Love Island legend reveals secret show feud as he only sees three people from the villa
LOVE Island legend Rykard Jenkins has hinted at a fallout among his former co-stars.
Rykard, 33, appeared on the second series of Love Island and was watched by more than 3million fans.
He instantly fell for nurse Rachel Fenton when she entered the villa as a bombshell but what he did next shocked viewers.
Rykard left viewers aghast when he secretly slept with Olivia Buckland while Rachel was sleeping in the bed next to them.
Incredibly, he and Rachel still decided to make a go of things and he was the first islander to voluntarily quit when she was voted out on Day 15.
The couple stayed together for 18 months, but they are no longer in touch. In fact, Rykard is not in touch with many of his former island mates.
In a Q&A with fans, the personal trainer turned aesthetic practitioner has admitted he only speaks to three people from the 2016 series.
Rykard was asked: “Rewatching S2 LI. Do you keep in touch with any islanders?”
But he confessed to only being pals with the series two winners, Nathan Massey and Cara de la Hoyde, and fellow contestant Tom Powell.
“Yes, the winners are my best friends,” he said.
Rykard added that he also “touches base” with Malin Andersson and Javi Shephard – but that is it.
Other islanders Rykard starred alongside include Kady McDermott, Scott Thomas, Adam Maxted and Olivia’s now husband, Alex Bowen.
Last year, Rykard spoke exclusively to The Sun and revealed why he believes viewing figures for the ITV2 show have dipped significantly since his days on the island.
He thinks the most recent cohorts are too concerned with “brand deals” than actually finding love in the villa.
Rykard said: “I was approached to go on the show, aged 25, it was still fairly new and I saw it like a mixture of Take Me Out and Big Brother – with a free holiday thrown in.
“My main concern wasn’t winning or trying to secure a clothing deal or followers on Instagram, like the Islanders these days.
“Think Maura Higgins, who became a millionaire in 2020 after getting £500,000 each from deals with both Boohoo and Ann Summers.
“I was just young and thought, ‘I need to go there and get with as many girls as I can. Then I’ll be fine to go back home with my head held high’.”
Rykard, who left the villa to follow his match Rachel, also says he “cringes” when dumped islanders are not followed out the door by their love interests.
He added: “I proved that if you really do care about someone in the show, you’ll leave if they do.
“It makes me cringe when someone doesn’t follow their partner out and they are there like, ‘Oh yeah, I really care about them, but I just want to stay here and feel out the process’.
“Those people are either staying to meet someone else or staying for social media followers.
“But it’s now kind of expected they’ll just stay when that happens.
“Everyone is in there for their own opportunities and they’ve got to fulfil them to the fullest.”