Love Island's Greg O'Shea warns All Stars is 'big risk' after 'being cancelled'
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Love Island champ Greg O'Shea has issued stern advice for the All Star's cast.
The rugby ace who starred on the ITV series back in 2019 and after spending just several days in the Majorca villa, went on to be crowned the winner alongside then-girlfriend, Amber Gill. But despite taking home the cash prize, Amber and Greg split shortly after the show ended.
Now, the Olympian, 28, has revealed that his plan was always to return to Ireland to complete his law exams as well as secure a spot in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The Irish star believed it would be "funny" if he went onto the programme but a psychologist informed him he "hadn't fully processed the whole implications" of signing up.
Greg O'Shea has issued advice to the All Stars cast and anybody who wants to appear on the show (ITV)
The star won the programme in 2019 with Amber Gill (Matt Frost/ITV/REX)Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, he said: "I kind of said what needed to be said but I hadn't really processed it myself. At the end of the day I still wouldn't change what happened because it gave me so many opportunities. My life's been great since then. But I wasn't aware of how bad it could get you know, and when I retired from rugby, I kind of lost my identity.
"I kind of put myself forward as a rugby player and got my law degree and then all that stopped and then I kind of fell between two planks of one. I was trying to be a rugby player but now I'm retired and I got to the Olympics, which was amazing, but now I'm finished with that. So where am I going next? But I also turned my back on the whole Love Island fame, I was stuck between two planks."
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Discussing being approached by Love Island bosses, he explained he initially said "no" on several occasions. He added: "It was afterwards that I wasn't ready for that onslaught of people that were fuming that I didn't stay with the girl I won the show with. But I was just the biggest villain in the world but they didn't like to step back and realise that life is much more than 12 days in a reality show." While he was inundated with abusive messages, Greg explained that he summed it up to people as being similar to a holiday romance.
Despite his fame from the show, Greg admits he had his sights set on the Olympics (@gregoshea)
The Irish sportsman announced his retirement from rugby aged 26 (Getty Images)He said: "People just didn't appreciate that and look it's all over now but the best thing came out of it, I'm much more empathetic now now and I'm much more aware of mental health and any of my friends that are struggling I can help them and a lot of people in Ireland have come up to me and asked about Love Island because they've tried to go on a reality TV shows and I can meet that person to explain to them every facet of actually deciding to go on that show. So it's in the end, it's beautiful, but I had to go through the storm to get to this side."
The star said he was "naive" to the negative aspects of fame and online abuse before he was "cancelled" due to his decision to part ways with Amber and turn his back on the programme. Despite this, Greg admits that he was the "biggest advocate" for Love Island: All Stars.
He acknowledged that the show would be "beautiful TV" if the likes of Chris (Hughes) and Kem (Catinay), Ovie (Soko), Curtis (Pritchard), and Maura (Higgins) were taking part. But he added: "The concept is amazing in the sense that if you get everyone when they were an Islander and put them in the villa, but now I think people have moved on a little bit.
"It's very much for the person who wants to be labelled as a Love Islander, which is great. Some people have made an absolute fortune, fell in love and there are marriages and babies from it – but it's also a big risk." Nowadays, Greg is happily loved up with his girlfriend, Jeanni Mulder.
"I'm a hopeless romantic," he said before gushing over Jeanni saying: "A beautiful woman has come into my life and we're getting on really well. But once again, I'm taking it slow. See where see where it goes. But we're getting on really well."
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