Love Island star devastated after suffering family tragedy
LOVE Island star Jacques O'Neill has been left devastated by the death of his uncle Russ.
The professional rugby player-turned-reality star, 23, took to Instagram today to make the announcement.
Jacques shared a collage of Russ and wrote: "R.I.P uncle Russ. Absolutely devastated @shocked, you will be very much missed by the whole family [heart emoji]."
It's been a tough year for Jacques, beginning with a nasty injury he sustained in January.
He fractured his foot and relied on crutches, prompting him to tell fans it wasn't the start to 2023 he'd hoped for.
The sportsman then allegedly clashed with fellow islander Remi Lambert, 24, on a night out.
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Jacques accused Remi of making up stories and played down their altercation, writing on social media: "We’ll start by the big lie following him home.
"I can't believe he’s even put that but I understand why because it sounds bad and everyone starts thinking straight away 'No way that happened, that's disgusting'. It was actually 30 yards from the club.
"I didn't begin to start an argument, I wanted answers from him as I got a voice note on Instagram from some lad one night saying he was talking to Remi and he's been telling people that he's going to kick the s*** out of me.
"I just wondered if he wanted to or not so I can clarify it wasn't about the Love Island beef at all.
"Saying I can't move on but he's the one that has dragged my name on social media since leaving the villa even trying to make diss tracks about me which I just let it all slide because it was quite embarrassing from him…
"Finally just to clear up I was not physically involved in anything that happened only thing I did do was jump in the middle and not let both lads fight…
"Just trying to make it look a lot worse than what it is and try his best to tarnish my name AGAIN that's the real story cheers."
His attempt to set the record straight was met with abuse by some.
Jacques shared horrific messages he'd received from trolls branding him a 'scumbag' and telling him to read all the negative things people had been saying about him online.