Niall Aslam has revealed why he left the 2018 Love Island villa.
Since the drama-tastic Love Island came back to our screens for 2018, every night with the contestants has given us some unexpected twists and turns. One of the biggest so far is Niall Aslam’s sudden exit from the villa, just nine days into the series.
The 23-year-old had become a favourite to win in the short time he had been in the villa, but had to leave for ‘personal reasons’.
Fellow contestant Alex revealed the news of Niall’s exit on the show, saying simply:
For personal reasons unfortunately he can’t continue or come back to the Villa.
While viewers were left wondering what happened, Niall has now revealed he suffers from Asperger syndrome, explaining why he left the show on an Instagram post.
He wrote:
Right, so here it goes…for this post I am putting my laying it on thick brush down and hoping to hit the nation with a love potion.
For far too long I have suffered in silence and not acknowledged a massive fact about my life which going into the villa has led me to finally realise and accept.
When I was a young child I was diagnosed with asperges syndrome, a fact that until this post has never shared outside of my close family. Growing up was extremely difficult for me and I often felt out of place. I always felt that people didn’t understand me, yet I was afraid to reveal my true scales as I did not want the label or stigma that was attached to it.
He continued:
But now I think it is important that I come forward, not only so that I can finally be honest with myself and to those around me, but also so that other individuals in my position can embrace their true colours. It’s not been an easy ride for me to come to terms with this fact but I am glad that I can now accept who I am, and am looking forward to my next chapter.
I would just like to thank the team at ITV for always backing me and giving me the opportunity to rid my myself of my insecurities and embrace the fact that I am different yet I am still a rainbow fish. I can’t explain how grateful I am for the support from the whole team over this period.
I would also like to thank the British public for the love you have all shown me over the past few weeks, it has been overwhelming.
Now it’s time for this rainbow fish to dive deep into the big blue ocean and show the world what I’m all about – there’s more layers to come!
Niall had been coupled up with Georgia on the show, and when he left she described that Niall was not only her partner, but a good friend.
Georgia said:
Obviously I was coupled up with him so obviously I came closer to him than most people here but it wasn’t just that.
He was actually my friend, my buddy.
Niall’s fans have been supporting him since he revealed the real reason for leaving the villa through comments on his Instagram post.
Fans wrote:
The whole country fell in love with you the time you were in that villa, aspergers or not, you are a wonderful human being.
Awwww you were so lovely in the villa and would of gone far!! Don’t let your demons get the better of you. Good luck and think this is an awesome post well done
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.