After being voted out of Love Island by the public on Tuesday night, Joe Garratt left the villa and was allegedly sent to a safe house where producers explained how his behaviour towards partner Lucie Donlan has been called out online. Now, he has given an interview with The Sun where he denies all allegations of emotional abuse, saying that emotions are ‘heightened’ on the show.
‘I didn’t manipulate or abuse her. I am gutted that it has been perceived in that way because it wasn’t like that at all,’ he said, ‘I always had Lucie’s best interests at heart and I promise you I would do everything and anything to help her because she had a hard time in there and didn’t get on with the girls. I was trying to help her and make her experience as amazing as possible. I thought I did right.’
Joe was accused of demonstrating unhealthy controlling behaviour on Love Island, and in the show we witnessed him telling Lucie that her very normal actions cast doubt in his mind about their relationship. His treatment of her was so widely condemned that Ofcom received a record number of complaints from Love Island viewers, prompting domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid to make a public statement about it.
‘Controlling behaviour is never acceptable, and with Love Island viewers complaining to Ofcom in record numbers about Joe’s possessive behaviour towards Lucie, more people are becoming aware of this and want to challenge it,’ said Adina Claire, Co-Chief Executive of Women’s Aid, ‘Abusive relationships often start off with subtle signs of control, so it’s important that it is recognised at an early stage. Love Island viewers are now very vocal in calling out unhealthy behaviour between couples on the show, and this is a positive development.’
However, their response caused its own backlash, with some fans concerned about Joe’s mental health when he saw the reaction to his character online. Worried that we may ourselves have been manipulated by the shows editing process, friends of Joe reminded viewers that we only see 45 minutes of a 24-hour day and reiterated that Joe had been unfairly perceived on the show.
Of course, a lot of conversations Joe had demonstrated controlling behaviour, in any context, and so it seems many were conflating a genuine responsibility to raise awareness with online trolling. Joe has admitted that he ‘worded things wrongly’ but excused his behaviour based on his age.
‘I am not going to say sorry,’ he said, ‘I may have worded things wrong and the cameras are on you 24/7. I may have slipped up a bit but I am only human. I am young and inexperienced so maybe some things have come out differently to what they are. I just hope people can see me for who I genuinely am and what I genuinely am. I am not that person.’
‘I didn’t know how I was coming across on the outside. I had no idea that I was being perceived in that sense,’ he added, before denying he was jealous of Lucie and Tommy and simply wanted to ‘do right by her’.
When questioned about his instant infatuation with Lucie, he affirmed that she blew him away and so he was ‘gutted’ when she wasn’t as instantly feeling the same way. ‘It’s hard because on the outside the relationship would build and you would talk frequently and meet once a week and it was like I had these two days with her and they were so fantastic and we got on so well and then you have the spanner chucked in,’ he said.
He also claims that you're pressured to have certain conversations in the villa.
‘I think the intense nature of it all and when fellow Islanders said stuff to me – it would never bother me normally - but because you are in there and you get told things constantly you are like “am I OK with these things?” and I generally was but you feel that heightened pressure and you have these conversations and you have to address things,’ he said.
Former Love Island contestant Montana Brown spoke about being told to have certain conversations in the villa during her season in 2017. She told The Telegraph that contestants are told if they’re chats aren’t interesting enough and to talk about something else, and producers will tell certain people to go and chat about a certain topic.
Love Island Rules - Grazia
1 of 17You can’t masturbate
With rumours swirling that Sherif was booted from the villa for masturbating in the shower, The Sun reported that he would 'spend hours' in there - however, he wasn't necessarily masturbating himself. 'When producers told Islanders they have to get ready to film a challenge, Sherif was deliberately spending ages in the shower. He said he couldn't be bothered,' the source said. Avoiding challenges or participating in some healthy self-care? All we know is 2 months without masturbating is a long time to go...
2 of 17You have to shower at certain times
When writing for Grazia Daily, Zara McDermott revealed that she was most shocked to see Islanders showering in the morning. 'We could only use the shower each evening,' she said of last season. Spending all day in the sun without a morning shower? No wonder Amber was worried about smelling when she Michael went to kiss her last night.
3 of 17You can’t talk about your relationship on Saturday's
In a shock revelation on This Morning, 2017 Love Island winner Kem Cetinay revealed the real reason the show doesn't air on Saturday's. 'They give you one day off. You get one day off per week,' he said, 'What happens is, it gives them a day to clean the villa, and you take your mics off, and normally we go to the beach.'But that wasn't the only startling revelation, he also admitted that producers watch Islanders like a hawk because they're not actually allowed to discuss their relationships. Essentially, anything they have to talk about their home lives outside the villa, lest they be scolded for breaking the all important rules.
4 of 17You can only have two glasses of wine or beer on a ‘big night’
They get dressed up, put on a full-face of makeup, film awkward dance sequences, and all for two little glasses of wine or beer. According to 2016 Islander Liana Isadora Van-Riel, 'you're allowed one or two drinks a night, either wine or beer, no spirits.'And while contestants will opt for two drinks on a 'big night', most nights they just have a cup of tea. Wild.
5 of 17You can’t be naked ever, even in the bathroom
Since the villa is technically a public space, there can be no nudity whatsoever as it would be considered public indecency. That means even in the bathroom, islanders can never be completely naked in front of each other.
6 of 17You can’t read a book or magazine
We knew about the no phone rule, which makes sense given they don't want Islanders reading about themselves online or hearing updates from the outside world, but no books or magazines?! No wonder half of them end up stir crazy, with 2017 contestant Montana admitting the villa is really boring day to day.
7 of 17You have to eat at certain times
According to Montana, contestants can make their own breakfast but lunch and dinner is always catered. In fact, food is brought through a secret door. 'In the larder there's another door that goes out the back that they lock,' she said, 'That's how they deliver food.'It's long been a question why we never see the Islanders eating, but Montana stated that's when producers come in and charge the contestants microphones, insisting 'everyone wants that good because it's so yum.'
8 of 17You can’t take your mic off ever
One of the most serious rules in the villa, contestants aren't allowed to take their mic's off apart from on Saturday's, their off day. If you're caught doing it more than once, you'll be axed from the villa immediately, according to The Mirror.
9 of 17You're not allowed to know the time
You essentially have to become a full Girl Guide in the villa if you want to know the time, telling it through the sun. Because, Islanders aren't allowed to know themselves and all of their phones are set to different times. 'You never know what the time is,' 2017 contestant Montana told The Independent, 'They'll wake you up by putting the lights on or a voiceover will say "Islanders, it's time to get up".'
10 of 17You can’t smoke in the villa, even in the garden
Last year, Love Island stopped showing scenes where contestants were smoking after complaints they were all partaking in the habit too much. Now, Islanders aren't allowed to smoke on the premises at all, even in the garden.
11 of 17You can't have unprotected sex
With rumours Kem and Amber got in trouble last year for having unprotected sex, this rule seems to be even more integral this year. Discussions around sex on Love Island have snowballed massively as the seasons become more and more popular each year. While early seasons saw Islanders getting busy almost every night, in the same room with scenes often aired every episode, sex has become much more taboo - when it comes to airing it at least. Last year, producers decided to stop airing sex scenes, as well as the Islanders smoking. Given the slut-shaming many female contestants receive upon doing the completely natural act it's unsurprising.
12 of 17You have to go for scheduled chats
And they must be juicy. According to Montana, when she and fellow 2017 contestant Camilla were talking about hymms they like, producers intercepted and told them to spice it up ('that's not interesting', they said). In fact, producers will also intervene to ensure certain people talk, but the conversation itself is not necessarily staged. 'They might be like, "Camilla, pull Montana aside and ask how she's feeling about Alex"', Montana admitted.
13 of 17You’re not allowed to get waxes
It's long been wondered how the contestants keep up with their beauty routines in the villa, with not a bumpy bikini line or stubbly chest in sight. Do contestants have waxers brought in to the villa? Absolutely not, according to Montana. While the women in her season requested wax strips to do it themselves, they 'all had bruising' and so resorted to shaving, with Montana insists 'most people' do.
14 of 17You absolutely cannot have drunken sex
A huge villa no-no, drunken sex is completely off the cards for Love Island contestants. Given that they're allowed two wines or beers on big nights and most of them sip on tea all night, we're not sure that's a huge risk, to be honest.
15 of 17No inappropriate language or behaviour
One of the actually non-weird rules, contestants are completely prohibited from 'innapropriate language or behaviour'. While it's quite a broad, and subjective, phrase, the rulebook applies it to racial slurs, homophobia and aggressive language. Plus, sexual harassment and physical violence is included in this rule.One of the biggest swirling rules about Sherif's ban is that he and Anton got into a heated argument. Given that the only other villa removal we've seen because of rule-breaking was when Malia Arkian punched Kady McDermott back in season two, it's high on the list of likely reasons Sherif was banned.
16 of 17They need to keep the complete rule book at all times
All of these rules must not only be obeyed at all times, but contestants must also keep the rule book in their possession too - just in case they forget about the whole no masturbating thing.
17 of 17No discriminating against staff
Another non-weird rule, contestants aren't allowed to be rude or discriminatory to staff or else they will be booted off.
Regardless of the environment, his age, and the pressure, it’s never excusable to explicitly or implicitly attempt to control someone else’s behaviour to satisfy your own insecurities. Equally, we have no way of knowing how much Joe was encouraged by producers to move the conversation in a certain direction and how much our perceptions of their relationship were affected by the edit of the show we watch each day. But what we do know is that coercive, controlling behaviour is never ok, and that's a conversation we need to keep having.