Famous rugby player Jacques O'Neill is Love Island UK season 8's newest bombshell islander. What fans need to know about him plus his past with Gemma.
After a fairly calm first week of episodes, Love Island UK season 8, episode 5 was shocking but also introduced rugby player Jacques O’Neill. Besides the introduction of Jaques, viewers were treated to Liam Llewellyn's surprise departure, the first re-coupling, and the tease of the latest bombshell islander. So far, this season of Love Island UK already has fans on the edge of their seats.
Since returning to ITV on June 6, Love Island UK season 8 has had a few twists, such as having the fans create the original couples for the first time rather than the islanders coupling up themselves. With the addition of three bombshell islanders, Davide Sanclimenti, Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, and Afia Tonkmor, and the surprise loss of Liam, who walked away because he was unable to give the show his all, the first re-coupling of season 8 was bound to leave a few hearts broken. After getting close to her earlier in the week, Luca Bish was able to partner with Gemma Owen, stealing her from Davide.
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However, the arrival of the newest bombshell might create issues for Luca and Gemma. Before she entered the villa, Gemma reportedly dated Jacques for a year. While not much is known about their relationship and why they broke up in the past 12 months, Jacques reportedly formed a positive relationship with Gemma's father, the famous Liverpool soccer player Michael Owen. As a bombshell islander, it's Jacques's job to change things in the villa. His status as Gemma's ex gives him an easy route to create some drama. Gemma has said in previous episodes that her family is one of the most important things to her, and Jacques may be able to woo her back with his already strong connection to her. Here is everything to know about Jacques.
Jacques was born on May 8, 1999, and is 23-years-old. While he would still be several years older than the 19-years-old Gemma, if they started dating again, then their age gap would still be much less than the controversial near-decade between Davide and Gemma. However, fans of Love Island UK have already noticed some issues with Gemma and Jacques' age difference. As Gemma has stated in previous episodes that her last relationship was when she was 17, Jacques would've been either 20 or 21-years-old when they were originally dating. "Gemma’s ex boyfriend from what year 7" fan @Jessmp1111 tweeted in response to the news.
Before entering the villa, Jacques was known for his sports career. He's a professional rugby player and was signed to the Super League club Castleford Tigers. According to Yorkshire Live, Jacques is known "as one of rugby league's best young prospects." Following confirmation of Jacques' arrival at the villa on Friday, the Castleford Tigers announced that they had released Jacques from his contract to allow him to be on the dating show, which has famous fans like Margot Robbie and James Gunn. His sports career is similar to Gemma's dressage career, as she represented Great Britain at the European Junior Championships in 2021.
A post shared by Jacques O’Neill (@jacques9oneill_)
On Friday, Jacques announced that he would be joining Love Island UK season 8 in an Instagram post. With only 56 other posts, Jacques's account, @jacques9oneill_, is not very active. He is very proud of his rugby skills, as most of his posts are photos of him playing the sport. However, he also has photos of his family, friends, and french bulldog, Zeus.
Fans are already speculating who will catch Jacques' eye in the villa. While he could want to reunite with Gemma, many are hoping that he'll go for Love Island UK season 8 contestant Paige, who was left single after the re-coupling. "He was a 100 percent sent in there for Paige," Reddit user catgirl5202 commented. "She did say her type was tall, dark and handsome, and rugged with facial hair, and this man fits it to a tee." For now, fans will have to wait until Love Island UK season 8, episode 7, to see what changes bombshell Jacques will bring to the villa.
Next: Love Island USA Season 4 Premiere Date Announced
Sources: Jacques O'Neill/Twitter, Yorkshire Live, Castleford Tigers, Jacque's O'Neill/Instagram, catgirl5202/Reddit
Lela Miller is a writer for Screen Rant, covering Reality TV and other related topics. In addition, she is currently pursuing a BA in English. When not writing new articles or studying, she enjoys reading books, listening to music, and of course, watching reality tv.