whether or not they feel it was fair for Gabriel to have been removed from the show.

Read more Love Island news here:

• Love Island's Charleen Murphy opens up about harrowing targeted attack
• Love Island fans "devastated" over Lorenzo's reaction to Jasmine and Kavan getting back together
• EXCLUSIVE: Love Island's Tommy and Tina break silence on dating speculation
• Love Island's Jordan Wilson: Age, job, height, famous sister and more revealed
• EXCLUSIVE: Love Island's Tina Rad responds to Shakira Khan saying she was 'clip farming'
• Love Island's Tommy Murphy: Age, job, height, where he's from and more

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