Love Island fans urge people to ‘be kind’ after worrying for Jacques’ mental health as Nick Knowles praises him

LOVE Island fans have urged people to "be kind" after worrying about Jacques O'Neill's mental health after he walked out the show.

The professional rugby player was praised by viewers for his decision to leave, including unlikely fan of the ITV2 show, Nick Knowles.

Love Island fans were left emotional last night as Jacques, 23, waved goodbye to his time on the villa after a difficult few days.

His temper had bubbled over as he watched his partner Paige Thorne flirt with new boy - and former Islander - Adam Collard.

The young reality TV star was seen breaking down in tears as he told Paige, 24, he was struggling with his emotions.

After he quit the show to protect his mental wellbeing, Jacques was flooded with messages of support - including from celebs.

Among them was TV star Nick, 59, who took to Twitter to heap praise on Jacques, and encourage people to be kind.

"I understand one of the Love Islanders decided to leave last night to protect his mental health - bright lad, very self aware," he wrote.

"I think he’s absolutely right and hope the others can see the dangers and pitfalls that go with what the format does to them for our ‘entertainment'."

When a troll hit back that Jacques had been the "opposite of self aware" on the show, Nick stepped in to defend him.

"You watched what they chose to show you," he hit back at the commenter. "I've been in that position and seen good friends deliberately misrepresented.

"If you think you know more of the truth because you watched, you really don't," Nick concluded.

Elsewhere, other fans chimed in to offer Jacques messages of support as they praised his decision to prioritise his mental health.

They continued to encourage social media users to "be kind" as they admitted they were "praying" for him.

"Praying for Jacques mental health right now, in a world you can be anything be kind," one penned on Twitter.

Another chimed in: "I hate that people forget every year these are real people, please be kind, it's a TV show but their lives are real."

A third agreed: "That poor lad is quite clearly having a mental breakdown and people just want to slag him off. Mental health matters, be kind."

It comes after fans speculated that Jacques had been PULLED from the show over concerns about his mental healthy by producers.

"I think the producers saw Jacques unravelling and realized he needed to be pulled out for his mental health and public reputation before he lost it on national TV," one wrote to Twitter.

Another chimed in to agree: "I'm absolutely convinced Jacques has been pulled out or given an ultimatum by producers. He's unstable."

Love Island's updated "duty of care" policy will see Islanders get counselling and support from ITV for 14 months after the show.