MODEL Gabriel Garland’s sudden exit from Love Island over a link to a stabbing came as a huge shock to fans and co-stars alike.
Now, for the first time, Will Bessant, 23, one of the fellow bombshell boys, has revealed how the lads in the villa found out he was leaving, calling the exit “weird”.
Will Bessant has revealed how the Casa Amor boys learned Gabriel Garland was being axed Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
Model Gabriel barely featured on-screen Credit: ITV
Will said the six lads who arrived together for the Casa Amor twist, which saw the existing boys and girls split across two villas and introduced to a group of new singletons, quickly formed a close bond.
Speaking exclusively to The Jattvibe, Will said: “Yeah, it was really weird, that situation, because we had no idea what happened in there. We couldn’t know.
“We just heard ‘Gabriel Beach Hut 2’. He goes to the Beach Hut, and I mean, f***ing hell, what’s he talking about in there? Like, he’s gone ages, and then they came in and told us he won’t be returning to the villa, but we weren’t allowed to know anything about it, or talk about it, even.
“But it did take the wind out of us for about a couple hours because you get really close in there really quickly.
“He’d come across as a good guy to us in there and stuff like that, so it was really weird for him to just not be there anymore. It was a strange feeling, and I think it did throw a couple of those boys off when he did go.”
Since leaving the show Gabriel has spoken out about his exit.
He made it clear that he wasn’t convicted of any crime in relation to a 2019 New Year’s Eve stabbing in which Vitor Mazzer was found guilty of two counts of Grievous Bodily Harm.
Gabriel, who was named in court documents, had an altercation with the two victims prior to the stabbing.
He said in a home video earlier this month: “I just wanted to make it clear that the legal judge has found no wrongdoing against me, and I don’t have a criminal record.
“This has obviously resulted in me leaving Love Island, which is very disappointing, especially from a personal perspective.”
Once the dust had settled in the villa, the boys set about getting to know the girls better, but Will claims they were “never given a fair crack at it” because the girls were just too emotionally invested in the boys who had moved to Casa Amor.
A case in point was when Lola Deal, who is partnered with Irish sportsman Sean Fitzgerald, told the boys “I’m closed off, you might as well padlock me and throw away the key”, before Will had even had a chance to introduce himself.
Mara and Simba returned to the main villa as a couple Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
Will said the boys warned Angelista that Simba couldn’t be trusted Credit: ITV
He did have a bond with Barbadian beauty Mica Harris, who he revealed fawned over him while he worked out, but it didn’t lead to anything serious and he ultimately remained single when the recoupling decisions were made.
“There was always that sort of barrier with the girls that we just could not get across, and I suppose it’s maybe because they had no incentive to get to know us,” said Will.
The Barnsley lad said the girls couldn’t be swayed, even when they were informed them that their partners might not be the men they thought they were.
He and his co-stars told Angelista Gunda that womaniser Simba Kudyiwa should be treated with suspicion, but it fell on deaf ears, despite multiple warning signs.
Simba said Angelista was the “answer to his prayers” before leaving for the other villa, but he quickly pursued Mara Pirez and Nevaeh David in Casa Amor and ultimately returned with the now-dumped Mara.
Will said: “We tried to warn the girls, all us boys, we said, ‘Angelista, don’t trust Simba as far as you can throw him’. We were saying, we know he’s gonna make a mess in that other villa. And all the girls backed in!
“They said, ‘no, you should see how he’s been in the villa with Angelista, he’s putting the work in’. We were like, ‘okay, right, well, we’ll not mention this again, but let’s see what happens’.”
Though he didn’t find romance in the villa, Will did hit it off with a bombshell after they left.
Will got to know Olivia better after they left Majorca Credit: ITV
When asked if he had the chance to get to know eliminated Olivia Sanderson and Nevaeh, Will cheekily laughed.
“That’s interesting you say that,” he said. “How do I put this one? So there was no opportunity to get to know them immediately out of there.
“The team have probably experienced situations go a bit south, putting the boys and girls who’ve left in a villa together.
“So we weren’t allowed to, as much as we pleaded with the team, ‘let’s hang out with the girls, please. We’ll just hang out on an afternoon, I promise. They don’t have to stay over’.
“So we were trying, but we couldn’t. And then Carlos and Aaron, they flew back on their own. And then I flew back with Liv, one of the girls.
“So, yeah, I got to know her. Obviously, we filmed Aftersun together, and that was great, and then… Then we had a night out after, and then… Yeah, and then [laughter].
“No, no, me and Liv get on really well, to be fair. She is lovely, so we’ll see what happens there.”
Will joked he was “shafted for screen time” in the villa, but his first proper taste of TV has left him wanting more and he’s keen to get his personality across in a way the Love Island edit didn’t allow.
He said: “So the plan is now just to kind of take it as it comes because I have no idea what to expect coming out of the villa and what things are.
“But, just trying to get my personality out there and show people that I actually did speak in the villa, contrary to what the edit showed.”
He won’t have to wait long, as it’s “almost certain” he’ll be back in the villa for the final later this month, just don’t expect him to try again with Mica.
Will explained: “I told her in the villa, I said, I don’t know who you think I am, but I’m not a rebound.”
