Introducing Jacques: The 23-year-old rugby player and Love Island 2022 bombshell

Yes, he did apparently date Gemma when she was 16

3 years ago

Love Island 2022

Love Island 2022 is finally starting to heat up, and the newest twist is bombshell Jacques. He was introduced as ready to stir some drama after Liam quit the villa, and from the outset we knew chaos was on the horizon because he’s fellow Islander Gemma Owen’s ex boyfriend.

He’s already kicking up a storm, so here’s everything you need to know about Jacques O’Neill, as he settles into the Love Island 2022 villa.

Jacques in his Love Island 2022 promo shoot

New Love Island bombshell Jacques is 23 and from Cumbria

Jacques O’Neill is 23-years-old and from Cumbria. He’s a rugby player, playing for rugby league team Castleford Tigers. When asked why he wants to be on Love Island right now, he said: “I had injury after injury with my hamstring last year. I had an operation and it was a bad time for me. I was saying to my mum the other day that I want a girl and to settle down. I’ve done all my bits.”

via Instagram @jacques9oneill_

Yes, before Love Island Jacques and Gemma Owen dated

On the show, Gemma said she and Jacques split up around a year and a half ago, with Jacques adding they were together for around eight months. According to a now edited version of Jacques’ Wikipedia page, he was 20 when he dated a 16-year-old Gemma.

“I split up with my ex and then I was seeing someone else,” he said. “I was concentrating so much on my rugby and then I had that injury. I think it needs to be the right person, at the right time.” He described his dating history as “steady” and said: “I don’t message a lot of girls on Instagram. My chat is awful on text! I’d rather meet someone out – you meet someone out and you vibe with them straight away.”

via Instagram @jacques9oneill_

He says he’ll bring ‘laughs and good vibes’ to the villa, and he knows he’s good looking

Jacques has said he’ll bring laughs to the Love Island villa, and is a very loving person. “I’ll bring laughs. I’m very straight up – I don’t beat around the bush. Just good vibes,” he said. “I’m loyal, I’m respectful and I’ve got good manners. I’ll look after someone close to me to the full extent I can. I would have a baby in two or three years. I think I’d be good with babies too, they’d be good looking wouldn’t they?”

He continued: “I am loving, I’ve got loads to give! Family parties I always bring the laughs.” He said he is “not arsed at all” about stepping on people’s toes in the villa. Fair enough.

Jacques was rumoured for Love Island before the show started

If you thought you’d seen his face before, it might be because Jacques name was among those rumoured for this series of the show, before it had started. A couple of weeks before the lineup was officially announced, it was reported he had been “lined up” by producers.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jacques O’Neill (@jacques9oneill_)

He has 50k followers on Instagram

Having just stepped into the villa, Jacques has already seen a bit of a spike in Instagram followers. He only has 58 posts right now, and they are mainly just professional pictures of him playing rugby. His handle is @jacques9oneill_.

Love Island 2022 continues on ITV2 at 9pm tonight. For all the latest Love Island news and gossip and for the best memes and quizzes, like The Holy Church of Love Island on Facebook.