SHERIF Lanre's mum has slammed Love Island's "very unfair" treatment of her son and insists he's "a lovely boy".
The Sun revealed earlier today the chef, 20, from London, had mutually agreed with bosses to leave the reality series after just nine days.
Sherif said in a statement his "poor judgement" had led to his departure, but speaking to the , his mother Diana said she had spoken to her son but doesn't know the full story.
She added: "I don’t know the real reason yet, but I’m determined to get to the bottom of it.
"I need to look at his Love Island code of conduct and I need to speak to him properly to find out what really happened.
"But I’m his mum, I’m going to think it was a bit unfair. I think so. I’m going to defend my son."
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Speaking from her home in South London, the psychotherapist praised her son, saying he wasn't chasing fame and is just "a lovely, lovely young man, a great boy."
Confirming Sherif's departure, a Love Island spokesman said: "After breaking the villa rules Sherif had conversations with the producers and it was mutually agreed that he would leave the Love Island villa."
Sherif said: "In a case of poor judgement, I broke the villa rules and as a result agreed with the producers that it was best for me to leave the villa.
"I regret that I didn’t conduct myself in the right way and, as a 20 year old guy, it’s something I know I will take on board and learn from.
"I really enjoyed my time in the villa and look forward to catching up with everyone on the outside."
His exit has caused chaos for the ITV2 show, with the next recoupling being delayed.
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Anna Vakili, who was coupled up with Sherif before his exit, will remain in the villa 'single'.
However, The Sun has revealed viewers will not see the moment Sherif leaves the villa, as bosses took him out through the back door.
Fans have immediately started speculating what Sherif had done to get the boot, with many believing he had smuggled his phone into the villa.