'Love Island' star Paige Thorne clears up claims she's dating Jacques O'Neill again
Love Island star Paige Thorne has clarified comments she's reuniting with her villa ex-boyfriend, Jacques O'Neill.
The 24-year-old had a tumultuous relationship with O'Neill during their time on the ITV2 series, with O'Neill eventually choosing to leave 37 days into the experience for the sake of his own mental wellbeing.
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Following her own break-up, Thorne seemed to suggest she was considering reigniting things with her old flame, but now she's cleared things up and asserted that's not actually the case.
"It’s spreading that me and Jacques are back in contact, and we're going to be ‘reunited’ and all this kind of thing," she told Cosmopolitan UK. "We've literally had one conversation on the phone. It's just friends.
"Everyone can chill out with the speculation that ‘Paige and Jack, she's gonna go back to him’. It's not quite like that. We’re just friends.”
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After O'Neill's premature exit from the dating reality show, Thorne began a relationship with returning villa bombshell Adam Collard, remaining with him until they were dumped from the island on day 56.
They remained together after their time on the show, but split less than two months later amid allegations he had cheated on her during nightclub appearances.
A video of him cuddling up to a girl in McDonalds was debunked by his representatives, who told The Sun: “Adam understands how this video looks but wants to state that he left the restaurant with his friends and a box of 60 nuggets (with nothing or no one else) with the intention of getting home safely. Adam and Paige are currently dating and Adam only has eyes for her."
They added he was "just being his usual friendly self" when fans approached him for pictures.
While Collard denied anything happened, Thorne opened up about the split on podcast 'Saving Grace', claiming she'd been sent multiple videos and footage that prove he'd cheated on her more than once.
During the podcast, she also hinted she had reconnected with O'Neill following his early exit, and there may be something reigniting between them.
"There has been slight contact," she joked to podcast host Grace Keeling. "No contact with the lips, let’s not forget how this boy done me in Casa [Amor]!
"Obviously, we had a vibe in there. But he done me over. D**khead. Fine. But we’re just going to see where things go. I am in zero rush to be with a man because men are trash."
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