Love Island's Harrison responds to damning Women's Aid statement

22 July 2025, 11:21 | Updated: 22 July 2025, 12:24

Love Island's Harrison Solomon — Love Island's Harrison has responded to damning Women's Aid statement. Picture: ITV

By Abbie Reynolds

Harrison Solomon has spoken out in response to Woman's Aid's statement calling out sexism in the Love Island villa.

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22-year-old footballer Harrison Solomon has left the Love Island villa and been thrown straight into the opinion of the public which has been overwhelmingly negative following his TV stint.

Harrison started to get flack from viewers when he returned from Casa Amor with Lauren Wood and continued to be intimate with her while still cracking on with Toni Laites. His inability to chose between the two, especially after sleeping with Lauren, caused outrage among fans.

His behaviour, along with other islanders like Harry Cooksley, caught the attention of the domestic violence charity Women's Aid. They released a statement saying that despite efforts, "unhealthy patterns of behaviour" are still present "on these shows, showing just how steeped in misogyny and sexism our society still is".

Now that he's left the villa and has been exposed to the scrutiny from the outside world, Harrison has responded.

Lauren told Harrison “I feel like everything has been a lie,” after recoupling. Picture: ITV

Speaking to the MailOnline, Harrison revealed the statement had upset his family and insisted he has respect for woman.

He said: "I have seen the backlash and it's hard to digest. I would disagree with a lot of it in terms of my respect for women, I do respect women.

"The worst has been from Women's Aid. I know myself and the girls on the show too, Toni said she knows I'm not a bad person, just went about situations in the wrong way, but the Women's Aid statement wasn't nice...

"It's not nice coming out of the villa to my mum upset by that so I would say that's been the hardest."

Lauren begging Harrison to leave Love Island with her — Lauren begged Harrison to leave with her. Picture: ITV

He added: "To the women I have hurt, I am obviously sorry.

"I got it wrong and the back and forth between the two connections caused more harm than I ever intended. It wasn't ever an ego thing. I am not proud of how I handled things and I'm not going to make excuses.

"I just want to own it. If people can give me the space to grow from it, I will do everything I can to be better and that's the only thing I can do."

He concluded saying: "There is no handbook for how to be on a show like Love Island. It's instincts and intentions. I got some of it right, but I know I got a lot of it wrong, and I know that now."

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Women's Aid didn't single out one boy in their statement but they pointed to the girls in the villa being "lied to, slut-shamed, and laughed at behind their backs".

Harrison said he found this particularly hurtful given his relationship with his mum and younger sister. He explained: "Growing up, my mum was a single parent, so it was just us but then my stepdad came on the scene and now I have a younger sister.

"I would do anything for my sister and we're a really close family. That's why I am so disappointed by the way I handled myself in the villa because I pride myself on standing up for women and being a protector and honestly, my mum and my sister mean everything to me, I am hurt by how I acted based off those things."